Festivals & Talks

Forthcoming:

The Missing Thread talks schedule is being added to regularly – please check back here for updates

Thursday 30 May, 1pm: Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye

Friday 31 May, 6pm: Blackwell’s, Oxford

Tuesday 4 June, 1pm: The Oldie Literary Lunch, London

Thursday 6 June, 6pm: Words by the Water Festival, Keswick, Lake District 

Saturday 15 June: British Museum, City Lit Classics Day, London

Wednesday 26 June, 6pm: Classics for All (online)

Saturday 29 June, 1.15pm: Chalke Valley History Festival, Wiltshire

Thursday 8 August, 2pm: Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Sunday 1 September, 1pm: Queen’s Park Book Festival, London

Friday 13 September, 11.30am: Buckingham History Festival

Saturday 14 September, 12.30pm: Chiswick Book Festival, London

Wednesday 18 September, 4pm: Gloucester History Festival

Saturday 21 September, 2pm: Barnes BookFest, Barnes Methodist Church, London

Saturday 21 September, 5pm: Cliveden Literary Festival

Monday 30 September, 7pm: The Travellers’ Club, London

Friday 4 October, 1.40pm: Isle of Wight Literary Festival

Thursday 10 October, 6pm, Brentford Books, Middlesex

Sunday 27 October, 4.30pm: Wimbledon BookFest, London

Thursday 7 November, 2pm: Bridport Literary Festival, Dorset

Thursday 21 November, 6pm: A Drink with The Idler (online) 

Recent:

16 March 2024: History Day, West Horsley Place, Surrey (co-organiser, host & speaker)

22 October 2023: Wimbledon BookFest, with Tom Holland

19 October 2023: Charleston ‘Small Wonder’ Literary Festival, with Natalie Haynes

17 June 2023: Hellenic Society, London: Writing Great Lives

15 June 2023: Founding Myths, Talk at Engelsberg, Sweden

16 May 2023: The Betjeman Society address, Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair

23 April 2023: Barbara Pym Society

20 January 2023: Leatherhead Institute, Surrey

27 October 2022: Oxford Preservation Trust, Chairman’s Lecture

15 October 2022: Cliveden Literary Festival

8 October 2022: Buckingham History Festival

17 September 2022: Oxford Alumni Weekend, St Hilda’s

30 June 2022: The Oxford and Cambridge Club, London

22 June 2022: Chalke Valley History Festival, Wiltshire

12 May 2022: West Horsley Place, Surrey

5 May 2022: Blackwell’s, Oxford

5 May 2022: Oxford Chabad Society

27 April 2022: ‘To Oxford!’, Hatchard’s, Piccadilly

12 April 2022: Classics For All interview

23 January 2022: ClassicsNow: In conversation with Vincent Woods

18 June 2021: Women Creating Classics Conference, Exeter University

24 May 2021: The Travellers Club

26 March 2021: Asheville School, North Carolina, Epic Poetry Masterclass

18 March 2021: Classical Association Southwest: In a Nutshell: The World According to Pliny the Elder

16 March 2021: Academus Education talk on the Enduring Beauty of Greek Theatre

11 February 2021: Cambridge Union, This House Regrets the Fall of Rome’, debate

17 November 2020: Bettany Hughes, in conversation, Blackwell’s (via Zoom)

29 May 2020: Hay Festival Digital: Ancient Greek Drama

28 March 2020: Oxford Literary Festival

17 May 2020: Godolphin & Latymer Breakfast Club

10 March 2020: Camden School for Girls

9 March 2020: The Lady Eleanor Holles School

12 December 2019: British Museum, ‘Who was Homer?’

7 November 2019: St Hilda’s College, Oxford, Autumn Address

2 November 2019: Petworth Literary Festival

25 October 2019: BBC History Weekend, Chester

12 October 2019: Heffer’s, Cambridge

10 October 2019: Isle of Wight Literary Festival

8 October 2019: Cheltenham Literature Festival

1 October 2019: British Library, 100 Ancient Stories: Talk and Readings with Mike Grady

16 September 2019: Gloucester History Festival

13 September 2019: Savile Club

25 July 2019: Waterstones, Guildford

25 June 2019: Blackwell’s, Oxford

14 June 2019: Topping’s, Bath

8 June 2019: First’s London Rare Book Fair

29 May 2019: Hatchard’s, Piccadilly

28 May 2019: Hay Festival

14 March 2019: Southampton Classical Association

3 October 2018: Henley Literary Festival

4 July 2018: Ibstock Place School, Prize Giving address

13 March 2018: The House of Commons, speech on Somerset Maugham and presentation of awards for The London Magazine

1 February 2018: Charterhouse School

7 October 2017: Surbiton High School, in aid of Parthenon cast restoration

27 September 2017: The Horatian Society Annual Address, Lincoln’s Inn, London

20 September 2017: The Josephine Hart Poetry Hour: Robert Lowell, British Library, with Grey Gowrie, Simon Armitage, Julian Sands, Hugo Williams, Lucy Fleming, Alan Jenkins, Michael Hofman, Saskia Hamilton, and Mark Ford

16 September 2017: ‘University Challenged’ with Bamber Gascoigne, Oxford University

18 July 2017: University of Cambridge, plenary lecture, International Summer School

10 July 2017: The Prince’s Teaching Institute, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, guest lecture

4 July 2017: The Oldie Literary Lunch, London

11 March 2017: University of Oxford, alumni guest panel ‘Future Classics’

9 March 2017: St John’s College, Cambridge

23 January 2017: London Classical Association, Roehampton

8 November 2016: King’s College School, Wimbledon

3 November 2016 Royal Grammar School, Guildford

29 October 2016: Heffer’s Bookshop, Cambridge

15 October 2016: Isle of Wight Literary Festival

10 October 2016: Cheltenham Literary Festival

13 September 2016: The Oldie Literary Lunch, London

27 July 2016: Ryedale Festival, North Yorkshire

2 July 2016: Althorp Literary Festival

28 April 2016: Winchester College School

25 April 2016: Travellers’ Club

9 April 2016: Oxford Literary Festival

18 March 2016: Youth Awards, Mole Valley

8 March 2016: St Olave’s School, Orpington

6 March 2016: Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin, sermon

29 February 2016: Bath Literary Festival

13 February 2016: Barton’s Bookshop, Surrey

12 February 2016: Waterstone’s, Dorking

17 November 2015: Founder’s Day, St Hilda’s College, Oxford, guest speaker

27 November 2014: London History Festival

5 August 2014: Oxford University UNIQ Summer School

11 July 2014: Walking Tour of Titian’s Venice at The National Gallery for AIFS summer programme

26 March 2014: Online lecture series on Homer Iliad 24 for Massolit

29 September 2013: Soho Literary Festival, Classics Quiz

5 April 2013: University of Reading, Classical Association Conference lecture

19 November 2012: King’s College London: ‘On the Ancient Novel in Renaissance Italy’ lecture

19 July 2012: Talk at the National Gallery for the Italian Cultural Association: ‘Introducing Renaissance Venice’

10 March 2012: Sir William Perkins’s School, Surrey

16 December 2011: University College London, lunchtime lecture

9 April 2010: Courtauld Gallery: ‘Michaelangelo’s Dream: the Phaethon presentation drawings’

2 February 2010: Courtauld Gallery: ‘Seurat’s Woman Powdering Herself’