- DURATION 60 mins
Event Description
1816 was a terrible year in world history, when freak weather caused by volcanic activity devastated half the globe. In Europe especially, still staggering under the impact of the Napoleonic Wars, the ‘Year Without a Summer’ saw cold and darkness, despair and starvation. Yet this was also a time of astonishing creativity, when Turner and Constable’s paintings depicted the year’s sulphurous sunsets, when Mary Shelley wrote the first draft of Frankenstein, Byron produced the terrible vision of Darkness, and publications included Austen’s Persuasion and Coleridge’s Kubla Khan.
A journey through 1816 will touch on vulcanology, meteorology, social history, literature, the visual arts and even costume (how did people dress when July felt like January and the rain was relentless all year long?).
- Duration: 60 mins
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Meet the Host, Judith
Judith loved history and literature equally at school, and hated having to choose between them – but opting for an English degree led her on to further studies at the Shakespeare Institute, based then in Birmingham. Since then a career in secondary teaching has developed beyond retirement into teaching adults. Judith has given dozens of courses in the novel, poetry, social history and the history of food, and delivered popular talks on everything from Georgian cartoons to poets laureate.
"There’s so much to learn, and more and more ways to do it", says Judith. "When I find something fascinating I want to share it, and to find the best way of bringing history and literature to life. Learning and entertainment needn’t be mutually exclusive."
More Information
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