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Meet the Author: Melanie King

History Book Club
4.8 out of 5 Average rating

Being able to pick and choose activities and either attend at the specified time or watch a recording later suits me perfectly.

Susan
, reviewed on 10 Oct 2022

Entertaining and instructive presentations by knowledgeable speakers.

Margaret
, reviewed on 18 Nov 2022
  • DURATION 1 hr
  • HOW TO ATTEND Attendance is live via Zoom
4.8 out of 5 Average rating

Being able to pick and choose activities and either attend at the specified time or watch a recording later suits me perfectly.

Susan
, reviewed on 10 Oct 2022

Entertaining and instructive presentations by knowledgeable speakers.

Margaret
, reviewed on 18 Nov 2022

Event Description

Join Melanie King as she shares the ups and downs of writing her latest non-fiction book about the culture of mineral spas. Research involved such things as scrambling up the steep slopes of the Malvern Hills looking for a defunct holy well, or pacing around Buxton in search of a chalybeate spring with only the directions of an eighteenth-century traveller as a guide. She found out that Google Maps is, so far, uninterested in such sites. Her work also involved more sedentary tasks, such as sitting in hushed, dusty archives and coming across satires with memorable characters named Lady Bunbutter and Sir Simon Blunderhead. But research is something that can consume author and reader both. The hardest part of producing works of historical non-fiction will always be organising the information and telling the story in an engaging way that lets the voices of the past speak to us in the present.

Melanie's King 'The Secret History of English Spas' is available at Amazon.ukAmazon.comBarnes & NobleThe Bodleian ShopBookshop.orgFoylesIndigo

  • Duration: 1 hr
  • Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Melanie King.jpg

Meet the Host, Melanie

Melanie King has published eight books of historical non-fiction, covering subjects from prophecy and espionage to the history of chocolate. Her latest book, The Secret History of English Spas, was released September 2021.

Melanie graduated from Sussex University and has worked in Bangkok as a staff writer for the Nation, in Brussels with eurocrats, in the publications department at Chatham House, and in London with refugees and victims of torture. She earns a living as a writer and speaker, exploring the oddities of little-known byways of history.

Preparing for the Event

For the best experience, you will need to have Zoom downloaded onto your computer. Please ensure you're connected to broadband/wifi rather than using your mobile phone connection (3G/4G).

We also recommend that pets are either calmly sitting on your lap or in another room, and any refreshments you may require are within your reach!

More Information

What if I can’t make the event?

If a recording’s available for the event, you can still register for it and we will send you an email with a link to a recording shortly after it ends.

Will my camera be on and will I be visible to the other people?

Your camera and microphone does not need to be on for you to enjoy the event. The choice about whether to do this is completely yours.

How do I watch the live event?

Rest Less events are hosted on Zoom, a computer application that allows you to attend online events just by clicking a link. For detailed instructions, please go to our "FAQ" page, which you can find a link to in the nav bar at the top of the page.

How do I sign-up for and access the recording? (Recorded events only)

Book the event as normal (as if you are attending live). After the event ends you will automatically receive a post-event email with a link to the recording, as long as the event was recorded. You do not need to do anything else and there is no separate booking process for recordings only. Please note it can take up to 24 hours for Zoom to process recordings.

Reviews