Sunday 12 January, 2025 
7pm (London)
Claude Monet and the First World War
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr Ross King

Art and war have always been closely intertwined. Artists have long captured both the heroism and horror of warfare, portraying moments of valour and sacrifice alongside the brutality and devastation of battle. Few wars inspired as much significant art as WWI, a conflict that swept many European artists into its chaos. Some even contributed to military strategy, particularly through the development of camouflage and dazzle painting, demonstrating how art could be repurposed for war.

Claude Monet also played an important role in the war effort. Seventy-four years old in 1914, he was the world’s most famous and successful painter. His landscapes are renowned for evoking nature’s beauty and tranquillity, with works like the Water Lilies capturing an enchanted world of light and reflection. However, most of these serene canvases were painted during the Great War, and Monet himself referred to them as his ‘war work’. This lecture will explore Monet’s wartime experiences, including his appearance in a 1915 propaganda film, his struggles to obtain art supplies, and his son Michel’s service at the Battle of Verdun. The Water Lilies will be reconsidered in their proper context, as Monet’s response to the sorrows and horrors of the war engulfing Europe.

Dr Ross King is the author of numerous books on Italian art and history, including Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies, Brunelleschi’s Dome and The Bookseller of Florence. His latest book is The Shortest History of Italy (2024).

£10 individual talk

Sunday 19 January, 2025 
7pm (London)
‘Beer, Sausages and Marmalade: Oxford Food and Drink in the Nineteenth Century’
GUEST SPEAKER: Liz Woolley

In the nineteenth century Oxford became well-known for its ‘Celebrated Oxford Sausages’ and for Frank Cooper’s ‘Oxford Marmalade’. The popularity of these delicacies went hand-in-hand with the city’s growing importance as a tourist destination. Meanwhile large numbers of citizens were involved in brewing, baking and the grocery trade, and the families which controlled these businesses had a powerful influence over Oxford’s economic, social and political life. This talk examines the fascinating relationship between food production, tourism and politics in the city.

Liz Woolley is a local historian specialising in aspects of the history of Oxford and Oxfordshire. She is particularly interested in the history of the city’s “town” – as opposed to “gown” – and in the everyday lives of rural people across the county, chiefly during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Liz has lived in Oxford since 1984. She completed an MSc in English Local History (with Distinction) at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education in 2009, having gained a Diploma (also with Distinction) in the same subject in 2007. She has published author and is an experienced speaker, guide, tutor, researcher and writer who is keen to help individuals and groups to enjoy finding out about the history of their local area.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 2 February, 2025
7pm (London)
Coffee and Coffee Houses: How the English Fell in Love with Caffeine
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Imagine a drink so divisive that it was banned by sultans and exorcised by a pope, decried as a poison to the body, yet also hailed as a cure-all—from keeping minds sharp to relieving the most undignified ailments.

When first introduced to England in the 1600s, coffee was described as a ‘decoction of the devil’ and a drink that made men ‘unfit for action,’ but it was also reputed to alleviate constipation and prevent flatulence! This remarkable beverage, which sparked riots in both England and Mecca, is now so embedded in Western culture that it holds a prominent place in operas, ballets, novels, poems, paintings, and songs. In twenty-first-century Britain, coffee has even overtaken tea as the national beverage.

This talk explores coffee’s arrival on British shores in the seventeenth century and its impact on society. Coffee houses sprang up to cater to this new craze, serving a diverse clientele with ‘no distinctions between gentleman, mechanic, lord, and scoundrel.’ Women, of course, were barred from these establishments. Join Melanie King as she delves into coffee’s illustrious history and its ever-evolving ways of consumption.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 16 February, 2025 
7pm (London)
Virtual Tour of the Houses of Parliament (90 minutes)
GUEST SPEAKER: Loona Hazarika

(NB: This event will not be recorded)

Join Loona Hazarika for a 90-minute virtual tour of the Palace of Westminster, commonly known as the Houses of Parliament. Located in Westminster, London. Room by fascinating room, in 360 degrees, let’s discover the thousand year old history of how we got the vote. We’ll sky-dive in to London and go in to many parts of the Houses of Parliament building, visit its ornate Gothic rooms, the bustling Members’ lobby, the austere Westminster Hall, feel the heat of the debating chambers and several more.

This virtual tour covers the turbulent history in the birth of British democracy, a constant battle between monarch and parliament with gunpowder plots, a civil war, a royal execution, a fire and world war two bombs. We’ll look at pivotal moments and their impact on us today, from the Magna Carta, the Barons’ Revolt, the Bill of rights, the model parliament and votes for women.

Loona Hazarika was educated at the University of Cambridge and is a historian. He has been an official tour guide of the British Museum. Today, Loona now has his own tour company called Let’s Discover London, and offers live guided tours, or virtual tours. He has appeared on the TV and radio many times, including working with Dave Myers the Hairy Biker on Sky Atlantic’s ‘Urban Secrets’.

£12 individual talk

Sunday 2 March, 2025 
7pm (London)
Can Onions Cure Earache?: Medical Advice from the Eighteenth Century
SPEAKER: Melanie King

What common condition can be treated with cow dung? How do crushed oystershells ease heartburn? Can onions cure earache? And how do you stop a stubborn case of the hiccups?

If someone was struck down by illness or injury in the late eighteenth century, the chances are that they would have referred to William Buchan’s Domestic Medicine – with the result that they might have found themselves drinking a broth made from sheep brain or administering drops of urine in their ears. The book’s author, a Scottish physician, published his self-help manual in 1769 specifically for the benefit of people who were unable readily to access or afford medical assistance. Copies could be found in coffee-houses, in apothecary shops and private households, and in 1789 Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers took the sensible precaution of grabbing the copy from HMS Bounty before they fled to Pitcairn Island.

Much of Dr Buchan’s advice on how to live a healthy life and avoid disease is still sound and relevant today, such as eating a varied and healthy diet, breathing plenty of fresh air, and taking exercise. Many of his prescriptions are amusing when viewed in retrospect, such as his fondness for powdered Spanish fly and genital trusses. Other recommendations – bleeding a woman experiencing a difficult childbirth or administering mercury to treat numerous ailments – were downright dangerous. But we should not be too quick to judge him: it should be remembered that he was neither a quack nor a charlatan. His advice was based on his own observations as a physician and on the popular treatments of his time.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 16 March, 2025 
7pm (London)
The Rebel Empresses: Elisabeth of Austria and Eugenie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe
GUEST SPEAKER: Nancy Goldstone

This talk is sponsored by the Woodstock Bookshop.
Ticket holders can redeem £5 off the retail price of Nancy’s book by visiting the bookshop. (Offer not available for online purchases)

Join acclaimed American author and historian Nancy Goldstone as she tells the story of two of the most influential and glamorous women of nineteenth-century Europe: Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, and Eugénie, Empress of France, who reigned amid scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence.

When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France became two of the most famous women in the world. Young and beautiful, they quickly became cultural and fashion icons of their time. More than mere symbols, however, they played pivotal roles in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era characterised by unprecedented political and technological change.

Both women, however, faced significant hardships in both their public and private lives. Free-spirited Elisabeth struggled under the control of a domineering mother-in-law who took her infant children away and undermined her authority at court. Courageous Eugénie, meanwhile, was married to a notorious philanderer and a man who fell short of his namesake’s military prowess. Between them, these women were involved in nearly every major international conflict of their turbulent century—a century marked by revolutions, assassinations, and wars as well as thrilling technological advances.

Fearless, adventurous, and independent, Elisabeth and Eugénie embodied a new kind of empress—one who rebelled against tradition and embraced modern values.

Nancy Goldstone holds a degree in History from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in International Affairs. She began her career in banking and on the trading desk before turning to writing. She has authored seven acclaimed historical books about prominent women in history, with her latest work, The Rebel Empresses: Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe (2025), to be published March 2025. Additionally, she has co-authored six books with her husband, Larry Goldstone.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 23 March, 2025 
7pm (London)
‘The Once and Future(less) King: The Rise and Fall of Juan Carlos I’
GUEST SPEAKER: Emeritus Professor David T. Geis

King Juan Carlos I of Spain (b. 1938-) became a hero to the country when he swore allegiance to the new democratic Constitution in 1978, then refused to back the military coup attempt of 23 February 1981, but he subsequently found himself mired in scandals (women! elephants! kick-backs!) and was forced to abdicate the throne in 2014. He now lives in exile. This is the story of the promising rise and tragic fall of a complicated man who ruled in complicated political times.

David T. Gies is Commonwealth Professor of Spanish (Emeritus) and former Chairman of the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at the University of Virginia. Professor Gies has published seventeen books and critical editions of Spanish literature, including The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture (1999), Theatre and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Spain (Cambridge, 1988), The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature (2004), and The Cambridge History of Theatre in Spain (co-edited, 2012). He has authored more than one hundred twenty-five essays and one hundred forty-five scholarly book reviews, and has lectured at universities in the US, Canada, England, Italy, Germany, France, Egypt, Argentina and Spain.

David has been awarded many awards but the one that probably sticks out is a knighthood granted by the King of Spain. Since retiring in 2017 he has dedicated much of his time giving lectures on Spanish and Latin American history, literature, food, and culture, on trips organised by the University of Virginia, Smithsonian Journeys, The World, and SeaDream Yacht vacations.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 6 April, 2025  
7pm (London)
Aphra Behn: 17th Century Female Spy, Poet and Playwright
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Aphra Behn was not just one of England’s first female professional writers—she was a woman of intrigue, a spy, and a fierce voice against societal hypocrisy. Born in 1640, Behn’s early life remains shrouded in mystery, with tales as varied as her work. What we do know is that she became a covert agent for King Charles II, traveling to Antwerp to gather intelligence on English dissidents, risking her life for the crown and spending time in debtors’ prison when her expenses went unpaid.

In the raucous Restoration period, Behn broke boundaries, earning her place in London’s theatre scene and rivalling her male contemporaries with audacious plays that explored passion, power, and betrayal. Her poetry took on taboos, as in The Disappointment (1680), where she humorously delves into the delicate topic of male impotence. Often critical of marriage as a cage for women, she used biting satire to expose the corruption, disloyalty, and hypocrisy of her time. Her groundbreaking novel Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave. A True Story (1688), tells of an African prince enslaved and betrayed by Europeans, a tragic tale of love, honour, and revolt.

Join Melanie King to discover the daring life and works of Aphra Behn—a woman who defied convention, wielded the pen with courage, and left an indelible mark on English literature.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 13 April, 2025 
7pm (London)
MI9: A History of the Secret Service for escape and evasion in World War Two
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr Helen Fry

When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines during WWII, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: MI9. The organisation set up clandestine escape routes that zig-zagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way back to Britain. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men. Central to MI9’s success were figures such as Airey Neave – the first British prisoner to successfully escape from Colditz, as well as the ‘James Bond’ Q gadgets. Helen’s talk sheds light on new research on aspects of wartime escape and evasion, with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of MI9 at Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. She reveals for the first time that not only did MI9 save thousands of Allied lives, it contributed to a massive intelligence gathering operation that impacted on the Allies’ ability to turn the tide of the war.

Historian Dr Helen Fry has written numerous books on the Second World War, including the 10,000 Germans who fought for Britain, British intelligence, espionage and World War Two. Her latest bestselling book is Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars. Her book Spymaster: The Man who Saved MI6 was in Waterstones top history books for 2021, and Daily Mail’s top biographies for 2021. Her acclaimed book The Walls have Ears was the Daily Mail’s top 8 books on war for 2019. She has written over 25 books, including MI9: A history of the British Secret Service for escape and evasion in WW2, and The London Cage, about a secret interrogation centre in WWII. Helen appears frequently in TV documentaries, including Secrets of the Spies (ITVX), David Jason’s Secret Service, Spying on Hitler’s Army and Home Front Heroes (BBC1). She is an ambassador for the Military Intelligence Museum.

£10 individual talk

Sunday 27 April, 2025 
7pm (London)
Life in a Medieval Gentry Household: Alice de Bryene of Acton Hall, Suffolk
GUEST SPEAKER: Ffiona Perigrinor

In the medieval period the household was a fundamental part of the social structure. Academic studies have generally focused on the grand, itinerant households of the wealthy aristocracy. But using the household accounts of Alice de Bryene, a widowed gentlewoman in the early 1400s …

… together with various reports from her home in Acton, Suffolk and her other estates, we’ll go time-travelling with her and explore the lives of ordinary people in the medieval countryside, their festivals and feast days, marriage and monuments, family loyalties and betrayals, life and death, the rhythms of the working day and year, and the changing scene in the wider world beyond the household.

Ffiona von Westhoven Perigrinor is a former teacher, freelance journalist, book-reviewer and broadcaster. Her first degree was in Modern History and Political Science at Trinity Collage Dublin, followed twenty-five years later by a second MA in Women’s History, Gender and Society at Royal Holloway, University of London.

£10 individual talk