Jemahl Evans brings us a brief history of London’s first West End theatre. The Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane was initially, as its name suggests, a venue for cockfights and animal baiting on the east side of Drury Lane with an entrance in Cockpit Alley. As such it was the first playhouse in the West […]
History by the River September 2017
History by the River is a monthly panel event with a social buzz for lovers of books, history and good beer. It’s a chance to get together with fellow readers and authors to hear about the best new historical writing, then discuss it all over a drink afterwards. NB: you can’t actually see Tower Bridge […]
History By The River July 2017
History by the River is new a monthly panel event with a social buzz for lovers of books, history and good beer. It’s a chance to get together with fellow readers and authors to hear about the best new historical writing, then discuss it all over a drink afterwards. NB: you can’t actually see Tower […]
Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths
The British Library’s new exhibition marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Jason Hewitt gets a sneak preview. As we have all experienced, the last twelve months has seen a series of seismic political shifts taking place across the western world. Whether it’s the surprise Brexit vote, the election of Trump, or France’s ousting of her political […]
History by the River May 2017
A New Series of Events in West London We’ve been working on something rather special for lovers of history and literature in London. William Ryan, one of the talents behind the highly successful First Monday Crime Series, along with Antonia Senior, Imogen Robertson and Anna Mazzola have been carefully researching venues and badgering best-selling authors […]
Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932
One hundred years on from the Russian Revolution, Imogen Robertson reviews a new Royal Academy exhibition that explores the period through its art. Want to find yourself in a crowd surrounded by slogans demanding revolution or exhorting devotion to a new strong man leader? Want that and a gift shop? Then leave twitter and the American Embassy […]
The Libertine, Theatre Royal Bath
Poor old Charles II. These days he’s playing second fiddle to almost everything. If it’s not last week’s 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, it’s Gemma Arterton’s recent portrayal of his famous mistress Nell Gwynn. Jasper Britton brings our most debauched monarch wonderfully to life in Stephen Jeffrey’s The Libertine, but poor Charlie […]
My Place In History
Fiction is often described as ‘character in action.’ And characters have to be active somewhere you can see, smell, hear and touch, unless you’re Samuel Beckett who can bury Winnie up to her waist and then neck in sand and yet create an active character. For the rest of us, a strong sense of place […]