Festival Salon with Fiona Sampson

Two-Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Behind the romance of her extraordinary life, Elizabeth Barrett Browning stands as a thoroughly modern figure, who remains an electrifying study in self-invention. Elizabeth was born in 1806, a time when women could neither attend university nor vote, and yet she achieved lasting literary fame. She remains one of Britain’s greatest poets, a high-profile activist for the abolition of slavery who believed herself to be of mixed heritage; and a writer who defied chronic illness and long-term disability to change the course of cultural history.

Our musical accompaniment to this event will be songs from Dominick Argento’s song cycle Casa Guidi.

Includes a cup of tea