Classical Education Forum

HISTORY THROUGH LITERATURE

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Liz Mayor

Founder and Director of Studies

Robert Harris is probably better known for his excellent novels about Marcus Tullius Cicero however we will be studying his novel Precipice which focuses upon Britain in the summer of 1914. The Prime Minister is Herbert Henry Asquith who is obsessed with a young woman, Venetia Stanley, who is more than half his age. She is undoubtedly a dangerous choice of lover as she is aristocratic, young, reckless and sees life as tedious and without excitement. She is the object of an obsession which includes incessant letter writing , some of which reveal sensitive information.

£60

5/11/2025 

Darren Freebury-Jones

Ghosts, sprites, elves, fairies, nymphs, witches, wizards, and demons. All of these are mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. This talk explores Shakespeare’s engagement with the theme of the supernatural. How might theatre audiences have responded to these representations on stage? And how did some of these spooky figures inform popular play genres? Darren Freebury-Jones delves into the literary, theological, and theatrical context lying behind some of Shakespeare’s most magical, and most terrifying, creations.

£30

30/10/25