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Amorous or Loving?: The Highly Peculiar Tale of English and the English

  • Mar 30
  • 2 min read

Updated: Aug 19


Cover of Susannah Gibson's book Bluestockings: The First Women's Movement

AUTHOR'S HOUR


Talk - Sir Rupert Gavin Wednesday 27 January 2027

6.30pm - 8pm (Doors open 6pm)

£27.50


How did the English language go from marginal dialect to becoming the world's lingua franca? Join Sir Rupert Gavin for an entertaining romp through the history of English!





English was a marginal dialect in the late 9th century spoken by about 200,000 people under existential threat. The Battle of Edington in 878 changed all that.


Join Sir Rupert Gavin as he charts English’s extraordinary path to becoming the most global language today spoken by 1.6 billion all over the world. He follows the story from Beowulf, Chaucer and Wycliffe, to Tyndall, Shakespeare and Donne via way of Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens to the present day, in a highly entertaining and thought-provoking romp.


Ticket includes a welcome drink, book signing and a chance to view Dr Johnson's House.


Doors open & welcome drink: 6pm


Talk starts at 6.30pm.


BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Limited capacity. Book Now!

A small number of priority tickets have been set aside for members.



Bluestockings: The First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson paperback cover

Sir Rupert Gavin

Gavin has been a central figure in the cultural world for 40 years. He has led organisations as diverse as the BBC, Odeon Cinemas, British Telecom and currently English National Ballet.


He is a prolific theatre producer, having helped mount over 300 high profile productions winning 28 Olivier awards and 7 Tony awards.


Praise for Amorous or Loving?


'A highly entertaining, richly personal and extremely loving look at the history of England. Fabulous.' Lucy Worsley


'A tour de force! A fascinating journey through what has made the English and their language unique.' Antonia Fraser


'An original and learned romp through centuries of history and language… Bravo!' Zeinab Badawi


'Inspires us to value the miracle that is the English language… Dickens would have understood and relished it.' Simon Callow



Accessibility

There is regrettably no step-free access to Dr Johnson's House.

There are seven steps to access the entrance (with a handrail).

The building is a four-storey townhouse with a staircase between each floor.

There are handrails on each side of the staircase and visitor seating in every room.

Toilets are located down a steep set of stairs.



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