History of England in 25 Poems

Catherine Clarke brings her book A History of England in 25 Poems to St Albans Museum + Gallery on Tuesday 17 November, starting at 19:00. It's a poetry reading that works its way through 1,300 years of English history in verse, from the time of Beowulf right through to the protests written in the wake of Brexit. Along the way, she shares the archival discoveries she came across while putting it together.

Clarke is a historian and writer, a Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and Director of the Victoria County History of England, and she's also a Visiting Professor of English Literature at the University of Southampton. She started out as a medieval specialist, and her research since then has run from pilgrimage and the earliest English poetry to underground legends and the cultural history of mud. A History of England in 25 Poems came out with Penguin Allen Lane in 2025 and was named a Book of the Year by The Times, the FT and History Extra, and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.

If you're coming in person, you can bring a copy of the book for her to sign. The talk is at the Museum + Gallery in the Town Hall on St Peter's Street, AL1 3DH. Tickets are £10 for in-person and £6 for Zoom, so you can join from home if that's easier. It kicks off at 19:00.