I purchased a digital pass to the Gloucester History Festival, because I recognized a few names on the program. I was excited to hear from Nicola Tallis, Janina Ramirez, Nathen Amin, and Dan Jones. When I logged into the site, my pass gave me access to over 40 talks on all kinds of history. Topics included the pagan Britains, the Vikings, Ancient Greek literature, Chinese history, castles, World War II, and architectural history. The speakers offered lectures, interviews, and panel discussions.
Accessibility & Experience
The talks were available to stream online from Sep 11 through Oct 25. With a digital pass, I could stream them live and watch the recorded versions. The platform was easy to navigate and the sound quality was clear. Some historians used visuals during their lecture, which they described. Talks were down-to-earth and presenters took questions at the end.
Of the 40+ talks I watched, here are my favorites.
“Aethelstan: England’s First King” with Michael Wood
I recognized Michael Wood from his documentary, The Story of England. In his talk, he laid out the structure of his forthcoming biography on Aethelstan. Wood emphasized the need to create a well-rounded psychological biography — even when working with few resources. His passion and expertise were evident: he described the nuanced way he used each source on Aethelstan’s early life. I especially appreciated his attention to Aethelstan’s psalter (an ornamented prayer book) to explore this medieval king’s most meaningful relationships.
“No Friend to This House” with Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes’ informal and engaging talk explored her latest novel, No Friend to This House, which retells the Jason and Medea story. A classicist and stand-up comedian, Haynes’ delivery is remarkable. She makes classical texts accessible without sacrificing accuracy or historical context. In this talk, she shared her teenage experience of live Greek theater — how the staging of each play enhances Medea’s story. After Haynes’ talk, I read her book Divine Might, which I reviewed here.
“Mythica: The Women Behind The Odyssey” with Emily Hauser
In this talk, Emily Hauser searched for the female voices of The Iliad and The Odyssey. She used Emily Wilson’s recent translations to describe the lives of women like Penelope, Briseis, Helen of Troy, and Andromache. Hauser tracked the literary silencing of these women and employed newly discovered household records to describe the daily lives of enslaved women. I don’t think anyone really likes Odysseus’s son Telemachus, but I definitely disliked him much more after Hauser’s talk. She highlighted how much women, often captured as war-troophies, actually shaped these epic stories.
Final Thoughts
Several speakers at Gloucester are authors, and I added many books to my reading list. I especially appreciated the ability to replay these detailed talks for weeks. I was thoroughly impressed with this experience, and I will participate in future streaming events.
