A History of England in 25 Poems
With Writer and Historian Catherine Clarke
Saturday 3 October 2026, from 11am
The King’s Arms Hotel, Dorchester
£5 Talk
£15 Talk + Book (save 23% on book RRP)
A History of England in 25 Poems
What if you could use a poem to time travel into England’s past?
Catherine Clarke’s new history book A History of England in 25 Poems tells the history of England in a new way: glimpsed through twenty-five remarkable poems written down between the eighth century and today.
From the Vikings to the Miners’ Strike, onto battlefields, inside royal courts, and below stairs in a great country house, they connect us directly with the nation’s past, and the experiences, emotions and imaginations of those who lived it.
In this event, Catherine will share stories from the book, reflect on some of the discoveries she made during her research, and answer your questions.
Praise for the Book
'This is a marvellous idea, quite brilliantly realised. Catherine Clarke takes 25 poems [...] and uses them as windows into the English past, from politics and plagues to nature and nostalgia. Her book is a winning blend of jolly ballads and melancholy reflections, alive to the ways in which the meanings of England and Englishness are never fixed, always changing' - Dominic Sandbrook, The Times
About Catherine
Catherine Clarke is a Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and Director of the Victoria County History of England.
She was previously Professor of English Literature at the University of Southampton, where she remains a Visiting Professor.
She lives in Bournemouth and grew up in Dorset. A History of England in 25 Poems has been a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Times Best Book of the Year 2025, A History Extra Book of the Year 2025, and a FT Book of the Year 2025.