Frome Society’s winter programme of 12 Saturday afternoon lectures continues on 1st November with a talk by Amy Jeffs on her new book, Old Songs: Stories of Love and Death from Traditional Ballads.
The event will take the form of a conversation with musical interludes between Sunday Times best-selling historian and Frome-based author Dr Amy Jeffs, artist Gwen Burns, who provided the illustrations for Amy’s book, and musician Natalie Brice.
Organisers say, “Together they will create a rich compendium, singing of travel, mystery, magic and the essential urges of humanity, featuring fairy tales and sinister descendants of Greek myths and Bible stories, as well as a cast of lesser-known characters with names like Tam Lim, Child Wynd and Maisery.
“Amy’s book, Old Songs, threads together a tapestry of Britain’s landscape, history and cultures. At the foot of hills we can still visit today, elf queens kidnap hapless poets and carry them through rivers of blood; and at the foot of a tree whose offspring still stand in the forests of Northumberland, a girl mimes combing the hairless head of a dragon who was once her brother. Copies of Old Songs will be available for sale at the talk.”
Frome Society’s lectures take place in the Assembly Rooms at the rear of Frome Memorial Theatre, starting at 2.30pm. Visitors are welcome but are asked to pay an entry fee of £5. The Society’s talks are proving very popular, and to be sure of a seat it is advisable to book a place through the Society’s website: www.fsls.org.uk
