Patterns and Chaos in the Labyrinth - An Evening with Writer in Residence Charlotte Higgins

7.30pm

ONLINE BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED. TO BOOK PLEASE CALL 01244 532350.

Join Charlotte Higgins as she explores the idea of the labyrinth. The ultimate symbol of ingenious human design, the labyrinth offers pleasures of pattern and completion to spectators outside – but disorientation and confinement when experienced from within. Using literary and artistic representations, Charlotte will tell stories of the labyrinth’s elegant but confounding shapes, and the forms it inspires in other areas.

Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief culture writer. Aside from her work for the Guardian, Charlotte is a columnist for Prospect, has contributed to the New Yorker and Frieze, and has written and presented documentaries for BBC radio. With the exception of 2015’s timely examination of the history of the national broadcaster (This New Noise: The Extraordinary Birth and Troubled Life of the BBC), Charlotte’s books have all focused on aspects of the classical world. It’s All Greek to Me (2008) and Latin Love Lessons (2007) are witty, informative celebrations of the encounter with Greece and Rome; 2013’s Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain tracks the ancient world a little closer to home and was described by the Sunday Times as ‘a haunting, lyrical look at Roman Britain and its echoes in our culture’. Charlotte’s latest book is Red Thread: On Mazes and Labyrinths. Called ‘a masterwork’ by Ali Smith, it was a Radio 4 Book of the Week. Charlotte is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and was recently selected by novelist Elif Shafak as one of ‘ten brilliant female writers working in the UK today’ for a British Council/PEN showcase

Tickets are priced at £12 or £24 with dinner (2 courses, including tea / coffee). 

On the rare occasion that Writer in Residence books are only available as hardback and/or academic publications, tickets will not include a complimentary copy of this book. Copies of the winning book will however be available at Gladstone's Library at a reduced price throughout the writer's residency.

Image: David Levene

Please note that tickets for this event are e-tickets. Book online and have your tickets emailed directly to you – then save the environment by bringing along your e-ticket on your phone or tablet and have it scanned as you enter the event. If you would prefer to print your ticket, black and white is fine.

A print and collect service is available to those without access to email facilities for a small charge to cover our admin costs. Call 01244 532350 or email [email protected] for more information. Printed tickets will be available to collect from Reception before the event.