The muse has finally revisited Wrightington Towers
i.e. Our Autumn ‘26 programme is now available!
Artemisia Gentileschi, Clio, la Musa della Storia (La fama), 1632
Pisa, Palazzo Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi/Palazzo Blu
Image here via: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gentileschi,_Artemisia_-_Clio_-_1632.jpg
Muses can be elusive.
As discussion about and reviews of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey dominate the cultural pages of mainstream and social media just now, it’s perhaps not surprising that my mind has turned to our own adventures with Homer. And it’s struck me that even Homer had to invoke the Muse as he embarked upon The Odyssey, from which one can only conclude that she wasn’t with him 24/7, permanently at his beck and call.
By the time Robert and I were first in need of a muse in our respective careers, the muse workload had been divided into more manageable portfolios.* Clio - the muse of our chosen profession - was nevertheless still very busy, and consequently not always able to visit when we needed her.
*[This may not have been quite how it was framed at the time that the muses were proliferating and acquiring specialisms. See here for a less flippant but still brief account.]
James Gillray, Les Plaisir du Mènage, 1781
Image here via: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Les_plaisir_du_m%C3%A8nage_by_James_Gillray.jpg
And this continues to be the case on occasion. No matter how much his wife may nag him gently enquire as to what next term might bring, an historian can only get a clear idea of where his inspiration will take him when the muse is with him.
But lo! All good things come to those who wait.
I am, therefore, delighted to announce that our Autumn programme is now open!
We have one ten-week course for you - and it’s one we’ve been cooking up for some time now, waiting for the moment when we were completely happy to set it before you. Taking The Canterbury Tales as inspiration and a point of departure, voila, an exploration of the social landscape of medieval England:
As the next part of our term’s ‘spine’, we venture further afield for a course which will be in two iterations: online and in-venue at Pickering…
Lands of the Buddha: An artistic and cultural journey through Asia (online)
Lands of the Buddha: An artistic and cultural journey through Asia (Pickering)
Please note that the mid-point break for both versions of this will not be in the traditional half-term week. Please see the course pages for dates.
Next, a 5-week course which Robert has been nurturing for a long time, and about which he’s especially excited, because it features some of his favourite art and pieces:
We then offer the latest instalment in our Things Roman strand:
Next up…
…Because of course we have to do it!
We also have three Short & Sweet courses for you now (with our traditional post-half term Short & Sweet slots remaining TBC for a wee while):
Phew! As you can see, when she finally got around to visiting us, we didn’t let that muse disappear for some time!
We hope you agree that it was worth the wait.