A talk with author Carol Atherton.
How can a Victorian poem help teenagers understand YouTube misogyny? Can
Jane Eyre encourage us to speak out? What can Lady Macbeth teach us about empathy? And why is it so important to make space for these conversations in the first place?
Hear from author and English teacher Carol Atherton about her book,
Reading Lessons - delving into the evolving relevance of the books we were taught at school and the power of reading. The event will be hosted by our
Programme Officer, Angela Clare, who did her English A Levels at one of the schools Carol taught in!
This event is part of our 2024 Brontë Festival of Women's Writing. Find out more about the festival here.
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In a career spanning almost three decades, English teacher Carol Atherton has taught generations of students texts that will be familiar to many of us from our own schooldays. But while the staples of exam syllabuses and reading lists remain largely unchanged, their significance – and their relevance – evolves with each class, as it encounters them for the first time.
Each chapter of Reading Lessons, The books we read at school, the conversations they spark and why they matter, invites us to take a fresh look at these novels, plays, and poems, revealing how they have shaped our beliefs, our values, and how we interact as a society. As she recalls her own development as a teacher, Atherton emphasizes the vital, undervalued role a teacher plays, illustrates how essential reading is for developing our empathy, and makes a passionate case for the enduring power of literature.