Skip to main content

A History of Delusions

7.15pm Wednesday 25 May 2022 

£8 / £5  concessions (Advance tickets)

£5 Live Stream (Tickets)

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL

Tube: Holborn

Directions

Mailing List

Facebook event page

The brain can misfire in extraordinary ways…


Where do delusions come from and what do they mean? For centuries, delusions have been dismissed as something for doctors to sort out behind closed doors. But delusions are more than just bizarre quirks: they hold the key to collective anxieties and traumas.

The King of France – thinking he was made of glass – was terrified he might shatter…and he wasn’t alone.

After the Emperor met his end at Waterloo, an epidemic of Napoleons piled into France’s asylums.

Throughout the nineteenth century, dozens of middle-aged women tried to convince their physicians that they were, in fact, dead.

For centuries we’ve dismissed delusions as something for doctors to sort out behind locked doors. But delusions are more than just bizarre quirks – they hold the key to collective anxieties and traumas..

Based on the Radio 4 series of the same name, Victoria Shepherd’s book A History of Delusions is a groundbreaking history which uncovers stories of delusions from medieval times to the present day. 

Victoria Shepherd conceived and produced the ten-part series A History of Delusions for BBC Radio 4. She has produced scores of documentaries and major strands for BBC Radio 4. She holds an M.A. in creative writing from the University of East Anglia.

7.15pm Wednesday 25 May 2022 

£8 / £5  concessions (Advance tickets)

£5 Live Stream (Tickets)

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL

Tube: Holborn

Directions

Mailing List

Facebook event page


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

  *** TUBE STRIKE *** Although the tube strike has been called off, we'd already shifted the date of our next meeting at the Bell, Jeremy Harte speaking on Gypsies and the Supernatural , from Tuesday July 25 to Tuesday August 1 . Please note that we're sticking with this new date.

Art / Magic / Lore

Magical Art, Radical Folk Dance, Sacred Landscapes, and Women's Stories. Saturday 29 June 2024 Doors, coffee from 10.30 am Talks: 11 am - 6 pm (inc. breaks) £18 / £14 cons  Advance tickets Conway Hall , 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn Directions London Fortean's Mailing List Facebook event Art, magic, and folklore cross over and over again making new forms of creativity and lore. Join us at Conway Hall on 29 June 2024, for talks and discussions on making new traditions, art and magic, lost woman artists, radical Morris Dance, and much more. Talks and performance timings: 10:30 There should be coffee 11:00 Doors 11:15 Thomas Sharp, Marc Spicer & Rosey Trickett: Circling the Square Mile 11:45 Break 12:00 Jennifer Higgie: A Journey into Women, Art, and the Spirit World 12:30 Amy Hale - “This current drew you”: Ithell Colquhoun’s erotic energies and sacred landscapes 13:00 Lunch 14:00 Site-Specific Performance: Aliki Karveli 14:30 Break 14:...

Time-Slips

  Time-Slips 26 November 2024 In the early years of the 20th century, two ladies visited the gardens of Versailles. Whilst there, they apparently slipped back in time to the late 18th century. They published a book describing their experience, which in later years was debunked as misperception and hallucination. Case closed. Or is it? There are a plethora of similar contemporary reports of apparent slips through time, from brief glimpses to full interactive experiences. Most reports describe features from the past, but a few describe possible slips forward in time. Dr Ann Winspe r has been researching people apparently travelling through time for the last 20 years. She describes some of these fascinating cases and looks at possible explanations, as well as how not all can be explained through misperception and psychology. Venue: The Bell 50 Middlesex Street E1 7EX (Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East) Date: 26 November 2024 Doors: 7.30pm Start: 8pm Tickets: £5/£...