News & Events
Victoria Shepherd – Essex Book Festival
Maldon Library, White Horse Lane, Maldon, CM9 5FW, June 30, 2022 7:00 pm
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.
Based on the Radio 4 series of the same name, A History of Delusions is a ground-breaking history which uncovers stories of delusions from medieval times to the present day.
Join Victoria Shepherd as she uncovers stories of delusions from medieval times to the present day and implores us to identify reason in apparent madness.
Box Office: Book online or via Mercury Theatre 01206 573948
A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband, and a Walking Corpse by Victoria Shepherd
Why would someone wake up and claim they’re Napoleon?
What made the King of France terrified he might shatter?
Why did middle-aged women in the 19th century try to convince their physicians that they were, in fact, dead?
The answer: A delusion – a fixed idea, not shared by others, unshakable in the face of decisive evidence to the contradicting it.
The brain can misfire in extraordinary ways…
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.
Based on the Radio 4 series of the same name, A History of Delusions is a groundbreaking history which uncovers stories of delusions from medieval times to the present day.
Where do delusions come from and what do they mean? Victoria Shepherd’s thoughtful prose implores us all to identify reason within apparent madness.
‘Fascinating and compassionate… A captivating study of how expressions of trauma can be understood, and a powerful argument for treatment by “kind attention”.’ HORATIO CLARE, author of Heavy Light
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, and is a director of Winchester Literary Festival.
You can follow Victoria on Twitter @VictoriaShephe1
#AHistoryofDelusions
