Dr Johnson’s House cordially invites you to join Dr Johnson’s Reading Circle- an intimate after-hours reading group led by a prominent eighteenth-century academic in the former home of Dr Samuel Johnson. The Reading Circle will meet in the unique surroundings of 17 Gough Square to read and discuss fiction and non-fiction from, and about, the time in which Johnson lived. Dr Jane Darcy of University College London will lead the bi-monthly meetings, which aim to encourage a convivial atmosphere and lively conversation on the themes of pre-selected texts.

The inaugural meeting will take place on Tuesday 13 October, 6.30pm – 7.45pm, and will discuss Beryl Bainbridge’s ‘According to Queeney’, a fictional account of Johnson’s friendship with the Thrale family. Hester Thrale’s fine tea equipage is on hand for inspiration, displayed in the Parlour of the House. For each subsequent meeting, a book will be chosen from a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, both eighteenth-century and modern, including Jane Austen’s ‘Juvenilia’ and Fanny Burney’s ‘Evelina’. The Circle will, of course, be reading selections from Boswell’s ‘Life of Johnson’, on occasion. A summer outing to Dr Johnson’s birthplace in Lichfield is envisaged.

Bi-monthly meetings, 6.30 – 7.45pm
Dates of upcoming meetings:
Tuesday 13 October, 6.30pm
Tuesday 8 December, 6.30pm
Tuesday 19 January, 6.30pm
Tuesday 8 March, 6.30pm
Tuesday 10 May, 6.30pm
Tuesday 7 June, 6.30pm

The Reading Circle is open to all, though booking is required.
Tickets: £10 per session or £50 for six sessions (tickets include a complimentary glass of wine).