The Caterham History Festival on Saturday 16 November - a perfect day for Carthusian historians to discover compelling stories from prominent historians and authors. Year 12 pupil Ivan shares his experience.
Upon arriving at the Caterham School History Festival, we settled into our room and headed to the first lecture. We kicked things off with Mr Geoffrey Hosking OBE’s, “How Ukraine Became a Nation-State”. Here we explored the complex history of Ukraine’s national identity, specifically through the lens of literary figures and pedagogical advancements. This was followed by Dr Linda Porter’s “The Thistle and the Rose: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret Tudor”; looking at the valuable role of marriage in forming political alliances in the Sixteenth Century.
Between lectures there were book signings, fruitful discussions, and plenty of nerdy questions from eager history pupils!
The penultimate lecture, “Devil-Land: England Under Siege, 1588-1688” by Professor Clare Jackson, had us scribbling down notes faster than we could process the flood of historical detail.
Finally, Sir Richard Evans wrapped up the event with a riveting talk on “Hitler’s People”, exploring the psychology of Nazi leadership, and its impact upon the German people. He also discussed his role in the Irving vs Penguin Books and Lipstadt trial, and consequentially the importance of precision in historical analysis.
A special thank you to Caterham School for hosting us with such gracious hospitality, and to Mrs McDonald and Mr Brinkley.
Between lectures there were book signings, fruitful discussions, and plenty of nerdy questions from eager history pupils!
Ivan (Year 12)
Signed copies of all the latest books by all the speakers are available to borrow from the School Library.
