My talks concentrate on a book I have just published about my forefather who owned one of the largest shipping companies in the 1850s. He had an amazing life. It is a story of rags to riches. Born in Ayr, orphaned by the age of 10, he ran away to sea, set up a shipbroking company in London, and became an MP. He met many influential people in his day; Brunel, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lincoln, Dickens, Paxton, Emperor Napoleon II, and Queen Victoria. I have conducted a speaker tour consisting of 50 talks around Britain, commencing July 2023. Many more are booked. Subjects for talks include: Emigration to Australia in the 1850s. The evolution of sail to steamships. Corruption in British politics in the 1850s. William Schaw Lindsay MP Victorian Shipping Magnate. Ocean sailing in the 1830s. William Schaw Lindsay Confederate Advocate. Transport ships to the Crimean War.