Life is a Lottery: The story of Mary Russell Mitford

Nigel Gossop


Regions:
Hampshire, West Sussex, Dorset
Notice Period:
Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
Type:
Retired
Fee:
Paid: £60.00 plus travel at 45p per mile
Category:
History
Updated:
31st May 2025
Tagged:

Mary Russell Mitford (1787 - 1855) and Jane Austen were born just 10 years apart and with only 15 miles between them, but never met and experienced very different lives in achieving literary success. Mary became a successful author, dramatist, poet and renowned prolific letter writer. She is predominantly remembered today for her Our Village stories, first published as a series of sketches in the periodical The Lady's Magazine and later published as a series of very successful books that are still in print in various guises today. Our Village is a snapshot of village life in Three Mile Cross near Reading, where Mary lived with her mother and father in a tiny workers cottage after he had recklessly gambled and spent his way through two fortunes, and despite constant family struggles to deal her father's wayward behaviour, she still managed to achieve literary success and popularity. The talk explores elements of Mary's life, her constantly forgiving relationship with her father and her literary successes as a poet, playwright and author. Duration: 60 minutes Illustrated: PowerPoint

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About Nigel Gossop

I have been a book collector, researcher and keen writer for more than forty years. In 2009 I founded 'The Westerman Yarns', a collective of like minded people who research, promote and encourage interest in the lives and works of children’s adventure writers. I have worked in music, the arts and event management; a specialist topic that I taught at a further education college for ten years until I embarked on my misspent retirement when I threw myself into researching more about many of the topics that I never found the time to explore, whilst holding down a ‘proper job’. During my time as a local authority arts officer I worked on several literature festivals that developed and expanded my interest in literary research, and fired my enthusiasm for learning about the lives and works of ‘forgotten’ and lesser known authors. More recently I have conducted research into the history of the area where I live, in particular, the diverse history of the north of Portsmouth and Portsdown Hill. I hope that you find something to interest your audience in my diverse list of talks. If you want to know more or have any questions, please email me.


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