RSL presents: A Century of Mrs Dalloway

Merve Emre is the Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing and Criticism at Wesleyan University and the Director of the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism. Her books include Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America, The Personality Brokers (selected as one of the best books of 2018 by the New York Times, The Economist, NPR, and The Spectator), The Ferrante Letters (winner of the 2021 PROSE award for literature), and The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway.

Phelim McDermott is a founder member and co-Artistic Director of Improbable Theatre. He has won various awards such as an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, TMA Awards for Best Touring Production and Best Director and a Critics Circle Best Designer Award. He was awarded a National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts Fellowship. He produced an opera of ‘The Hours’ for The Metropolitan Opera, New York.

Elaine Showalter is a leading scholar of women’s literature, celebrated for her witty analysis of English and American literary and popular culture. A Professor Emerita at Princeton University, and a past president of the Modern Language Association (MLA), Showalter is acknowledged to be a 'founding mother' of feminist literary criticism. Her books include A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing; Towards a Feminist Poetics; Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Media. A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx.

This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre and is also available to watch online. Tickets may be booked to attend in person, or to watch on our platform either live or during the next 7 days on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out in the confirmation email you receive after booking.   

If you’re attending in person, please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk

There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, half-price tickets for students and under 26s, free entry for carers as well as a number of other concessions.