Summer courses 2027

Our 2027 Summer Course will study five fascinating women writers of the 1920s.

The course will run twice: first, live online, provisional dates Thursday 22 July to Monday 26 July 2027 (includes the weekend). Then in person in Cambridge, Sunday 5 September to Friday 10 September 2027.

Set Reading

• Rosamond Lehmann, Dusty Answer (1927)
• Katherine Mansfield, The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922)
• Winifred Holtby, Land of Green Ginger (1927; Virago, 2011)
• Sylvia Townsend Warner, The True Heart (1929; Penguin, 2021)
• Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September (1929)

 Also, please read/re-read Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929).

Afternoon talks: provisional topics
• Women artists of the 1920s
• Women students in Cambridge in the 1920s
• Ethel Smyth’s music of the 1920s
• Women, socialism and communism in the 1920s
• Women Poets of the 1920s

The summer course has a rich programme of lectures, supervisions (tutorials), talks, readings, and discussions. Our teachers include leading literary scholars and experienced Cambridge supervisors. We will spend a week immersed in the great writings and ideas of these writers.

The course is based on 5 books which we will study in close detail, one book per day. Each day, there is a lecture and a supervision (tutorial) in the morning. In the afternoon there are walks, talks and discussions. In the Cambridge course, we will visit a place of interest in Cambridge each afternoon, with an expert talk relevant to our course. In past courses we have visited Girton College, Newnham College, Trinity College, Trinity Hall, King’s College, Kettle’s Yard, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and more. Details of 2027 Cambridge visits will be announced soon.

Course dates live online: Thursday 22 July to Monday 26 July 2027 (includes the weekend).

Course dates in Cambridge: 5-10 September 2027. Arrive in Cambridge Sunday afternoon 5 September, depart Saturday morning 11 September 2027.

You can see some galleries of photos from our 2026 summer course in Cambridge on our Blog pages.

Bookings open soon