BRATTON HISTORY ASSOCIATION Writing in the Wiltshire Landscape: Edith Olivier in Wilton and beyond with Susannah Walker
October 19 @ 4:00 pm
4pm Sunday 19
On one hand, it’s not surprising that Edith Olivier is not that well known. She stayed in Wilton for almost all her long life, and in many ways lived the conventional life of the Canon’s daughter that she was. But she also deserves far more recognition than she gets, not just for her excellent fiction and clearsighted accounts of Wiltshire and its traditions, but also for the much more idiosyncratic second life that began in her 50s.
This talk will look at the many contradictions of Olivier’s life: the travel writer who stayed at home; the conventional Victorian who saw ghosts and the middle-aged spinster who befriended all the Bright Young Things. And the woman with no formal education who became a well-known – but whose works are only now being recognised again. In particular, it will look in detail at what Olivier learned from remaining in Wilton all her life and will examine Wiltshire through her, very clear, eyes.
Susannah Walker lives in Somerset and studied English Literature at Cambridge followed by History of Design at the Royal College of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum. After working as a curator and writer, she worked as a television producer and director for the BBC and Channel 4. She now combines freelance writing and lecturing with working for the charity she co-founded, Make Space for Girls, which campaigns for better parks and public spaces for teenage girls. She is the author of several books including The Hard Way, published by Unbound in 2024 and The Life of Stuff, which was shortlisted for the James Tait Black prize in 2019.
Cost: members: £2.00, non-members: £4.00