This talk opens up new perspectives on rural Britain during the Victorian era. Corinne Fowler will discuss her book of country walks, which explores how the influx of colonial wealth impacted on landownership, agriculture and rural society. Her talk includes the return of the Tolpuddle Martyrs from penal colonies in modern day Australia and Tasmania, the 1860s Lancashire cotton famine and its origins in the American Civil War, the loss of common land in Norfolk and Rider Haggard's day job as an agriculturalist.

Corinne Fowler is Professor of Colonialism and Heritage in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. In 2020 Corinne co-authored an audit of peer-reviewed research about National Trust properties’ connections to empire, which galvanized the heritage sector to address its colonial stories and became a major media story. The report won the Museums and Heritage Special Recognition Award, 2022 and an Eastern Eye Award 2023. Before this, Corinne directed Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted, a child-led history and writing project (2018-2022), resulting in a book of commissioned writing called Colonial Countryside (Peepal Tree Press, July 2024) which was funded by Arts Council England. Corinne’s new book Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain was published on 2 May 2024 by Penguin Allen Lane.

 This talk is free of charge for all BMI members and £5 for non-members. Please contact reception on 0121 2363591 for more details.