News

March 2010

EARLY 20TH CENTURY WRITER BROUGHT TO LIFE AT THE SPRING LECTURE

Gifted author, the late Katherine Mansfield, was brought vividly to life at Westonbirt School's recent Spring Term Lecture.

The school was delighted to welcome as speaker Dr Gerri Kimber, Chair of the Katherine Mansfield Society, who brought with her four special guests, including the writer's great niece Janine Renshaw-Beauchamp.

Dr Kimber treated the audience to a sparkling account of Katherine Mansfield's tragically short, but always eventful, life and even provided a dress, worn by the young Katherine, to help illustrate her talk.  In addition, she highlighted a local connection to the author whose sisters, one of whom had lived at Duntisbourne Rous, provided the church organ there in memory of Katherine.

There was an added bonus for the Westonbirt students who attended the lecture; as Patron of the Katherine Mansfield Society, children's and young person's author Dame Jacqueline Wilson sent a personal letter to the girls, which was read out by Dr Kimber. The text of that letter is here .

After the inspiring lecture many took advantage of the book sale, arranged by the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop of Tetbury, in order to buy Katherine Mansfield biographies and collections of her work.