A dynamic reappraisal of Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, and its impact on radicals and revolutionaries from Virginia Woolf to Malcolm X.

Hybrid event presented by Orlando Reade, the author of What In Me Is Dark, which was a Financial Times Book of the Year.

Summoned in Haiti’s struggle against colonial rule, read in prison by the young Malcolm X, and reimagined by Virginia Woolf - this is the revolutionary history of Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost

Orlando Reade shows the many different, surprising, and often contradictory ways in which Milton’s epic poemParadise Lost has been read across centuries and continents.

Boldly original, lively, and far-reaching,What in Me Is Dark is the story of how a work of literature born in the ashes of a failed revolution became an indelible part of the modern imagination.

Orlando is a writer from London. He studied English at Cambridge and Princeton, where he received his PhD in 2020. He has written about culture and politics for publications includingFrieze, theGuardian, and theWhite Review, where he served as a contributing editor.

Join us for a rare opportunity to hear from one of the most exciting scholars of John Milton. Your ticket will include delicious canapes and wine in the historic Mercers' Hall.

Money raised from ticket sales will go to support the upkeep of the Milton's Cottage Museum in Chalfont St Giles, the only surviving home of John Milton, and where he wrote Paradise Lost. It is also very well worth a visit. And the garden is gorgeous too.

Description supplied by the event organiser.