POLISHING THE PEBBLE: DR JOHNSON AND THE ART OF 18TH CENTURY LETTER WRITING
JOIN US THIS NOVEMBER FOR THE DR JOHNSON'S HOUSE MONTHLY LECTURE SPONSORED BY FSQ.
TUESDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 12.30PM - DR JOHNSON'S HOUSE
For Samuel Johnson and his contemporaries, letter writing was an essential component of daily life, providing a tangible proof of connection and so helping to develop and sustain friendships. With entertaining and insightful extracts from letters and other sources, Liz Ison will explore Johnson’s views on letter writing and discuss why he felt it to be an important branch of literature.
Dr Liz Ison
Liz Ison has recently published A Literary Letter for Every Day of the Year (September 2025). She studied English Literature at Cambridge, before training as a speech and language therapist and gaining a doctorate from University College London. Liz is a freelance museum educator at the Charles Dickens Museum, and has designed literary tours for the National Portrait Gallery and Sir John Soane’s Museum and poetry walks with the Poetry Pharmacy.
Tickets:
Your ticket includes the opportunity to look around Dr Johnson's House, to learn about the unique architectural features of the last surviving Grade I listed historic townhouse in Fleet Street Quarter. It also includes a complimentary lunch from local business Dilieto on Fleet Street.
The small charge for this lecture is to ensure good attendance and reduce drop outs, and is far below the normal cost for a similar event. This lecture series has been sponsored by the Fleet Street Quarter.
Lunch:
A sandwich lunch (meat, fish, vegetarian, vegan) along with fresh cut fruits, and bottled water will be served at this event. Please be advised that we are unable to guarantee that the food provided is free from allergens.
Find out more
Fleet Street Quarter Instagram
Picture credit: Edwaert Collier (c.1640–c.1707) A Trompe l'oeil of Newspapers, Letters and Writing Implements on a Wooden BoardCreative commons licence: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/a-trompe-loeil-of-newspapers-letters-and-writing-implements-on-a-wooden-board-117763