In conjunction with Balliol College Library’s current exhibition, Dervorguilla and Daughters: 750 Years of Women at Balliol, we are excited to host Stephen Edwards from Southampton University for a lunchtime talk that delves deeper into the story of one of the great women in Balliol’s history: the bestselling novelist, philanthropist and political lobbyist Mary Augusta Ward.

Influenced by the religion and philosophy of her uncle, poet Matthew Arnold (Balliol 1841); Balliol Fellow T.H. Green (Balliol 1861), who was fictionalised in Ward’s ‘Robert Elsmere’; and Arnold Toynbee (Balliol 1875), who was cast as Hallin in her book ‘Marcella’, this talk will discuss the connections to Balliol in Mary Augusta Ward’s work. Through her writing and the foundation of cultural institutions, we’ll see how she developed a complex balance of reforming liberalism, Christian socialism and one-nation Toryism that set out to change society and which led the way, some commentators maintain, to the creation of the modern welfare state.

Unlocking Archives is a series of lunchtime talks about current research in Balliol College’s special collections. All are welcome and are invited to feel free to bring lunch. The talks last about half an hour, to allow time for questions and a closer look at some of the collections discussed.