I remember exactly the moment in my life when I read Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. By Jove was being formed, I was going through a pretty rough patch three years into a five year relationship, and as I undertook my MRes I was becoming increasingly immersed in classical literature in a scholarly way. Miller’s book left a lasting impression on me – not least in its implicit directive to see old stories from Read more

Tickets are now available for a new, one-off performance from By Jove Theatre. ***Only a few tickets remain!*** Women in the Iliad often seem to be possessions to be passed around, damsels in distress waiting to be rescued, or victims of war fearing a fate that they cannot control. In the Odyssey, though female characters are slightly more prominent, many of them serve as little more than markers on Odysseus’ journey or objectives for him to reach. In Read more

As a feminist classicist, it was only so long before this particular work came up! Mary Beard is perhaps the most well-known classicist in Britain, not just because she’s Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Arts Professor of Ancient Literature, but because of her numerous and popular television programmes, radio appearances, and column ‘A Don’s Life’ in the Times Literary Supplement. Her work is wide-ranging, though she is perhaps Read more

In this new regular series, we introduce you to some of By Jove’s Icons – the women who inspire us in our theatrical work, research, activism, and personal lives. Check back every four weeks for a Who, When, and Why on our heroines!   Who: Lillah McCarthy, actress   When: 1875-1960   Why she’s a feminist icon: Lillah McCarthy was a prominent actress on the early twentieth century London stage. Prior to coming to London, she toured with Read more

For the past couple of years, I’ve set a target of how many books I’d like to read over the year. That target has averaged out at 25, a number that seems low until you consider the fact that I only count non-work books and that a large part of my job involves reading. I don’t often have time to sit down for a long reading session, and so many of the books I read Read more

Our first two weeks of By Jove Book Club have been non-fiction-heavy. Fear not, those who need a little more escapism: this month, we finally have a novel! Not just a novel, but a historical novel, and, coming off the back of our recent season of shows, no less than a historical novel about an allegedly violent woman. Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites takes as its subject the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be Read more