Name: Did Victorians believe heavy drinking caused Spontaneous Human Combustion? Online and in-person talk
Start: 2026-03-18T18:30:00+00:00
End: 2026-03-18T19:30:00+00:00
Location: Bath Road, BS4 3EW Bristol, United Kingdom

Did Victorians believe heavy drinking caused Spontaneous Human Combustion? Online and in-person talk

Alcohol researcher and Victorianist, Dr Pam Lock, University of Bristol presents a talk at Arnos Vale Cemetery to share one of her most unusual areas of research: Victorian theories about spontaneous human combustion and how they helped found the new discipline of alcohol medicine.
Come and join us to find out what Dickens thought about spontaneous human combustion (spoiler: he was a true believer) and the scientists and physicians who fought back and learned surprising things about alcohol when they did.
No open flames please.
About our speaker
Dr Pam Lock is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol. She has researched and published on alcohol in Victorian fiction and culture for over 10 years and recently collaborated with the British Library to curate one of their 'Tales of the Weird' series entitled Dead Drunk. Her monograph on The Drunkard in Victorian Fiction and Culture comes out next year with Edinburgh University Press. Pam also works with local community-led and pub-based 'Think While You Drink' and 'She Drinks Beer' to put on alcohol-related events across the City.