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We're happy to announce the 2026 Fairbrother Lecture -THE WOMAN WITH THE SECRET TYPEWRITER
Class, escapism and empowerment in Mills & Boon
Tuesday 28 April 2026, 18:00 | Doors open 17:50 | Reading Biscuit Factory
Mills & Boon romances have long been a beloved escape for millions of readers – but the women who actually wrote them often lived far from the glamorous worlds they created. Many came from modest or working‑class backgrounds, carving out space for creativity at kitchen tables, in snatched hours, and sometimes in secrecy.
Join doctoral researcher and poet Vic Pickup as she brings these hidden lives into the spotlight. Drawing on a remarkable treasure trove of material from University of Reading Special Collections, Vic uncovers the hopes, struggles and everyday realities of the women who shaped one of Britain’s most iconic literary brands. Through an array of unexpected insights from the archives, this talk invites you to rethink what Mills & Boon really meant for the women behind the typewriters – a means of escape, and in one extraordinary case, a story of survival.
Book now: www.readingbiscuitfactory.co.uk/movie/university-of-reading-fairbrother-lecture-the-woman-with-the-secret-typewriter/
FREE EVENT | BOOKING ESSENTIAL
#EnglishLiterature #RomanceWriting #WomensWriting #WomensHistory #Poetry #Publishing #MillsandBoon #RomanceWriter #PhDResearch #DoctoralResearch #PhD #WorkingClassWriting #WorkingClassWriters #socialmobility #CreativeIndustries #CreativeWriting #readinguk #readingukberkshire
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Event Venue
Reading Biscuit Factory, Barber Shop, Oxford Road, Reading, RG1 7QE, United Kingdom
Tickets
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