Write & Shine: City of Subterfuge - Elizabeth Bowen and Muriel Spark (Online)
The London Library
- Workshop
Fri, 11 Sep 2026 "> published -
Event Summary
Event Description
Join Write & Shine bright and early, live from The London Library for a 90-minute virtual writing workshop exploring London as a city of espionage, secrecy and hidden lives.
In this workshop, we'll read fiction by London Library members Muriel Spark (1918-2006), whose novel The Hothouse by the East River channels her work in wartime intelligence and explores how the past continues to haunt the present, and Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), whose masterpiece The Heat of the Day, set in 1942, places London at the heart of intrigue, betrayal and shifting allegiances. We'll think about the ways London lends itself to stories of secrecy: a city of subterfuge, coded messages, overheard conversations and shadowy encounters.
This workshop is part of a series of morning writing sessions led by author Gemma Seltzer, inspired by The London Library's rich literary heritage. Together we'll uncover London as a secret city-a landscape of dreams, disguises and shadows.
Write & Shine workshops take place in the early morning light - the best time to think, dream and imagine! You won't be expected to share your writing, which offers great freedom and encourages all kinds of fascinating ideas to emerge.
Our events programme is presented in partnership with Hakluyt & Company, the global strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors.
NB This is an online workshop via Zoom. Please log in at 7:30am for 7:45am start. You will be sent a Zoom link a few days before the workshop (if you do not receive it, please check your junk file or email us).
Fee Required:
Standard Tickets (inc booking fees): £24.38
Event Overview
- Event Title: Write & Shine: City of Subterfuge - Elizabeth Bowen and Muriel Spark (Online)
- Type: Workshop
- Date: Fri, 9th Oct 2026
- Location: Remote
How to Book
- Contact name: The London Library
- Contact email: [email protected]
About The London Library
The London Library is one of the world's great lending libraries, with an amazing collection of around 1 million books, and an equally extraordinary history.
Behind its elegant facade overlooking St. James's Square is a vast network of books, where since the mid-nineteenth century, seven buildings have been brought into one and a great centre of learning and ideas has been created.