Blog Archives - Devonia Road

Sarah Siddons: the first celebrity actress

Jo Willett — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 17:06:55 +0000

Pleased to announce my biography of the actress Sarah Siddons is published 30 May 2024.

Sarah had shot to fame relatively recently when Gainsborough painted her as a society beauty rather than a working performer.

He complained about the length of her nose.

But she knew that his portrait would only increase her status as the First Celebrity Actress.

Gainsborough’s famous portrait of the celebrity actress, Sarah Siddons

The post Sarah Siddons: the first celebrity actress appeared first on Devonia Road.

Lady Mary’s Porcelain

Jo Willett — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 08:23:41 +0000

It’s been fun to discover more about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu porcelain – something I didn’t know about until after my Lady Mary biography was published.

21. Plate with undulating edges, D: 8 ¾ inch, M: blue fretted square; P: Stephen Hanscombe Collection

The post Lady Mary’s Porcelain appeared first on Devonia Road.

Bafta Nomination

Jo Willett — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 10:56:49 +0000

Delighted that MANHUNT – THE NIGHTSTALKER has been nominated for a BAFTA Drama Series Award.

BAFTA-Drama-Series-Nominations Downlo
ad

The post Bafta Nomination appeared first on Devonia Road.

Oxford Literary Festival 2022

Jo Willett — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 10:31:29 +0000

This has to be the most beautiful venue ever for Jo’s Lady Mary talk.

The Bodleian Divinity School. Thanks OxLitFest.

The post Oxford Literary Festival 2022 appeared first on Devonia Road.

Illustrious Company

Jo Willett — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 08:56:47 +0000

Jo very impressed by her co-speakers at the upcoming Oxford Literary Festival.

The post Illustrious Company appeared first on Devonia Road.

The IR-evolution

Stuart Rock — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 12:03:10 +0000

There have been huge changes in the ways that publicly quoted firms communicate with their investors over the past two years. The digitalisation of communications, which has been accelerated by the Covid pandemic, is one factor. The growing focus among many investors on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is the other. These themes are explored in a recent survey and new report which Stuart has written with London Stock Exchange; download it here.

The post The IR-evolution appeared first on Devonia Road.

Upcoming Lady Mary talks

Jo Willett — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 13:45:00 +0000

Over the next few months Jo’s going to be talking at the following events about her book, The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu:

The Anglo-Turkish Society – tbc

The Oxford Literary Festival Wednesday 30 March

Tangerine Book Club Monday 4 April (invitation only)

Enstone History Society Wednesday 11 May

Hundred of Yetminster History Society Wednesday 12 October

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – vaccine pioneer

The post Upcoming Lady Mary talks appeared first on Devonia Road.

Oxford Literary Festival

Jo Willett — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:20:30 +0000

Jo will be talking about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu at the Oxford Literary Festival at 10am on Wednesday 30 March.

The post Oxford Literary Festival appeared first on Devonia Road.

Lady Mary at the Richmond Literature Festival

Jo Willett — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 10:57:45 +0000

Jo is giving her next talk about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu at the 2021 Richmond Literature Festival on November 13, at 2:30pm at the Old Town Hall. It’s a particularly appropriate event and place, as Lady Mary’s pioneering inoculation of her daughter took place in Twickenham. Jo will be in conversation with the biographer and historian Anne Sebba. Here’s the link to buy a ticket.

The post Lady Mary at the Richmond Literature Festival appeared first on Devonia Road.

ScaleUp Institute Annual Review 2021

Stuart Rock — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 10:36:41 +0000

As ever, it’s been exhilarating and fascinating to contribute to the ScaleUp Institute’s authoritative and respected Annual Review. It puts the spotlight firmly on the 33,000-odd companies which account for 50% of all the turnover generated by the UK’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) despite making up less than 0.6% of their population. There’s a wealth of data, including the findings of its annual survey of more than 500 scaleups; a wide range of policy recommendations; reviews of all the support programmes endorsed by the ScaleUp Institute; summaries of the scaleup landscape in every local area in the UK; along with ten insight articles and 15 new scaleup stories. If you want to learn about entrepreneurial Britain, this is a vital reference tool.

The post ScaleUp Institute Annual Review 2021 appeared first on Devonia Road.