More info and tickets: https://www.bostonbookfest.co.uk/programme.php

Lucy Locket lost her pocket / Kitty Fisher found it / not a penny was there in it / only ribbon round it.

Kitty Fisher was an eighteenth-century courtesan, and the first female celebrity as we understand the concept of celebrity today. She was famous simply for being famous. In her talk, Joanne will explain how Kitty came by her sudden fame, and the methods she used to maintain it. She will look at the eighteenth-century ‘cult of celebrity,’ at Kitty’s many wonderful portraits, explain how Kitty influenced her era’s fashion, and also how this fascinating woman was described in print. The talk will end by discussing the nursery rhyme through which Kitty’s name has continued to resonate.