HistFest 2026: The Brontë Sisters with Dr Tara Puri, Essie Fox and Greg Jenner

This event, originally titled ‘The Brontë Sisters: Lives and Legacies’, took place on 19 April 2026. The information below is correct as of the publication date.

Interest in the Brontë sisters has never been more intense, with Emerald Fennell’s controversial new adaptation of Wuthering Heights and the announcement of a fresh adaptation of Jane Eyre bringing their work into the spotlight.

Join novelist Essie Fox, author of Catherine: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights, and scholar of Victorian literature, Dr Tara Puri, as they delve into the lives, imaginations, and enduring influence of the Brontë sisters. Chaired by broadcaster and public historian Greg Jenner, this lively discussion explored the myths and realities surrounding Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, and why their stories continue to captivate readers and filmmakers alike.

This event took place as part of HistFest 2026 and was supported by PLB Ltd.

About HistFest:

HistFest is a dynamic history festival that celebrates the brightest and the best in the world of history over an exciting weekend of talks, discussions, performance and music.

To join more online and in person events visit our website: https://events.bl.uk/

Discover more of our past events at our playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVRvouzCZmFeI-PSlsaLHzJwtEkKshATx&si=94-9DoaNCNTFAyQc

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Speaker Bios:

Essie Fox is a Sunday Times best-selling author of gothic historical novels. Her debut novel, The Somnambulist (2011), was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4's TV Book Club. Her latest novel, Catherine (2026), was chosen as a Times Historical Book of the Month. Essie has appeared at many literary events, including giving lectures at the V&A, the Westminster Library and the National Gallery. She also hosts a podcast called Talking the Gothic.

Dr Tara Puri is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol. She was a Global Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick, and previously studied at the University of Delhi and University of Kent. She has an ongoing research interest in women’s writing and history, Victorian women's periodicals, as well as women's print culture in India at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Greg Jenner FRHistS is a British public historian, author, and broadcaster with a particular interest in communicating history through comedy. He writes funny books for adults and kids, and is best known as the host and creator of the chart-topping, award-winning BBC historical comedy podcast You’re Dead To Me (over 150 million downloads), which pairs up top comedians with expert historians. He also worked for 11 years on the smash-hit BBC TV comedy series Horrible Histories. In 2025, Greg was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and Fellowship by the University of York’s Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) where he has taught for the past decade.

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