Fairbrother Lecture

Image: University of Reading, Special Collections / Mills & Boon Collection.

Vic Pickup, Department of English Literature

Tuesday 28 April 2026, 18:00 | doors open 17:50 | Reading Biscuit Factory

Book now (Free event, booking essential)

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 the University's 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.

Reception and PhD displays

Following the lecture there will be a short drinks reception with displays of work from other doctoral researchers.

About the Fairbrother Lecture

The Fairbrother Lecture is a University public lecture named after Jack Fairbrother who, in 1929, became one of the first students to be awarded a PhD from the University. The lecture is an annual event at which a Reading doctoral researcher presents their research to a wider audience.  

Further information: Dr Joanna John

Previous lectures