Date/Time
Date(s) - Monday 8 December 2025
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Location
Duke Street Church

Categories No Categories

Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, in a Straw Hat. Painting by George Romney held in the Huntingdon Libraray and Art Museum, San Marino, San Francisco, USA

The early nineteenth century saw the rise of an interesting phenomenon—the celebrity. Then as now, true celebrities were famous more for their appearance and behaviour than for their achievements, and famous most of all just for being famous. A good example is Emma Hamilton. This talk will trace her career, speculate a bit about the emergence of this new kind of public figure, explore her connections with Richmond and Merton, and tell the story of her encounter with another, now long forgotten, celebrity of the time.

Alan Hertz is a lecturer at Hult International Business School and teaches a number of courses at local adult centres, including The Avenue Club in Kew.