Fringe Talk: VERA BRITTAIN AND BUXTON – A DIFFERENT STORY by Katheryn Ecclestone

In her internationally acclaimed 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain proclaimed to the world how much she hated ‘provincial young ladyhood’ in Buxton between 1905 and 1915. Vera was even ruder about the town and its residents in an autobiographical novel, Not Without Honour, published in 1924.

To this day, the idea that Vera Brittain detested her time in Buxton remains unchallenged. Perhaps this explains why the town has no formal commemoration of its most significant resident and offers visitors very little information about her. Inspired by living in Vera Brittain’s former Buxton home, Kathryn Ecclestone’s new biography draws on Vera’s letters and unpublished diary to tell a rather different story about her Buxton upbringing in the halcyon days before the First World War.

In this event for the 2025 Buxton Festival Fringe, Kathryn talks with John Phillips, former editor of the Buxton Advertiser, about the part Vera’s Buxton upbringing played in shaping an extraordinary young woman who went on to become one of the twentieth century’s most significant literary and political figures.

Kathryn Ecclestone is a retired Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield and a well-known author in that field. This is her first biography. It is accompanied by a new website dedicated to The Life and Testaments of Vera Brittain, created with members of Vera’s family.

This event is supporting the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust. Tickets are now available via the website.

You may also like the following events from Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust:

• Next Friday, 11th July, 05:30 pm, Sweet Pick and Mix: A delightful evening of eclectic sounds spanning centuries. in Buxton
• Next month, 1st August, 01:00 pm, Crafternoons in The Pump Room - Social Arts & Crafts for Adults in Buxton
• Next month, 4th August, 10:30 am, All Aboard! A Railway Adventure in the Assembly Rooms in Buxton

Also check out other Arts events in Buxton, Literary Art events in Buxton, Festivals in Buxton.