Women's voices were central to the struggle against slavery in the early 19th century. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of Britain's greatest poets, was the daughter of a slaveowner and the family money came from their Jamaican plantations. She sympathised with the cause of antislavery - but that sympathy was complicated by her family connections. Mary Prince was an enslaved woman who was brought by her 'owner' to Britain, escaped, and recorded her narrative. It was published and provided a moving testimony of the cruelties of slavery and a significant weapon in the war against it. Both these women had close connections with Bloomsbury, and this lecture, in conjunction with the exhibition 'The Slave Owners of Gower Street' will explore their lives and writings and the place of slavery in 19th century Britain.

This lecture marks Black History Month in October. There is also an exhibition in UCL’s South Cloisters on the main campus entitled ‘The Slave Owners of Gower Street’