King's alumna now bestselling author to do reading in London

King’s alumna Jennifer Robson, ‘92 BA (Honours) French and History, will be returning to London on May 16, to read from and discuss her best-selling historical fiction, The Gown. “An Evening with Jennifer Robson: Speaking with Friends” will take place from 7 – 8:30 p.m. at the Wolf Performance Hall at 251 Dundas Street. The event is free with donations being accepted at the door towards Friends of the London Public Library.

The Gown, about the making of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown, has been called “a gripping portrait of the aftermath of a war too often romanticized in American fiction and film” by The Washington Post.

Professor Paul Webb, Professor Emeritus History, will introduce Robson at the event. He says Robson “has been the model of a student, and an alumna, that colleges and professors dream of.” Webb says Robson was near or at the top of her class for the four years she attended King’s. After graduation, she won a Commonwealth Scholarship and completed a doctorate in British economic and social history from St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford in England.

After attaining her PhD, Robson turned her attention to writing fiction and, in addition to The Gown, she has written Goodnight from London, Moonlight Over Paris, After the War is Over, and Somewhere in France. She also contributed to the anthology, Fall of Poppies.

In January 2016, three of her books, Moonlight Over Paris, Somewhere in France and After the War, were simultaneously on the Globe and Mail’s Canadian Fiction bestseller list.

“We could not be happier with her success,” says Prof. Webb.

Robson has continued to remain in touch with King’s and many former faculty. In the Fall 2016 edition of the Western Alumni Gazette, she referenced her time at King’s as being pivitol to her success as a writer.

She related when she first came to King’s, she had not planned to become a writer or even study history. That changed when she took a European history course with Professor Webb. “He was an extraordinary lecturer and electrifying in how he made everything so interesting, and I was hooked,” she said.

“I had an extraordinarily rich undergraduate experience at King’s that prepared me very well for graduate school. I feel I didn’t stumble at all when I landed in Oxford (because) I had been equipped with the best possible all-around humanities-based undergraduate degree,” Robson said.

The event is presented by Friends of the London Public Library, a non- profit volunteer group which raises funds and advocates for the London Public Library by raising funds.A reception and book signing is to follow Robson’s reading. Donations to support children and youth literacy programs will be accepted.

For more information on An Evening with Jennifer Robson: Speaking with Friends, visit https://www.kings.uwo.ca/about-kings/visitor-info/calendar-of-events/an-evening-with-jennifer-robson-speaking-with-friends/.

To learn more about Jennifer Robson, visit her website at http://www.jennifer-robson.com/.