Master Welcomes Donors to
Exclusive Event

In April members of Birkbeck’s Master’s Circle attended a lecture given by David Waller on the extraordinary life of Gertrude Tennant (1818-1917), a nineteenth century socialite who entertained the great and the good of Victorian London. David graduated from the MA in Victorian Studies and wrote an award winning biography of Mrs Tennant based on previously undiscovered letters, charting her life from childhood in Paris and a teenage flirtation with Gustave Flaubert, to an adulthood of influence as an unsurpassed hostess to legions of celebrities including Oscar Wilde, Henry James, Millais, Gladstone, Ruskin and Victor Hugo.

The newly refurbished 28 Russell Square, home to the School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy, proved to be a particularly suitable venue for the event as Gertude Tennant lived in Russell Square for many years after she married, before moving to the more upmarket Richmond Terrace.

The Master’s Circle was formed in January 2011 to recognise leadership donors to Birkbeck. The College has a long philanthropic tradition which stretches right back to its founding by Dr George Birkbeck in 1823.

Find out more about David's biography, The Magnificent Mrs Tennant, in our alumni authors section.