Stratford-upon-Avon
Decorative and Fine Arts Society

Study Days are held twice a year and give members the chance to meet and explore subjects in greater depth than is usual. The days comprise a guest lecturer who will give three lectures on a chosen topic. There is opportunity for discussion and it is sometimes possible to examine artefacts at close range.

Meetings are usually held in the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon and include coffee on arrival and lunch.

Booking usually starts two months before the event and only cheques made payable to SADFAS can be accepted.

Tuesday 6 March 2012 – “The Birth of the Novel” – Lecturer: Jane Tapley

Charles Dickens by Jeremiah Gurney

This study day subject has been chosen to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the writer Charles Dickens on 7 February 1812.

The Birth of the Novel consists of three lectures which follow how the novel began and developed in the worldwide popularity of Dickens' work. The first lecture looks at Georgian Theatre and how many of the 18c playwrights moved into writing novels after having their political plays banned. It is called It'll Be Alright on the Night and looks at the plays and novels of Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith and Daniel Defoe, as well as looking at how the audiences responded and behaved.

The second lecture looks at the works of the 18c novelists, particularly Jane Austen who was the most famous novelist of this period. It shows her different method to writing from her successors, but shows how she laid the groundwork for the 19c writers.

The third lecture is called What the Dickens and looks at the life and times of this most renowned writer of the 19c and the impact of the industrial revolution on his works – his concern for children and how they were treated was a recurring theme in his novels.

To be held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford–upon–Avon Price £35

Tuesday 9 October 2012 – “Moghuls and Maharajahs” – Lecturer: Edward Saunders

The day will consist of two lectures in the morning on the Moghul Emperors and their courts in Delhi and Agra from the 1550's to the 1650's ending with the Taj Mahal. Then in the afternoon, as the Moghuls' power declines and the cultural impetus shifts to Rajasthan, the third lecture deals with the courts of the Maharajahs' cities such as Jaiput, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur etc.

To be held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford–upon–Avon Price £35