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Cambridge University Library

 

TUESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2024

7PM to 8PM

Open to all. Hosted online using Zoom Meetings. 

TICKETS: Free, booking required.

ACCESSIBILITY: Live subtitles are available using Zoom's Live Transcript function.

Register for free here


The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry, a seemingly ordinary man from an ordinary town in Devon, receives a letter from an old work colleague informing him that she is dying. Upon going to post a reply, he finds that he has missed the last collection, so decides to walk to the next post box. From there, he is compelled to continue his walk the length of England – taking him over 600 miles, to Berwick-Upon-Tweed.

This charming and poignant novel was longlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, and we'll be discussing it with our special guest Dr Charlotte Cooper-Davis, a medievalist author and researcher with an interest in pilgrimage.

To aide the conversation, we have prepared three 'thinking points' to consider when reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry:

1. The title of this novel describes Harold's journey as a 'pilgrimage' but is this an accurate description of his walk? 

2. What is the role of religion in this novel? 

3. Harold's journey and narrative prompts at least two others to go on their own journeys and one to tell their own story. What is the connection between journey and narrative in Rachel Joyce's trilogy? 


The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is available in paperback, hardback, audio and ebook formats, borrowable from public libraries or to purchase. To see what printed and digital copies are available from Cambridge University Libraries (borrowable by University staff and students), search iDiscover.


About The Really Popular Book Club

The Really Popular Book Club is Cambridge University Libraries' book group. Everyone is welcome to come and discuss a really popular book with the group, library staff, and an expert on the novel. Hosted on Zoom, the book club is completely free and open to everyone, people attend from all over the world. The Really Popular Book Club celebrates the huge range of books at Cambridge University Library. We have more than 8 million books and as a legal deposit library we keep a copy of every book published in the UK, and have done since 1710.

If you haven't attended one of our book club events before, you can find more information at www.lib.cam.ac.uk/bookclub