Join us for our next talk!

Discover General D’Arblay’s Legacy with guest speaker Miriam Al Jamil

Join us on Wednesday 28th October 2026 for our latest talk and AGM Meeting.

Door are open from 7:30pm at the Good Shepherd Church Hall.

Frances Burney is celebrated as one of the great novelists of the eighteenth century, her husband, General Alexandre D’Arblay, was himself a local celebrity in the Box Hill area, where French émigrés found refuge following the Revolution. In this fascinating talk, Miriam Al Jamil explores the General’s later life and the legacy he sought to leave after the Napoleonic Wars. Following his return to Paris in 1817, D’Arblay commissioned a portrait by the renowned artist Horace Vernet and created a detailed panorama map of the Waterloo battlefield, despite not having fought there. Why were these works so important to him, and what do they reveal about memory, reputation and identity in post-Napoleonic Europe? This promises to be an engaging talk for anyone interested in local history, literary history, the French Revolution and the legacy of the Napoleonic era.

Refreshments available

£4 non-members — members FREE

Please check your emails before our meeting in case of last minute changes.

We hope to see you there to learn more about this fascinating story that happened in our area!