Who’s afraid of Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett?
- Aug 13
- 1 min read
Who’s afraid of Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett is a brilliant talk delivered by eminent British historian and Fellow of All Souls College Richard Davenport-Hines at a Beefsteak Club dinner in London in 2025.
He reflects on the genius of Ivy and laments her current relative lack of public profile.
He describes Ivy as an ‘arch heretic’ and the novelist of ‘total disrespect’ and claims that it is essential to have read some Ivy novels if one is to understand the emotional history and cultural achievements of 20th Century England.
It makes for some very entertaining reading!
Please click on the link below to download the talk.
