Speaker: Dr Mary L. Shannon, University of Roehampton

William ‘Billy’ Waters was a busker, sailor, immigrant, father, lover, extraordinary talent, and a forgotten Black celebrity from Regency London. Delve into Waters’ life in the British Navy and his subsequent life as a disabled sailor, as we explore the opportunities and challenges of being a Black man in the Napoleonic navy.

About the speaker: Dr Mary L. Shannon is a writer and Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Roehampton, London. Her new book Billy Waters is Dancing: Or, How a Black Sailor Found Fame in Regency Britain (funded by a Leverhulme and a Linda H. Peterson Fellowship) will be published by Yale in 2024. She's the author of the award-winning Dickens, Reynolds, and Mayhew on Wellington Street and a self-confessed fan of Napoleonic navy fiction. She studied at Cambridge and KCL. Find her at marylshannon.com.

This event is open to the public and free to attend both in-person and online (via Zoom). In-person spaces are limited, so register now to secure your spot!

For those joining online, the Zoom link will be sent by email two days before the event.