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Julie Hearn: School visits |
I enjoy visiting schools, to talk about the different kinds of writing that have shaped my life, or to run workshops.
Find out how villains and victims from history haunt my novels and shape their plots. Meet Matthew Hopkins, Witch-Finder General; Charles Byrne, the doomed Giant, and the 19th century "supermodel" with a fatal addiction. From the intricacies of grave-robbing to the sinister side of the the Victorian art world - who said research was boring? A crazy roller-coaster ride through time, illustrated with some startling portraits.
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Julia Pastrana, the inspiration for Angel (my "Gorilla Woman" in Follow Me Down) was exhibited around the US and Europe during the 1850s. A Mexican-Indian woman who spoke Spanish and English, and who loved to dance, she was billed as "The Baboon Lady" or as "The Ugliest Woman in the World". |
From May 2006, a Rollercoaster edition of The Merrybegot, and related teaching materials - including a reading guide, a class pack and a teacher pack with CD-ROM - will be available (publisher: Oxford University Press).
Having seen the workshop for Follow Me Down after reading it I began to understand how much work authors put into creating different worlds. This gave me an insight into how good books are written.
Jonathan Bates, year 8, Kennet School, Thatcham, Berks
The pupils found Julie's workshops interesting and enjoyable particularly because she had planned an activity which required them to use their imaginations and have fun. Other year 8 pupils who could not attend were very jealous. We would definitely have her back.
Mr William Egarr, English Dept, Kennet School
For further information, or to arrange a visit, contact the children's books publicity department at Oxford University Press
tel: 01865 353245