Writing, nursing, rise and then demise of the British asylum system are all covered in the RCN’s inaugural public lecture.

Author Nathan Filer won the 2013 Costa Book Prize for his novel, The Shock of the Fall. A practising mental health nurse, Nathan will speak about two sides of his life – writing and nursing – and how the two have recently come together.

Professor Barbara Gold Taylor will offer a patient’s perspective, speaking from her 2014 memoir, The Last Asylum. Barbara Taylor is a historian at Queen Mary University of London, and was formerly a patient at Friern Hospital in London during its final years. She combines her own story with an account of the rise and demise of the British asylum system.

10th October, 8:00 - 22:00