'SONGS FROM THE SUITCASE: Inhabiting an Inheritance' by Rosanna Moseley Gore, talk and book launch

Thu 27 June 2024

Old Library, Pembroke College

Rosanna Moseley Gore grew up in suburban London in the 1960s and 1970s. But her background was very much not the typical English one of that time. Her father escaped from Berlin on a Kindertransport in 1939. Her mother was Russian, born in Harbin in Manchuria in 1923.

Rosanna’s childhood and upbringing were hugely influenced by her being half-Russian by blood, particularly because her beloved grandmother Olga Youhotsky (as her name was anglicised) lived with them, and taught her Russian as well as many, many other things.

In her book 'Songs from the Suitcase: Inhabiting an Inheritance', Rosanna writes about the gifts, the cultural riches and the inherited trauma that came with this family. What has it meant for the way she thinks, what she believes, where she feels she belongs (or not)?

In this talk, Rosanna will bring to life her experiences of exiled Russian identity lived out in a domestic setting. She will explore the influences on her use of language, on her cooking, on her worldview. She might even say a bit in her very rusty Russian that never did get further than ‘O’ Level back in 1972 (though she did get an A!).

After the talk, you will be invited for drinks and an informal chat. Copies of Rusanna's book, which the author will be happy to sign, will be available for purchase.

Cost: £8