Alumni and guests are invited to join the Cambridge Society of Somerset for Lunch, followed by a lecture with our guest speaker historian Helen Rappaport on late Imperial Russia and the reign of Queen Victoria.

On this occasion her talk will focus on her latest book, Caught in the Revolution:Petrograd 1917. This brings a new perspective on the first year of the Russian Revolution, being based on eye-witness accounts of the foreign nationals at the heart of the war-torn capital. Many of them penned vivid descriptions in their private diaries and letters: from the English nurse who survived the Titanic only to end up in Petrograd’s white heat, to the black valet of the American Ambassador to Russia – and even the suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, It is voices such as these that will underpin Helen's compelling and timely talk. We are delighted that she has been able to accommodate us in her busy schedule of engagements, and we hope we can repay the compliment with a larger than usual attendance. This would be an excellent occasion to bring friends (for whom attendance at the AGM would be an entirely optional extra…).