From Archive to Story with Cynthia Banham and Christine Balint

Join acclaimed authors Cynthia Banham and Christine Balint for a fascinating conversation exploring the real and imagined lives of women whose stories emerged from Italian archives. Drawing on their acclaimed 2026 publications, Mother Shadow and A Single Witness, Banham and Balint will discuss how they uncovered, researched and brought to life the experiences of two remarkable women separated by a century. Both women lived in societies shaped by religious authority and strict expectations of female obedience, yet each found ways to resist, survive and reclaim agency. Cynthia Banham's memoir Mother Shadow traces her search for the story of her great-grandmother, abandoned to a foundling home in nineteenth-century Bologna. Christine Balint's historical novel A Single Witness is inspired by the true story of Anna Maria Bonon, a 13-year-old Venetian girl who successfully challenged her father's abuse through the courts in 1757. Through discussion and audience Q&A, the authors will explore the intersections of historical family memoir and historical fiction, the challenges of archival research, and the enduring themes of resilience, inheritance and women's voices across generations. Drinks and nibblies provided.