Rhyme & Reason: Nursery Rhymes and their Origins with Susan Ackroyd

Join writer and historian Susan Ackroyd as she uncovers the hidden histories embedded in some of our most familiar nursery rhymes.

Why was a baby left in a treetop? Who were Georgie Porgie, Little Boy Blue, and Mary, Mary? Drawing on the 26 rhymes explored in her work, Susan reveals how seemingly innocent verses were shaped by fierce political struggles over taxation, religion, and royal authority, and how figures such as Humpty Dumpty played their part in the English Civil War. Tracing these rhymes from medieval England through to the 1700s, she shows how political commentary was encoded in rhyme and passed down through generations.

Through storytelling, historical insight and close reading, this session invites audiences to rediscover the radical origins of the rhymes we still recite today, and to understand how their political meanings have been forgotten, hidden in plain sight.

For any accessibility questions, please email events@betterread.com.au.

Susan…