Highwaymen! What About The Women?

Highwaymen! What About The Women? – A talk by Margaret Holbrook

There were highwaymen a plenty in 17th and 18th century England but there were also quite a few women within these ranks.

Some worked the highways alone, others with their husbands or lovers. It was an exciting life, and one that held a certain romance but the excitement and romance didn’t always last. If caught and convicted, there were chances you would be hanged. If you managed to escape the hangman’s noose you might face transportation.

These risks were known and seemed to be accepted as a risk worth taking – but for some of the women their final journey was to the gallows.

Based on the book of the same title, this talk looks at the lives of the women who also rode the highways.

The book will be available for purchase on the evening and the talk will be followed by a book signing.

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About Margaret

Margaret is a writer of fiction, poetry and playwright.

She has received awards for several of her plays and in October 2012 she was a finalist at the Ovation Theatre Awards with her short play, ‘Soup for Starters’, receiving an Honourable Mention.

Her short story’ Pig Man’, was shortlisted in the 2015 Cheshire Prize for Literature and is published in Patches of Light, the Cheshire Prize anthology.

A prizewinning poet, Margaret’s poems and short stories have been published in several anthologies and magazines worldwide.

Her latest plays, ‘The Bus Stop’ toured in 2019 and was performed at Buxton Fringe Festival 2021. Margaret lives in Cheshire where she grew up.

Before writing finally found its way to the fore she worked variously as a sales assistant, bookkeeper and at one point ran her own floristry design business.

When she’s not writing Margaret enjoys reading (a lot!), walking, gardening and visiting bookshops.

She is a member of the SWWJ (Society of Women Writers and Journalists) and SoA (Society of Authors)