History of Mermaids, Sea Spirits & Women

Since Hans Christian Andersen made his mermaid a heroine, shimmering sea-maidens have swum through popular culture.‘Mermaiding’ - swimming in a synthetic mermaid tail - has even become a verb. But where do these creatures come from, and why do they exert such a powerful pull?

This talk peels back the romantic fantasy to reveal a far darker and more complex ancestry, rich with meaning. Across cultures and through history, people have imagined powerful sea spirits inhabiting the waters between things: from the fish-tailed goddess of ancient Mesopotamia to the two-tailed mermaids of medieval bestiaries or the soulless undines of Renaissance Europe; from the gruesome Japanese ningyo to West Africa’s powerful Mami Wata.

Born from encounters with otherness, these she-beings have provoked terror and longing, transformation and loss of control. They have embodied awe at nature’s power and bounty, expressed the complexities of colonial encounter, and given shape to deep anxieties around female sexuality and the perceived strangeness of women.

Follow mermaids and sea spirits across oceans and through time with Dr Natalie Lawrence. Together we’ll explore how these figures have evolved alongside human fears and fascinations — and how they still channel our relationship with nature, with the unknown, and with femaleness itself. We’ll see why these meanings, rather than glittering tails, are what keep these creatures alive in our imaginations today.

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Dr Natalie Lawrence is a historian of science and author of Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings (W&N, 2024; Pegasus 2025), a history of monsters and our imaginations over the last 15,000 years. She has a first class in Natural Sciences, a Masters and a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. She also co-authored Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence with Professor Paco Calvo (Little Brown, 2022; Norton 2023; 10 translations so far). She has spoken for TEDX, numerous radio channels and podcasts, and presented for Cambridge Science Festival, Geist Talks, Last Tuesday Society, amongst others.

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