Tickets are £5 and include light refreshments. Please phone us on 01983 756814 to book.

Stephan Roman will talk about what inspired him to write his book 'Isle and Empires', and discuss the ways in which the current tensions between Russia and Britain date back to the era of the Romanovs. He will also highlight how the Isle of Wight played such a critical role in the history of Anglo-Russian relations and talk about Lord Tennyson's part in this story.

Isle and Empires is a journey into a world of Imperial glory and power, family rivalry, wars, intrigue and alliances. It is also a story of Russia's revolutionaries, spies and terrorists, and the refugees fleeing Tsarist oppression who found shelter and safety both in mainland Britain and on the Isle of Wight.

The events described reverberate to the present day and much of what happened when the Romanovs ruled Russia continues to set the pattern for the current relationship between the two countries.

Stephan Roman studied History at the University of Oxford and trained in library and information science at the University of Sheffield. He has held senior positions in the British Council working in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He become a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2012 and was awarded the Romanian Order of Merit for Services to Culture in 2004.