Whether working online or in-person, our approach is cooperative rather than didactic. Our facilitator-led meetings are contemporary and down-to-earth. You don’t need specialised knowledge or a background in literature to enjoy a Salon study. Many participants will be reading the authors for the first time, all that’s required is a willingness to read carefully, listen thoughtfully and be open to new and sometimes challenging ideas.

Studies range from one-meeting ‘intensives’ to literary journeys lasting many months or even years (our Finnegan’s Wake group has recently completed its third year), but typically they run for six to ten weeks. When circumstances allow, we also offer a number of travel retreats to locations around the UK and Europe.

Until Covid-19 forced us into the virtual realm, our studies met in a variety of venues in and around London. At present we work primarily on Zoom and we have developed ways of reproducing the in-person study atmosphere online. A rare positive outcome of the global pandemic is that we have been joined by readers from all over the UK and the wider world.

Group sizes are deliberately small – usually 5 to 11 participants – so that the atmosphere remains relaxed and personal. There is space for everyone to both contribute and sit back to reflect on their personal response and connection to the work – participants often find that the literature illuminates their own life experiences.

Ahead of each meeting, participants read a portion of the book (typically 30 to 50 pages, depending on the work, but we aim to keep reading assignments manageable so that studies can be fitted into busy lives).

Guided by the facilitator, over two to three hours of a Salon meeting, a group gives individual and collective thought to the author’s ideas. We work through unclear passages and explore the intricacies of plot, language and meaning, as well as examining the wealth of connections to broader social and historical movements. Along the way, we provide support with notes and questions to help deepen appreciation of these great books and the worlds they reveal.