Ticketed

Essential Information

Type Talks and tours
Location
Date and Times Thursday 26 June 2025 l 6.30pm-7.30pm
Prices Free | Members only

Member exclusive. Not a member? Join now

We all know the classic story between man and nature featured in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, but what would happen if the story came from a female perspective? Call Me Ishmaelle reimagines the epic in a whole new light. 

It's 1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother Joseph leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York.

About the speaker

The author Xiaolu Guo was born in China. She published six books before moving to Britain in 2002. Her books include: Village of Stone, shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize; A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, shortlisted for the Orange Prize; and I Am China

Her recent memoir Once Upon a Time in the East won the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018. It was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. Her most recent novel A Lover's Discourse was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2020. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a visiting professor at the Free University in Berlin.

Not already a Member?

Join today for a host of exclusive benefits and events, including unlimited free entry to Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory, shows at the Peter Harrison Planetarium, and special exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum.

With Membership starting from as little as £50, what are you waiting for? Membership is your time to explore!

What’s On

More Member events at Royal Museums Greenwich.

Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Tour

Embark on a voyage of discovery around the Museum with our volunteer guides
Various dates | 11am - 12pm
Free for Members | Booking essential
In Greenwich
Family fun | Member events

Members' crafting

Join us for exclusive craft workshops, just for Members.
Every other month | 11am-11.45am, 12.15pm-1pm, 1.30pm-2.15pm, 2.45pm-3.30pm
Free for Family Members – booking required
In Greenwich
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: The Battle of the Arctic

Join historian and author Hugh Sebag-Montefiore as he discovers forgotten heroes of the Arctic convoys
Thursday 13 November 2025 | 6.30pm-7.30pm
Free Entry
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Delve Deeper tours: free tickets for Members

We're lucky to have secured a small number of tickets for our Delve Deeper tours at the Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre, just for Members
Thursday 13 November | 7pm-8.30pm (SOLD OUT)
Free for Members
Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic

Hear authors Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds' vital account of the state of the Arctic today, the dangers of climate change and geopolitical competition
Wednesday 19 November 2025 l 6.30pm-7.30pm
Free Entry
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Flamsteed Lecture: The Fermi Paradox - Where are the Aliens?

A Flamsteed Astronomy Society lecture with Professor Ian Crawford
Monday 24 November 2025 | Doors open at 6.30pm, event starts at 7.15pm
Flamsteed Members: FREE | Guests of Flamsteed Members: £15 | Royal Museums Greenwich Members: £12
National Maritime Museum
Experiences | Member events

Members' Experience: A Beginner’s Guide to Observing

Come along and begin your journey to observing the night sky on the historic Queen's House lawns
Wednesday 26 November 2025, Wednesday 21 January & Wednesday 25 March 2026 | 6.30pm-9pm
Free | Members only
Queen's House
Events and festivals | Member events

Members Christmas Party

Get in the festive spirit with us at this party exclusively for Members!
Tuesday 9 December 2025 | 6.30pm-8.30pm l SOLD OUT
Free | Members only
Cutty Sark

Image courtesy of Vintage Penguin Publishing House.