Literary Calendar
Events for October 2013
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Lincoln Book Festival: Richard Davenport-Hines on sex, class and power in the age of ProfumoLincoln Book Festival: Richard Davenport-Hines on sex, class and power in the age of Profumo
October 1, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
Richard Davenport-Hines on An English Affair: sex, class and power in the age of Profumo Undoubtedly the biggest British political scandal of 20th century, Richard sets it firmly in the context of life and attitudes of the late fifties and early sixties, putting flesh on the bones of all the participants! As a journalist and prize-winning author, Richard [&hellip Lincoln Book Festival: Diane Atkinson on The Criminal Conversation of Mrs NortonLincoln Book Festival: Diane Atkinson on The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton
October 1, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Diane Atkinson on The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton Caroline Norton was accused by her husband of ‘a criminal conversation’ (adultery) with the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, precipitating the biggest scandal of the 19th century and a high profile divorce. Cut off by her husband, Caroline fought for women’s rights in male-dominated Victorian society, eventually resulting in [&hellip |
Lincoln Book Festival: A. N. Wilson in conversation with Gil DarbyLincoln Book Festival: A. N. Wilson in conversation with Gil Darby
October 2, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
A N Wilson in conversation with Gil Darby A prolific and eclectic author and newspaper columnist, A N Wilson is known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views – from The Elizabethans andThe Victorians to Dante, Hitler, Betjeman, Jesus and more. His latest novel, The Potter’s Hand is a fictionalised biography of Josiah Wedgwood. More information/book [&hellip Tom Holland on his new translation of The Histories of Herodotus, Daunt Bookshop, MaryleboneTom Holland on his new translation of The Histories of Herodotus, Daunt Bookshop, Marylebone
October 2, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Tom Holland has brought a mass readership to classical history with books like In the Shadow of the Sword and Persian Fire. Now he has produced a magisterial new translation of one of the ancient world’s most fascinating books. Written in the fifth century BC, The Histories tells of the war between the Persian Empire [&hellip Lincoln Book Festival: Charles Sebag Montefiore on The British as CollectorsLincoln Book Festival: Charles Sebag Montefiore on The British as Collectors
October 2, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Charles Sebag Montefiore on The British as Collectors: from the Tudors to the Present (co-authored with James Stourton) Charles Sebag-Montefiore has spent 40 years creating the definitive library on British patronage and collecting. He is a trustee of the National Gallery and was a trustee of the National Art Collections Fund between 2000 and 2011. James Stourton [&hellip |
Lincoln Book Festival: Sarah Gristwood, Richard Buckley and John Ashdown-HillLincoln Book Festival: Sarah Gristwood, Richard Buckley and John Ashdown-Hill
October 3, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
Sarah Gristwood author of Blood Sisters: The women behind the Wars of the Roses – best-selling Tudor biographer and commentator on royal affairs talks about the lives and importance of the women in this very real game of thrones.http://www.sarahgristwood.co.uk/ Richard Buckley of University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the Greyfriars dig, talks about his forthcoming [&hellip |
Lincoln Book Festival: Julie Summers on JambustersLincoln Book Festival: Julie Summers on Jambusters
October 4, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
Unpaid, unsung, to a large extent uncomplaining, these women quietly and often with humour, made the countryside tick during World War II. “Julie Summers is one of those natural born writers who have a compelling story to tell.” http://www.juliesummers.co.uk More information/book tickets Lincoln Book Festival: Tracy Borman on The Witches of BelvoirLincoln Book Festival: Tracy Borman on The Witches of Belvoir
October 4, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Lincolnshire-born author has a local launch for her new book about witchcraft in Jacobean England – the witches who feature in the book lived at Belvoir and were tried at Lincoln Castle. Tracy has appeared with Tony Robinson on ‘Walking Through History’ and in a Channel 5 documentary on witchcraft. She has recently been appointed interim Chief [&hellip |
Allan Ahlberg at the London Lit Festival, Kings PlaceAllan Ahlberg at the London Lit Festival, Kings Place
October 5, 2013 @ 11:30 am - 5:00 pm
One of Britain’s best-loved children’s authors, Allan Ahlberg tells us about his own oddly enchanted childhood lived out in the Black Country during the 1940s. He remembers a father in overalls smelling of wood shavings and oil, of a fiercely protective mother who cries when he discovers that he is adopted, of life insurance policies (‘£6 if [&hellip Jung Chang at the London Lit Festival, Kings PlaceJung Chang at the London Lit Festival, Kings Place
October 5, 2013 @ 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm
The author of Wild Swans tells us the extraordinary story of the most important woman in Chinese history: Empress Dowager Cixi who ruled China for 47 years. Selected at 15 as one of the Emperor’s 3000 concubines, she launched a palace coup at his death and transformed the country from a medieval state into a modern society. [&hellip Elif Shafak at the London Lit Festival, Kings PlaceElif Shafak at the London Lit Festival, Kings Place
October 5, 2013 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Come and spend an hour in the company of the most internationally recognised Turkish woman writer writing in both Turkish and English. She may talk about her country’s rich heritage of multiple cultures and legends as well as as honour killings, a particular past tense which only exists in Turkish and trying to balance the [&hellip |
Jeremy Paxman at the London Lit Festival, Kings PlaceJeremy Paxman at the London Lit Festival, Kings Place
October 6, 2013 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Using a wealth of first-hand source material, the renowned broadcaster Jeremy Paxman gives us an image of what life was actually like for the British during the First World War. From politicians, newspapermen, campaigners and Generals to Tommies, nurses, factory-workers and children, he captures the whole mood and morale of the nation and explains how life and [&hellip Penelope Lively at the London Lit FestivalPenelope Lively at the London Lit Festival
October 6, 2013 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
‘This is not quite a memoir. Rather, it is the view from old age. And a view of old age itself, this place at which we arrive with a certain surprise – ambushed, or so it can seem. One of the few advantages of age is that you can report on it with a certain [&hellip Jonathan Coe at the London Lit Festival, Kings PlaceJonathan Coe at the London Lit Festival, Kings Place
October 6, 2013 @ 6:30 pm
Jonathan Coe returns to the comic mode of What a Carve Up! and The Rotters’ Club with this fresh and invigorating portrait of Britain (and Europe) after the war, struggling to find its identity, torn between tantalizing visions of the future and the certainties of the past, all mirrored in the life of a single, rather bemused, civil servant. [&hellip |
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Ian Buruma in conversation with Jonathan Derbyshire, ProspectIan Buruma in conversation with Jonathan Derbyshire, Prospect
October 7, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Ian Buruma speaks to Jonathan Derbyshire, managing editor of Prospect to mark the launch of Buruma’s new book Year Zero: A History of 1945. Glass of wine included. More information/book tickets Scott Jurek at the Bloomsbury InstituteScott Jurek at the Bloomsbury Institute
October 7, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - October 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Scott Jurek, ultrarunner extraordinaire and bestselling author of Eat and Run, will be here in the UK for a special event at the Bloomsbury Institute. Scott Jurek has been a dominant force in the gruelling and growing sport of ultrarunning for more than a decade. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead in [&hellip |
Scott Jurek at the Bloomsbury InstituteScott Jurek at the Bloomsbury Institute
October 7, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - October 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Scott Jurek, ultrarunner extraordinaire and bestselling author of Eat and Run, will be here in the UK for a special event at the Bloomsbury Institute. Scott Jurek has been a dominant force in the gruelling and growing sport of ultrarunning for more than a decade. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead in [&hellip Alexander McCall Smith, Daunt Bookshop, MaryleboneAlexander McCall Smith, Daunt Bookshop, Marylebone
October 8, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
It is now 15 years since the first publication of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Years and 15 years since we fell in love with Precious Ramotswe and her creator, Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander will also be celebrating the publication of a new book in the series, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, and to bring us [&hellip |
Scott Jurek at the Bloomsbury InstituteScott Jurek at the Bloomsbury Institute
October 7, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - October 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Scott Jurek, ultrarunner extraordinaire and bestselling author of Eat and Run, will be here in the UK for a special event at the Bloomsbury Institute. Scott Jurek has been a dominant force in the gruelling and growing sport of ultrarunning for more than a decade. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead in [&hellip 5×15 goes Soho, The Other Club5×15 goes Soho, The Other Club
October 9, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
5×15 is an evening of weird and wonderful 15-minute stories, where speakers take to the stage to talk about their lives, passions and inspirations. On the 9th October, 5×15 is let loose in Soho, curating an evening of stories from Soho’s club scene at The Other Club. Speakers include Sophie Parkin talking about The Colony Room Club, [&hellip |
Sarah Dunant at the British Italian Society, University Women’s ClubSarah Dunant at the British Italian Society, University Women’s Club
October 10, 2013 @ 6:30 pm
Sarah Dunant answers questions at the British Italian Society. Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestseller The Birth of Venus, which has received major worldwide acclaim and In the Company of the Courtesan. With the publication of Sacred Hearts, she rounds out a Renaissance trilogy bringing voice to the lives of three different [&hellip Artemis Cooper and Colin Thubron on Patrick Leigh Fermor’s Broken Road, Daunt Bookshop, MaryleboneArtemis Cooper and Colin Thubron on Patrick Leigh Fermor’s Broken Road, Daunt Bookshop, Marylebone
October 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
The long awaited third part of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s famous trilogy that began with A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water was not published during his lifetime but Artemis Cooper and Colin Thubron have now brought it to publication and we are thrilled that they will be here to talk about [&hellip Catherine Hakim presents The New Rules, The Other ClubCatherine Hakim presents The New Rules, The Other Club
October 10, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
The Other Club’s agony aunt, LSE sociologist and Honey Money Author Catherine Hakim teaches you The New Rules of dating in the internet age. Come and find out how the web has changed who we sleep with and why. And ask Hakim’s advice on your own Millennial love love. More information/book tickets |
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Man Booker Prize 2013 Readings, SouthbankMan Booker Prize 2013 Readings, Southbank
October 13, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
An evening of readings from the books written by the six short-listed authors. Hear the work that could win one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. Below are the authors long-listed for the prize: Harvest by Jim Crace The Kills by Richard House The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri TransAtlantic by Colum McCann The Testament of Mary by [&hellip |
5 x 15, The Tabernacle5 x 15, The Tabernacle
October 14, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Simon Garfield, Rowan Pelling, Geordie Greig, Meg Rosoff and Andrew Motion. More information/book tickets |
Graeme Obree on The Obree Way, Bloomsbury InstituteGraeme Obree on The Obree Way, Bloomsbury Institute
October 15, 2013 @ 6:00 pm
Cycling legend Graeme Obree joins us at the Bloomsbury Institute to for an evening of biking wisdom, radical training tips and an insight into his world land speed attempt and the building of his bike, ‘The Beastie’. Graeme Obree’s innovative approach to cycling has taken him to the top of world cycling, twice breaking the world hour [&hellip 5 x 15, The Tabernacle5 x 15, The Tabernacle
October 15, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Justin Webb and Eric Schlosser. More information/book tickets |
Mary, Mary, quite contrary: Mary Beard at The Other ClubMary, Mary, quite contrary: Mary Beard at The Other Club
October 16, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Cambridge classics professor and presenter of the BBC’s recent series Caligula, Mary Beard will be at The Other Club to discuss the Roman province of Syria and how statesmen ancient and modern manage rebellion. More information/book tickets |
Penelope Lively on Ammonites and Leaping Fish, Daunt Bookshop, MarylebonePenelope Lively on Ammonites and Leaping Fish, Daunt Bookshop, Marylebone
October 17, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Penelope Lively’s wonderful memoir looks back at the context of her life and times, her memories, her reading and writing and the identifying cargo of possessions amongst which are found two ammonites, a cat, a pair of American ducks and a leaping fish. Talks take place at Daunt Books, Marylebone High Street Tickets are £8 [&hellip |
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Dinner with Darcy, Kings PlaceDinner with Darcy, Kings Place
October 21, 2013 @ 6:30 pm
Later this month we’ve got something very exciting: an evening of authentic and delicious Georgian dishes, inspired by the novels and letters of Jane austen, and recreated by Rotunda’s head chef, Nick Foley. Discover how to impress Mr Darcy, the evening’s esteemed guest, what delights to expect at the Netherfield Ball supper, and what Jane [&hellip |
The Hatchards Bloomsbury Book Club with Elizabeth GilbertThe Hatchards Bloomsbury Book Club with Elizabeth Gilbert
October 22, 2013 @ 6:30 pm
Elizabeth Gilbert and her UK editor Alexandra Pringle discuss The Signature of All Things, an extraordinary new novel of botany, exploration and desire by the author of Eat, Pray, Love. It is 1800 and Alma Whittaker is born into a perfect Philadelphia winter. Her father, Henry Whittaker, is a bold and charismatic botanical explorer whose vast fortune belies [&hellip |
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David Runciman in conversation with John Lanchester, LRBDavid Runciman in conversation with John Lanchester, LRB
October 24, 2013 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Regular LRB contributor and professor of politics at Cambridge David Runciman believes modern liberal democracies are remarkably good at recovering from crises, but remarkably bad at avoiding them. In his latest book The Confidence Trap (Princeton) he focuses on debt, climate change, the rise of China and the war on terror to argue that what we have learned from [&hellip |
Paul Morley talks about The North (And Almost Everything in It), FoylesPaul Morley talks about The North (And Almost Everything in It), Foyles
October 25, 2013 @ 6:00 pm
Paul Morley has always thought of himself as a northerner, without really knowing what it meant. In his recent book The North (And Almost Everything in It) he commences a journey of self- and regional discovery. From Wordsworth’s elegant verses to Larkin’s wry reflections, Morley shows that northern-ness goes far deeper than just an accent. Austin Williams [&hellip Elizabeth Gilbert on The Signature of All Things, Southbank CentreElizabeth Gilbert on The Signature of All Things, Southbank Centre
October 25, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
The bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love discusses her first novel for 12 years. The Signature of All Things is a big novel about a big century, soaring across the globe from London, to Peru, to Philadelphia, to Tahiti, to Amsterdam. At its centre is Alma Whittaker, a woman of the Enlightened Age who stands defiantly on the [&hellip |
Ali Smith and Jonathan Coe invite you to join them in launching ‘Save the Story’, Daunt Bookshop, MaryleboneAli Smith and Jonathan Coe invite you to join them in launching ‘Save the Story’, Daunt Bookshop, Marylebone
October 26, 2013 @ 10:30 am - 5:00 pm
Jonathan Coe and Ali Smith will be here to talk about their wonderful retellings for children of the classic tales Antigone and Gulliver. Ali Smith was born in Inverness, where she was quite good at ice-skating and spent a lot of time on the back of a black Shetland pony called Hodrum. When she was [&hellip |
Jeremy Paxman in conversation with Prospect, Royal Geographic SocietyJeremy Paxman in conversation with Prospect, Royal Geographic Society
October 27, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Prospect editor Bronwen Maddox in conversation with one of Britain’s most renowned authors and broadcasters, Jeremy Paxman, to mark the launch of his new book and TV Series: Great Britain’s Great War: a sympathetic history of our gravest folly. More information/book tickets |
Malcolm Gladwell – The David and Goliath Tour, Lyceum TheatreMalcolm Gladwell – The David and Goliath Tour, Lyceum Theatre
October 28, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Malcolm Gladwell – global phenomenon, icon of the unexpected, no.1 bestselling author of Blink, The Tipping Point and Outliers – will transform the way you think about power and advantage forever. If you thought small was weak – think again … More information/book tickets |
The Omnivore Pageant Pin-up, The Other ClubThe Omnivore Pageant Pin-up, The Other Club
October 29, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
The Omnivore knows good sex* *And isn’t afraid to ask… you to come to The Omnivore Pop-up Pin-up Party. Our world-famous Pin-ups (as seen in The Telegraph, New Yorker and Christian Science Monitor) will be sharing the literary passages that get them hot under the collar.From Jilly Cooper’s Riders to Norman Mailer’s American [Wet] Dream [&hellip |
Philip Kerr on Prayer, Keats HousePhilip Kerr on Prayer, Keats House
October 30, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Philip Kerr joins us to discuss his life in writing – in particular the latest in his highly acclaimed Bernie Gunther series, A Man Without Breath, and his new novel Prayer. Read all reviews for Prayer here. In his compelling supernatural thriller Prayer, Special Agent Gil Martins investigates a series of deaths, which seem to [&hellip |
Rosie Boycott at The Other ClubRosie Boycott at The Other Club
October 31, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
A bit of feminist history as Rosie Boycott, founder of the Seventies revolutionary feminist magazine Spare Rib, an early director of Virago, now chair of The London Food Board, comes to talk about battles won and lost along the way. More information/book tickets |