2016 Harrogate History Festival Event Guide

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Harrogate History Festival 20-23 Oct 2016 | Harrogate | home of history

Take a step back in time to meet, discuss and celebrate the authors and genre of historical writing, from fact through to fiction.

Joe Abercrombie Antony Beevor Tracy Chevalier Philippa Gregory Janina Ramirez

Paddy Ashdown Tracy Borman Jonathan Dimbleby Tom Holland

Plus many more great names

20-23 Oct. ‘16

Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate Box Office: 01423 562 303

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Welcome to the 2016 Harrogate History Festival.

As an author, I deal with history every day. It’s not often I feel I’m living through it, but 2016 has been a year that will keep historians in work for decades to come. The EU referendum in June revealed a collision between different versions of the past, and different visions for the future, that will take years to play out. In these times, it’s more important than ever that we listen to Cicero’s famous maxim: that those who do not learn their history are doomed to repeat it.

And where better to do that than in the friendly, stimulating environment of the Old Swan hotel, with some of the brightest writers in the field?

I’m proud that this year’s festival is more wide-ranging than ever. From the dynasties of ancient Rome to the tradecraft of the Cold War; from the local delights of Fountains Abbey to the Iron Throne of Westeros; from the best debut novelists to historians at the peak of their profession. Sex, violence, revolution, fire and plague: we’ve got it covered. Unusually among historical festivals, we embrace both fact and fiction (and even a little fantasy). The common thread that unites them all is fantastic storytelling, and it’s a privilege to be presenting these authors who have entertained so many millions of readers and viewers with their work.

Whatever your particular favourites, I know you will find plenty in this year’s festival to excite, inform and inspire you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.

Tom Harper | Programming Chair

Thursday 20 October Yorkshire Post Literary Lunch featuring Jonathan Dimbleby Thursday 20 October | 12-3pm | £35 Join one of the nation’s leading political commentators for a lunch to remember.

In the 1970s, Jonathan climbed the ranks at ITV, presenting This Week, the flagship current affairs show, reporting on crises all over the world.In 1994 he wrote, presented and co-produced Charles, The Private Man, The Public Role and published his book, The Prince of Wales: A Biography.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

home of history Chairman of BBC Radio 4’s weekly Any Questions? Jonathan is also the author of Destiny in The Desert: The Road to El Alamein, which was followed by his BBC 2 programme Churchill’s Desert War. In 2008 his five-part series on Russia was broadcast by BBC 2, accompanied by his book, Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People. His other books include Richard Dimbleby: A Biography, The Palestinians, and The Last Governor. His latest book The Battle of the Atlantic, How the Allies Won the War, explores the often overlooked battle that was crucial to victory in the Second World War. Without it, there would have been no D-Day. Through fascinating contemporary diaries and letters, the book tells the epic story of the decisions that led to victory, and the horror and humanity of life on those perilous seas.

In partnership with Ticket cost includes 3 course lunch, with drinks available to purchase on arrival

Special Guest: Antony Beevor Thursday 20 October | 5-6pm | £11 Antony Beevor has been praised for transforming a genre and inspiring a generation. His history of the battle of Stalingrad not only catapulted him to international fame in 1998, it took military history into the bestseller lists.

With an ability to combine academic rigour with a storyteller’s sensibility, his descriptions of grand sweeping events read ‘more like Tolstoy’ than the dry troop movements of previous military historians.

Treading into the heart of darkness, his follow up Berlin: The Downfall 1945, reportedly brought him to tears. What drives him? A fascination with the war which defined the world he grew up in, and the nature of evil itself.

A former officer with the 11th Hussars, his award-winning books have appeared in more than 30 languages. His latest book Ardennes 1944 – Hitler’s Last Gamble went straight to No 1 on the Sunday Times Bestseller list.

Special Guest: Sir Paddy Ashdown Thursday 20 October | 7.30-8.30pm | £11 Sir Paddy Ashdown is one of the country’s best-known and respected political figures. The former Liberal Democrat leader was also a trained killer, a commander in the Special Boat Section.

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Between 1959 and 1972 he served as a Royal marine, before joining the Foreign Office, working with the UN negotiating international treaties.

The elder statesman, now a life peer, was awarded a Knighthood for services to politics. He was instrumental in orchestrating diplomatic means to secure peace in Bosnia. Proving the pen is more powerful than the sword, he is author of many books on politics, as a diarist, and on military history.

His latest, Game of Spies, tells the story of a lethal spy triangle in Bordeaux between 1942 and 1944 – and of France’s greatest betrayal by aristocratic and right-wing Resistance leader André Grandclément.

Friday 21 October Special Guest: Janina Ramirez Friday 21 October | 10.30-11.30am | £11 With women making history hip, it’s time to crawl out of the Dark Ages. Who better than academic, cultural historian and TV presenter, Dr Janina Ramirez, to shine the torch?

Janina has presented numerous BBC documentaries. Her latest book, The Private Lives of the Saints: Power, Passion and Politics in Anglo Saxon England, explores the power players, king makers and politicians of their day, offering a unique and fascinating lens through which to explore the rich history of the Dark Ages.

Praised by fellow historian Dan Snow, for blasting a ‘powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages’, Janina re-evaluates the role of the saints, taking them from their heavenly status to the human level.

New Blood Friday 21 October | 12-1.30pm | £9 Once again New Blood brings you the dazzling, inspiring, ground-breaking authors who have been shortlisted for the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown.

As ever, these are the crème de la crème of debut authors, with novels spanning centuries, and styles spanning the full breadth of any bookshop’s shelves. Listen to the future stars of our genre with acclaimed novelist Andrew Taylor, as they showcase their first published novels -

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

home of history and find out who will win this coveted award. This year’s impressive shortlist includes Mrs Engels - Gavin McCrea, The Hoarse Oaths of Fife - Chris Moore, Wolf Winter - Cecilia Ekback, Summertime - Vanessa Lafaye, Eden Gardens - Louise Brown and Death and Mr Pickwick - Stephen Jarvis.

1666 and All That Friday 21 October | 2-3pm | £7 Plague, fire, war… 1666 seemed to bring apocalypse to England, yet only a year later, John Dryden hailed it as the nation’s annus mirabilis.

Was this the year we reached rock bottom, or a time when men like Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren and Samual Pepys laid the foundations of Britain’s subsequent greatness?

Historians and novelists debate and discuss the things we lost in the fire, and what rose from the ashes.

Featuring Alexander Larman, Katherine Clements, Rebecca Rideal and chaired by Andrew Taylor.

Sponsored by

Fiction Fiction: New Takes on Literary Greats Friday 21 October | 3.30-4.30pm | £7 Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth Bennet, Hercule Poirot... Some literary characters have taken on a life of their own, reimagined by contemporary novelists and in TV shows such as Dickensian and Penny Dreadful. What are the pleasures and pitfalls of recreating a beloved fictional character? How far can and should you stray from the original work? And why do some characters lend themselves so well to reinvention? Four acclaimed historical writers, Imogen Robertson, Lynn Shepherd, Sophie Hannah and Jo Baker, discuss this popular and fascinating trend from their own personal experience.

Special Guest: Philippa Gregory Friday 21 October | 5-6.30pm | £11 Philippa Gregory needs little introduction. Her bestselling novels include The Other Boleyn Girl, which was made into a TV drama and a major film, and a series on the Plantagenets,

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

which was filmed for the BBC as The White Queen. Now she returns to the Tudors with The Taming of the Queen, asking the scintillating question: Why would a woman marry a serial killer? Because she cannot refuse, of course – especially when that man is King Henry VIII. His previous queen lasted 16 months, but Henry adores Kathryn Parr, a 30-year-old widow. But is that enough to keep her safe? From the author who has described all of Henry’s queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last.

Harrogate International Festivals are delighted to be awarding the Festival’s Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award to Philippa Gregory as part of the event proceedings.

Saturday 22 October Special Guest: Tracy Borman Saturday 22 October | 10.30-11.30am | £11 Borman, joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, is a writer who can really prise out out the humanising details that make the past come alive. The actor Mark Rylance’s hypnotic portrayal of Cromwell helped make an unlikely pin up. The truth of his Tudor box office allure was unpicked by Borman in her definitive biography: Thomas Cromwell, The untold story of Henry VIII’s most faithful servant.

Her latest book, The Private Lives of the Tudors, uncovers revelatory domestic secrets. The Tudors had people to clean their teeth, wash their underwear and run their baths, as well as the worst job title known to history – the Groom of the Stool – intimate body servants who accompanied the king to the privy; constipation being a widespread problem for the Tutor monarchs.

Revolution!

Saturday 22 October | 12-1pm | £7 What brings a society to the brink of revolution? And how do you survive in the midst of such turmoil? Whether victorious or doomed to failure, a revolution is always a profound and shattering moment in history. An exciting panel of historians

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

home of history and novelists brings to life these world-changing movements and shows how they continue to affect us today - from the English Civil War to the French and Russian revolutions and beyond. Vive la revolution, but don’t lose your head! Antonia Hodgson chairs as the following fly their flag – Jacqueline Riding (Jacobites), Marc Morris (1066), Hallie Runbenhold (French Revolution) and SG MacLean (English Civil War).

Sponsored by

War vs Romance: The Debate Saturday 22 October | 2-3pm | £7 All’s fair in love and war, but which is better at capturing the past?

Romantic novels vie with military fiction as the most popular genres of historical writing, yet they often seem to have nothing in common. Is romantic fiction dismissed because it focusses on women and emotions, or is it soft-pedalling the reality of the past? Do action-adventure novels deal with the proper bits of history, or is it just boys playing with swords? Chaired by Lloyd Shepherd, wielding a rapier is Robyn Young, who has taken readers to battlefields on every corner of the globe; ripping their bodices are Pamela Hartshorne, who funded her PhD in medieval history by writing Mills and Boone novels, and Tudor trilogist Elizabeth Fremantle. Let battle commence.

Sponsored by

Beyond Bond: The Intricate World of the Spy Saturday 22 October | 3.30-4.30pm | £7 From Mata Hari to James Bond, from Kipling to Le Carré, spies and spy writing have always ridden at the raciest edge of the genre.

Prolific author Charles Cumming, who was himself tapped on the shoulder by MI5 in his youth, chairs a panel of those who delve into the murky shadows of ciphers and tails, of secrets hidden and exposed and the power they hold. He will be joined by Martin Pearce, author of Spymaster, TV presenter Dr Nick Barratt, author of The Forgotten Spy, and Philip Kerr, author of The Other Side of Silence, to look in depth at the past history of spying on and for this country, and the legacy this leaves us with. If you’re afraid of GCHQ and all it can do, come along to find out how we got from there to here.

Sponsored by

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Special Guest: Tom Holland Saturday 22 October | 5-6pm | £11 Tom Holland has described his writing process as charged with the same kind of passion and joy a poet would channel when writing about love.

The presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Making History has written and presented a number of TV documentaries ranging from religion to dinosaurs. Fantastically quick-brained, he has adapted Homer, Herodotus, and Virgil for the BBC. His latest book, Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar, is a formidable account of Rome’s terrifying first dynasty - a sensational story of the family that transformed and stupefied Rome, in all its depravity and lurid glamour. Holland will be interviewed by 2016 programming chair Tom Harper.

Special Guest: Nicholas Crane Saturday 22 October | 7.30-8.30pm | £11 The co-presenter of BBC’s Coast, he’s been the lead presenter of more than 60 BBC films, and is author of a dozen books. Nick undertook a solo, 17-month, 10,000 kilometre mountain walk across Europe. He’s ridden horseback through Afghanistan and travelled by bicycle over the Himalayas. As a journalist, he’s written extensively on his global travels and raised charitable funds via his expeditions.

His latest offering the 12,000-year story ‘The Making of The British Landscape’ is part journey, part history and poses difficult questions for the future of Britain’s landscapes.

Sunday 23 October Game of Thrones: The True History Sunday 23 October | 10.30-11.30am | £7 George RR Martin’s novels have been described as historical fiction about history that never happened.

In this panel, a fantasy author, a historical novelist, a historian and a medieval academic untangle the facts behind the fantasy. Join Joe Abercrombie, Helen Keen, Tom Holland and Tom Harper as they look at the history

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

home of history that informs the worlds and characters of Game of Thrones, the ways that fantasy can illuminate history, and how writers ever since Tolkien have reinvented the past to make their imagined worlds more real. Winter is coming.

Special Guest: Joe Abercrombie Sunday 23 October | 12-1pm | £11 The Lancaster boy obsessed with computer games, who studied Psychology, then became a freelance film editor working on a dazzling selection of documentaries, music videos and concerts, from Barry White to Coldplay. In 2002, he decided to do something more useful with his spare time than playing video games.

The result? The Blade Itself, an epic fantasy, was snapped up in a seven-figure deal as his First Law Trilogy went on to be published in 13 countries.

The stuff of fantasy itself!

His standalone books have also become bestsellers. Singled out by Games of Thrones author George R.R. Martin for his ‘terrific work’, and by The Times as ‘probably the brightest star among the new generation of British fantasy writers’, his latest, Sharp Ends, combines previously published, award-winning tales with exclusive new short stories.

Special Guest: Tracy Chevalier Sunday 23 October | 2-3pm | £11 Proving Hollywood is hot for historic drama, Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring starred Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson and catapulted the author to the bestseller lists, selling five million copies worldwide.

Spinning fiction from history, her 2009 novel Remarkable Creatures focused on 19th century English fossil hunters; 2004’s The Lady and the Unicorn explored medieval tapestry weavers. Her eighth novel, At the Edge of the Orchard, is a sweeping, compelling story of a pioneer family scraping together a life in the swamps of Ohio.

The critics’ verdict? Dark, powerful, rich, evocative, moving… As well as illuminating the hardship of Ohio in 1838, Tracy brings to life the urge to wrestle with our own roots, however deep and tangled they may be.

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Take a step back in time with our Festival Weekend Break Packages and Rover Ticket options!

Treat yourself to a weekend at the Harrogate History Festival by booking a combined ticket and accommodation package at the Old Swan Hotel.

Weekend Break Packages including 3 nights’ accommodation and tickets for all events over the weekend from 5pm Thursday 20th October are available for £369 per person for two people sharing a double/twin room, or £449 per person for singles. A Weekend Break Package includes: • Three nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation at the Old Swan Hotel • Delicious lunches at the Old Swan Hotel on Friday 21 & Saturday 22 October • A Festival Goody Bag • Your Rover Ticket, giving you access to events across the weekend* Weekend Rover Ticket* £150 for all events throughout the weekend Friday Rover Ticket

£45 for all events on Friday 21 October

Saturday Rover Ticket £54 for all events on Saturday 22 October *Weekend Rover tickets do not include the Literary Lunch

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

An Evening with Michael Connelly

Tuesday 18 October | 7.30pm | The Crown Hotel Harrogate | home of crime

See the multi-award winning writer in his final stop on his intimate UK tour.

Tickets £10 or £25* *including a copy of the new hardback The Wrong Side of Goodbye Book signing to follow event.

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

How to Book:

By Phone: 01423 562 303 Online:

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

In Person: Harrogate International Festivals, 32 Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate, HG1 1DB Opening Times: Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm Payment:

Tickets on the door:

Harrogate International Festivals accept all major credit/debit cards (except American Express), cash or cheques. Cheques should be made payable to ‘HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS’.

In order to cover the cost of postage there is an additional £1 charge for postal orders, however, you can choose to collect your tickets on the door or at the Festival office prior to the event.

Tickets will be sold at the venue 30 minutes prior to the performance, subject to availability and a £1.75 transaction fee.

Booking Fee: Harrogate International Festivals charges a £1.75 transaction fee per booking. Ticket sales alone do not cover the costs of our Box Office and booking fees are vital to the development, maintenance and running of our in-house Box Office. For more information and for full Terms and Conditions please visit our website: harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Visitors with Disabilities: All Festival venues have wheelchair access and we offer free tickets for carers. For more information and to book wheelchair seating please call our Box Office.

Returned Tickets: The Box Office cannot refund money or exchange tickets, except in the case of a cancelled performance. We are happy to try and re-sell returned tickets for sold-out events for a small charge.

Event Procedure: We request that all guests leave the room at the end of each event to help improve the speed that our staff can have the next event ready. If personal items are left in the Ballroom they will be removed and taken to the Festival Desk.

Gift Vouchers Why not treat a Friend or relative to an event at the Festival? Gift vouchers are available from the Festival Box Office for all Festival events.

Harrogate History Festival Sponsors

Community Partner

writing that brings history to life

Harrogate International Festivals’ Premier Partners

Other Festivals you may be interested in

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS