hlf-2015-adult by HenleyLiteraryFestival

FILM & TV

POETRY

LEADING HISTORI ANS STARS

RELIGION SPORT POLITICIANS

Comedians

28 SEPT – 4 OCT

MUSICIA NS

FOOD-WRITERS

BESTSELLING AUTHORS

in association with

BAILLIE GIFFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIP

AT BAILLIE GIFFORD WE BELIEVE IN THE VALUE OF GREAT LITERATURE AND IN LONG-LASTING SUCCESS STORIES.

We love great work that stands the test of time. Baillie Gifford is delighted to continue to sponsor some of the most renowned literary festivals throughout the UK. We believe that, much like a classic piece of literature, a great investment philosophy will stand the test of time. Baillie Gifford is one of the UK’s largest independent investment trust managers. In our daily work in investments we do our very best to emulate the imagination, insight and intelligence that successful writers bring to the creative process. In our own way we’re publishers too. Our free, award-winning Trust magazine provides you with an engaging and insightful overview of the investment world, along with details of our literary festival activity throughout the UK.

To find out more or to take out a free subscription for Trust magazine, please call us on 0800 280 2820 or visit us at www.bgtrustonline.com Baillie Gifford – long-term investment partners Your call may be recorded for training or monitoring purposes. Baillie Gifford Savings Management Limited (BGSM) produces Trust magazine and is an affiliate of Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, which is the manager and secretary of seven investment trusts. Your personal data is held and used by BGSM in accordance with data protection legislation. We may use your information to send you details about Baillie Gifford products, funds or special offers and to contact you for business research purposes. We will only disclose your information to other companies within the Baillie Gifford group and to agents appointed by us for these purposes. You can withdraw your consent to receiving further marketing communications from us and to being contacted for business research purposes at any time. You also have the right to review and amend your data at any time.

I am delighted to be introducing what I believe is our most varied, thought-provoking and accessible festival yet. I was struck, in the coverage of Richard Attenborough’s memorial service, by this quote from his maiden Lords’ speech: “The arts are not a luxury; nor are they the playground of the intelligentsia. The arts are for everyone – and failure to include everyone diminishes us all.” More eloquently than I could hope to, this sums up perfectly what we strive to do at the Festival and I really feel we have done it this time. Where else could you see a food-blogging sensation, one of pop’s smartest songwriters, an EastEnders star and the Archbishop of York? And that’s just the Tuesday. How about Friday, with the Green MP, the lieutenant general, the ‘hot feminist’ and a radio icon? We’ve got our strongest ever line-up of novelists – some great new talents as well as the creators of Captain Corelli, Jane Tennison and Carrie Bradshaw. We look at important issues like diversity and religion in an accessible way, as well as ensuring that the lighter side of life – from cookery to some of the country’s top humourists – is also celebrated. We take it as a sign we are doing something right when authors are happy to come back – returning speakers this year include Melvyn Bragg, Bonnie Greer, Ranulph Fiennes and Deborah Moggach – and are equally thrilled when those who have long been on our wish list – Brian Blessed, John Sentamu, Lynda La Plante, Sue Perkins and many more – are tempted along for the first time. So this year, more than ever before, I believe we truly have something for everyone, at affordable prices in the heart of the town we are so proud of.

Sue Ryan Festival Director, Henley Literary Festival

And the children’s Festival Question: What do you get at the Festival that has seen attendance surge by a third since it grew to seven-days-long in 2012? Answer: A children’s festival that lives up to its ‘big sister’ in terms of variety, top-quality events and accessibility. After our jump from six children’s events in 2013 to 26 last year surpassed all our expectations, we reacted the only way we know how: bigger and better! I’m thrilled at the 50 events on offer for children aged two and up this year, from top authors like Lauren Child and David Melling to much-loved family favourites, Alice in Wonderland and the Famous Five. And, like the main festival, its not just about the big names: we’ve some really exciting interactive and educational events. Dinosaurs, pirates, princesses, trolls… you name it, we’ve got it. Make sure to join us at the Festival Hub in Market Place over the weekend, where we’ll have regular free events.

Harriet Reed-Ryan Events Director, Henley Literary Festival Cover design: Gwen Glynn (www.gwenglynn.com)

Welcome

Welcome to the 2015 Henley Literary Festival

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BOX OFFICE

DISABLED ACCESS

Strada Box Office Mon-Thurs RG9 2BG

All venues have disabled access. The Hibernia is suitable for push wheelchair access but there are no disabled toilet facilities on the boat. Please notify the Box Office if you require disabled access or seating at a venue, or have any special requirements, as the venue must be notified prior to the event taking place.

The Baillie Gifford Festival Hub Box Office Fri-Sun RG9 2AQ

Independent bookseller for more than 40 years

PARTNER BOOKSELLER

Tel. 01491 572583

The Bell Bookshop bellbookshop@btconnect.com RG9 2BL

Book tickets by phone Or online at on 01491 575948 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 10am-2pm Monday to Friday

From 21st July

General booking opens on Tuesday 21st July, with Friends of the Festival booking open from Monday 13th July (don’t miss page 63 for details of how to become a Friend). Tickets can be collected from the Bell Bookshop in the centre of Henley or posted to you at home. During the Festival, our Box Office will be in Strada (Bell Street) from Monday 28th September to Thursday 1st October, and in the Baillie Gifford Festival Hub (Market Place) from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th October.

The Baillie Gifford Festival Hub

Festival information

Box Office Information - Booking Tickets

For the second year running, we are delighted to have a wonderful space on Market Place in the centre of town from Friday 2nd-Sunday 4th October, open from 9am-6pm.

Visit the Baillie Gifford Festival Hub to: Book tickets at the Box Office, pick up a festival map and have your chance to win free tickets in our daily giveaways Enter Baillie Gifford’s competition to win a fabulous weekend away at Stratford Literary Festival 2016 Eat, drink and be merry! Laithwaite’s Wine will be offering samples and a pop-up shop with exclusive deals. Dragonfly Tea will be inviting you to sit comfortably and enjoy a complimentary cup of tea while reading entries for their Story in a teacup creative writing competition (see page 71). And – last but not least – Hotel du Vin’s gorgeous, oldfashioned Citroën Van du Vin will be selling food and drink. Enjoy free children’s events (for ages 2+) as part of the Henley Children’s Literary Festival, supported by The Head Partnership Solicitors. Pop in to meet life-size Kipper the dog or high-five Maisy the Mouse, and discover free events in our performance area throughout each day. Stock up at The Bell Bookshop’s pop-up shop, which will be selling a broad selection of signed books from top festival authors.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 5

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Entertainment: As ever, we are delighted to bring some of our most-loved stars of stage and screen to Henley: from Virginia McKenna (p26), Glynis Barber (p52) and Brian Blessed (p55) to newer talents like Sue Perkins (p41), Katy Wix and Tim Key (p49). Everything But The Girl star Tracey Thorn (p48) reveals what its like to perform in front of thousands, while singer-songwriters Dean Friedman (p21) and Charlie Dore (p28) may even treat us to a song or two.

Festival highlights

Current affairs: In the wake of May’s election, we’re joined by MPs past and present – including Kwasi Kwarteng (p26), Vince Cable (p27), Charles Clarke (p31) and Caroline Lucas (p39). We’re also hosting what will no doubt be a very lively discussion on the recent governmental coalition, featuring three leading commentators and front-bencher Norman Baker (p40). A strong religious presence at this year’s festival includes John Sentamu (p19), Cormac Murphy O’Connor (p23) and Jonathan Sacks (p31), as well as an event looking at interfaith relationships (p27). And, with diversity in publishing the subject of a major new report, we bring together four excellent speakers on the issue (p56).

Fiction: We kick off with a bang on Monday 28th September (p8-13) with five international bestsellers. Later in the week, we’ll welcome back Henley favourites Deborah Moggach (p17), Gill Hornby (p30), Jane Thynne (p39), Emma Kennedy (p51) and Melyvn Bragg (p61). We’ll also be showcasing debut authors and newer writers, which this year include Vaseem Khan (p24), Sunny Singh (p34), Helle Helle (p34), Cesca Major (p37) and Samantha Shannon (p52). History: We span a million years within just one event, courtesy of Horrible Histories ace Greg Jenner (p45). Stephen Church (p38) marks 800 years since Magna Carta, while Wendy Holden (p14), Michael Jones (p25), Max Hastings (p45) and Will Iredale with veteran Keith Quilter (p33) mark 70 years since the end of the Second World War. Plus, Bonnie Greer (p29) gives a special talk on Rosa Parks, 60 years after her inspirational protest. A year of firsts: This year sees our inaugural literary lunch with master raconteur Gyles Brandreth (p37), a Proof Party (p33) with two of next year’s hottest debuts at stunning Bix Manor, our first event at the historic Fawley Court with Jessica Fellowes (p48) talking all things Downton Abbey, plus an exciting new creative writing competition (p71) launched in partnership with Dragonfly Tea – as well as a special photo exhibition at the Fire Station Gallery, showcasing our beloved Henley-on-Thames (p36). Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 7

September

28 Monday

Tracy Borman

The Story of the Tower of London 10.30am Kenton Theatre

£9

One of the most famous buildings in Britain, the Tower of London has been a fortress and royal residence, prison, weapons factory, Royal Mint, menagerie and, of course, home of the Crown Jewels. Building work began on the Tower of London after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when London was merely a small town with 10,000 inhabitants. The Tower has witnessed pomp and ceremony but also treachery and torture. Those murdered or executed within its walls include the ‘princes in the Tower’, Henry VI, Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey. As curator of the Royal Palaces, who better to tell its story than author and historian Tracy, who was married there earlier this year!

John Julius Norwich 10.30am Town Hall

£9

One of our best-loved and most respected historians makes a return visit to talk about Sicily, an island he first visited in 1961 and which inspired him to become a writer. Now he recounts the fascinating history of this beguiling place that has has been invaded and fought over – by Phoenicians and Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, Spaniards and the French – for thousands of years. A master of his craft with an island story that moves from erupting volcanoes to the assassination of Byzantine emperors, from Nelson’s affair with Emma Hamilton to Garibaldi and the rise of the Mafia.

River Readings

10.30am, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, Hibernia £12 including tea or coffee provided by The Chocolate Cafe Given the prominence of the Thames in verse and prose, and Henley’s literary connections, where better to reflect on great writing from the past than a River Reading aboard the Hibernia. This year the talented Jane Trainer invites a trio of actors to join her in making your trip down the Thames both amusing and moving: Jeremy Child, Sally Nesbitt and Peter Broad. Actor Peter was also director of drama at that unlikely production line of Hollywood talent, Eton College, which has produced young stars including Eddie Redmayne and Damian Lewis. Proving it is not just a recent phenomenon, Eton-alumni Jeremy’s impressive career has included The Iron Lady and The Madness of George V at the National. Sally has a stream of television and film credits to her name including EastEnders and King Ralph, while Jane is best known for her part in the Alan Partridge TV series and as the female lead in Heartlands opposite Michael Sheen.

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September

John Lister-Kaye

12.30pm Town Hall

Not one to shy from controversy, Max has spent nearly 50 years in motorsport as driver, team owner and president of the FIA, the sport’s governing body. With Bernie Ecclestone, he helped transform Formula One into a multi-billion-pound global brand. The son of British Union of Fascists founder Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford, both interned during the war, he has had to deal with the taint of the family name and, more recently, a high profile court case against the Murdoch press. Lots to discuss with TV presenter and journalist Anne.

Santa Montefiore

Monday

Max Mosley

£10

A must for nature lovers in the perfect setting of a boat on the Thames. For more than three decades, Sir John has been enraptured by the spectacular seasonal metamorphosis at Aiga. He explores the habits of the Highland animals, in particular the birds – or, Gods of the Morning – for whom he has nourished a lifelong passion. From warbling blackcaps and whooper swans to tawny owls and regal roebucks strutting in the broom and gorse, he follows a year through the turning of the seasons at the worldrenowned Highlands field centre.

Rachel Johnson

2.30pm Kenton Theatre

£12

A real Henley favourite returns with her headline-grabbing new novel, Fresh Hell. Journalist Mimi Fleming moves back to Notting Hill to discover that her friends in the area have become even richer, thinner and seemingly younger. Talk about neighbours from hell! After three previous sell-out events, you know you are in for a fun afternoon with Rachel.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 9

2.30pm Christ Church

Monday

£12

No one who saw the Oscar-winning The Theory of Everything left without great admiration for Stephen Hawking’s first wife Jane. Her fascinating and frank memoir, Travelling to Infinity, on which the film was based, tells the inside story of their extraordinary marriage. As his academic career soared, he battled with motor neurone disease and Jane had to deal with his 24-hour care and the needs of their growing family. It is a remarkable story of a marriage that ends in a high-profile meltdown, which Jane movingly talks about with candour and humour– but it is also a tale of great optimism.

September

Jane Hawking

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The author of the international best-seller Captain Corelli’s Mandolin makes his Henley debut talking about his new novel The Dust that Falls from Dreams, which takes place in the years of King Edward VII’s reign. Set in Kent, it tells the story of four sisters and the sons of two neighbouring families, whose days of childhood adventure are shadowed by the approach of war that takes the boys to the Western Front. It is a moving story of immense changes for the young adults as they cope with the devastation of the Great War and try to find happiness in its aftermath. A master storyteller talks about his latest acclaimed work with Society of Authors chair, Daniel Hahn.

Monday

Louis de Bernières

Sex and the City in Henley? The real-life Carrie Bradshaw – whose columns and books charting the single and not-so-single life in New York spawned the TV and film phenomenon – makes her UK literary festival debut. Since being immortalised on screen by Sarah JessicaParker, Candace has gone on to write and produce Lipstick Jungle and The Carrie Diaries. Her latest novel, Killing Monica sees a writer whose novels about a young woman making her way in Manhattan have become a hit series. But now that she wants to kill-off her most famous character, she faces opposition from her greedy husband and the actress who plays Monica: SondraBeth Schnowzer…

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2.30pm Town Hall

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4.30pm Kenton Theatre

£9

September

Deborah Moggach

James Campbell, the compiler of Shepard’s War, gives a unique insight into the life of an incredibly talented yet humble man. E.H. (Ernest Howard) Shepard holds a unique position as an artist. As the illustrator of both the Winnie-the-Pooh series by A. A. Milne and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, his images are part of the memory of nearly every child. But there is a very different part of his life when he served as a frontline officer from 1915 to the end of the war. He produced over a hundred pieces of original artwork, ranging from caricatures of fellow officers to sketches made during battle in wartime notebooks and diaries.

Tuesday

James Campbell

The wonderful writer behind The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel returns to the festival after her sell-out event in 2013 to talk about her latest novel, Something to Hide. We straddle the world with four female protagonists. There’s Petra, who falls in love with her best friend’s husband. Cut to West Africa and to Bev, who she’s been betraying so spectacularly. Meanwhile, Texan Lorrie is about embark on the biggest deception of her life, and in China Li-Jing is trying to understand exactly what it is her husband does on his West African business trips. Everyone has something to hide – indeed, can anyone be trusted?

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Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

In conversation with Anne Robinson 12.30pm Kenton Theatre

£12

Cormac was Catholic Primate of England and Wales during a time of turbulence and change. In An English Spring, he reflects on his life with affection and wry humour; his Irish Catholic roots and English upbringing; his training for the priesthood in Rome; and his surprise appointment as Archbishop of Westminster at the age of 67. All of this gave him access to some of the remarkable men who have shaped the modern Church, including Pope John Paul II, John Carmel Heenan, Derek Worlock and Basil Hume. A man with passionate commitment to the family, the community, and the search for Christian unity, Cormac joins us to discuss the mistakes and achievements of his own career, and reflect frankly on the terrible anguish suffered by the victims of abuse by priests.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 23

September

30 Wednesday

Dazzling Debuts Rachael Ball, Emma Hooper & Vaseem Khan in conversation with Joe Haddow 12.30pm Town Hall £7 One our most popular recurring strands, where three debut novelists come together to talk about books that have each made a tremendous impact in the world of publishing. Vaseem returned to England from India in 2006 and works at UCL for the Department of Security and Crime Science. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra sees Ashwin Chopra retired from the Mumbai police force but diverted by the mysterious drowning of a young boy and a baby elephant. Emma Hooper is a Canadian-born musician and lecturer whose Etta and Otto and Russell and James centres on 83 year-old Etta setting off on a 3,232 kilometre trek with a rifle, some chocolate and her best boots, to fulfill her wish to see the ocean for the first time and leaving her unaware husband Otto behind. Rachael Ball is a cartoonist, teacher and now, with The Inflatable Woman, a novelist. The graphic novel tells the story of Iris, a zookeeper looking for love when she is diagnosed with breast cancer.

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‘I am aware of being in a beautiful prison, from which I can only escape by writing’ Anaïs Nin

£7

2.30pm Kenton Theatre

£9

As presenter of Radio 4’s Any Answers, Anita is a familiar voice. Now she has written an acclaimed first book Sophia – Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, the true story of Sophia Duleep Singh. Born in 1876 she was the daughter of Maharajah Duleep Singh and heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, a realm plundered by the British including the fabled KohI-Noor diamond. The dispossessed Maharajah was exiled to England where Sophia, goddaughter of Queen Victoria, was raised a genteel aristocratic Englishwoman. But when she secretly travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary, devoting herself to fighting for Indian independence, the welfare of Indian soldiers in the trenches and, above all, for female suffrage.

Jane Wellesley 2.30pm Town Hall

September

Anita Anand

The highly respected historian looks at the 10 days of war that followed Hitler’s suicide on April 30, 1945. Michael gives us a narrative day-by-day countdown and looks at the wider canvas of the war and the terrible humanitarian catastrophe, as Stalin’s East finally came face-to-face with Churchill and Truman’s West. After Hitler tells of the brief but poignant hope that these great nations could together fashion a new and safer future. This is a fascinating exploration of the brief but crucial period that shaped the emerging post-war world.

Wednesday

Michael Jones 12.30pm Town Hall

£9

On the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, there could be no more apt time for a journey through the Wellington family history by Lady Jane, the daughter of the 8th Duke who died last New Year’s Eve. When the first Duke died Queen Victoria wept mourning the loss of ‘the greatest man England has known’. In Wellington: A Journey Through My Family, Jane shows the Iron Duke as husband and father, as brother and several degrees of grandfather – as well as exploring the lives of the Wellington women, who are often reduced to footnotes in conventional histories.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 25

September

30 Wednesday

Scyld Berry

2.30pm Town Hall

£7

For 40 years Scyld has chronicled the game of cricket. But it has been part of his life for even longer and in Cricket: The Game of Life, he has produced a book that will appeal to anyone who has ever watched a Test Match or paused at a village green to watch a game. With fascinating insights, unfamiliar historical angles and moving reflections on episodes from his own life he covers a range of themes including cricket in different areas of the world, and abstract concepts such as language, numbers, ethics and psychology. The cricket correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph, Scyld is also a former editor of Wisden.

Virginia McKenna and Stephen Walton 4.30pm Kenton Theatre

£12 Established as an icon of British cinema with films like Carve Her Name With Pride and Ring of Bright Water, it was Born Free that set both Virginia and her late husband Bill Travers on a very different course. Now she is as respected as a wildlife campaigner and conservationist as she is as an actress. She not only wrote the foreword to wildlife artist Stephen’s beautifully illustrated book Counting Lions: Portraits From the Wild but acted as consultant on which animals to include. A 5% royalty will be donated to the Born Free Foundation for every copy sold.

Kwasi Kwarteng £9

4.30pm Town Hall

Two years into Margaret Thatcher’s premiership she faced a major crisis. In Thatcher’s Trial: Six Months That Defined a Leader, historian and MP Kwasi looks at the period in 1981 when unemployment had risen to levels not seen since the 1930s and public finances foundered in their worst state since 1945. March marked the beginning of a sixmonth period of pressures in Northern Ireland, hunger strikes, riots and unprecedented unrest within the Conservative Party.

26 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 26 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

£9

6.30pm Town Hall

Vince Cable

8.30pm Kenton Theatre £7

A novelist and a rabbi meet in Henley….to discuss marriage between different faiths. Meike’s new novel Kauthar has at its centre Lydia whose London life lacks purpose – until her discovery of mystical Islam offers a new beginning and she becomes ‘Kauthar’. She falls in love with Rafiq, an Iraqiborn doctor – but when he decides to return to war-torn Baghdad, personal conflicts arise. Perhaps she should have consulted Maidenhead’s Rabbi Romain who has counselled 2,000 couples on the matter and wrote Til Faith Us Do Part. He talks about why families object, and what happens when parents find out about mixed-faith dating. A fascinating combination on a troublesome subject.

£12

Vince is part of that rarest of sub-categories – a politician liked and respected outside of party affiliations. Having served as Business Secretary for the last five years, he visits Henley with After the Storm: The World Economy and Britain’s Economic Future. As an economist, as well as an MP for two decades and key member of the coalition government, he is able to offer a unique perspective on the state of the global financial markets and how the British economy has been managed since 2008. And with the Lib Dem conference held the previous week, Vince will no doubt reflect on the state of his party after an election that saw it lose 49 seats, including his own.

September

Jonathan Romain and Meike Ziervogel

Head of the Downing Street policy unit under Thatcher, Ferdinand recounts the days of colonial India through the lives of his grandmother’s family – the Lows of Clatto. The Tears of the Rajas looks at their lives between 1805 and 1905, when they survived mutiny, siege, debt and disease. In their letters and diaries the Lows often reveal their loneliness and desperation and their doubts about what they are doing in India. They faced bankruptcies in Scotland and Calcutta, plagues and fevers, the deaths of children and deaths in childbirth. It was a life too of the camps and palaces they lived in, the grand balls and the flirtations in the hill stations.

Wednesday

Ferdinand Mount 6.30pm Kenton Theatre

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 27

September

30 Wednesday

Tom Fort

8.30pm Town Hall

Charlie Dore and Jenny Boyd

£9

Join a local favourite as he describes his fascinating journey along the shore of the English Channel, the busiest waterway in the world. The narrow sea has been crucial to the development and prosperity of the English as island inhabitants and a nation of seafarers. In Channel Shore, Tom set out to find just what this stretch of water means to us and what is so special about the English seaside. Hear his tales of eating whelks in Brighton, building a sandcastle in Sandbanks, sunbathing in Sidmouth, catching prawns at Salcombe and hunting a shark off Looe. Stories of smugglers and shipwreck robbers, of beachcombers and samphire gatherers, gold diggers and fossil hunters abound.

8.30pm Town Hall

£9

Is creative energy wrenched from the soul or does it just come through the window on a flaming pie? Find out as you join Jenny and Charlie for an hour of discussion and live music. Having interviewed 75 world-famous musicians for her book, It’s Not Only Rock’n’Roll, Jenny – sister of Pattie, and former wife of Mick Fleetwood – has delved into the drive to create, the role of the unconscious and the importance of nurturance in creativity, as well as the effects of chemicals and drugs on the process. Singersongwriter, Charlie is known for writing multiaward-winning songs for artists including Tina Turner, Celine Dion and George Harrison, as well as her own international hit, Pilot of the Airwaves and top-10 songs across Europe. Her latest album, Milk Roulette has been described as poignant, funny and lyrically fearless.

Rosa Parks: Mother of the civil rights movement 10.30am Kenton Theatre

£9

1 October

The broadcaster and playwright returns after last year’s sell-out to give a talk celebrating Rosa Parks, 60 years after her famous protest in Montgomery, Alabama, when she refused to give up her seat to a white person. Rosa was taken to court and, after a lengthy legal battle, the case was thrown out, though her stand helped to intensify the cause of the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King. There could be no figure more fascinating and heroic than Parks, and no better or more passionate a person to talk about her than Bonnie, who wrote a BBC radio play about her life.

Thursday

Bonnie Greer

Christine Lee

The Midwife’s Sister 10.30am Town Hall

£9

Call the Midwife has become one of the most loved and watched television programmes of recent years; now get an insight into the childhood of Jennifer Worth, on whose books the series is based, from her sister Christine. When their parents divorced, Jennifer had to become a parent to her younger sister. Christine deals with the cruelty and a neglect that the sisters suffered, and how they both pulled through these troubled early years to find the happiness that eventually came. They both trained as nurses, and while Jennifer later followed a career in music and writing, Christine turned her hand to sculpture – and now also, we’re glad to say, to writing.

Unity Spencer and Carolyn Leder 10.30am Town Hall

£7

Unity reflects on her relationship with her father, the great Cookhambased artist Stanley Spencer. An accomplished artist herself, she had an unconventional childhood and a turbulent relationship with the father of her own child. In 1937, after the disastrous split between Stanley and Hilda, he completed Hilda, Unity and Dolls – a reflection of the emptiness and ruin that awaited him, and Hilda’s subsequent mental breakdown. Unity’s story in Lucky to Be an Artist is a compelling insight into the life of a great painter. Art historian and trustee of the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Carolyn joins her to discuss the life and work of both artists.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 29

October

1 Thursday

Gill Hornby

12.30pm Kenton Theatre

£9

Gill returns with All Together Now, the much-anticipated follow-up to her hugely successful debut novel, The Hive. Set in the village of St Ambrose it tells the story of the Bridgeford Community Choir whose singing coach dies unexpectedly before a big contest, meaning the motley group must join forces in pursuit of an unlikely goal. Featuring an eclectic cast of characters – including a mother suffering from empty nest syndrome, a middle-aged man who has just lost his job and his family, and a 19-year-old waitress who dreams of reality TV stardom.

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Yasmin Khan

12.30pm Town Hall

£7

The Second World War saw India produce the largest volunteer army in world history, comprised of 2.5 million men. Oxford University history professor Yasmin has written the first comprehensive account of this extraordinary army and its role at home and abroad, an overlooked and hidden story. The mobilisation introduced economic, cultural and social change – decisively shaping the international war effort, the unravelling of the empire and India’s own political and economic trajectory.

Peter Stanford

Judas: The Troubling History of the Renegade Apostle 12.30pm Town Hall

£7

The very name has become synonymous with betrayal. But what is the background to this key Biblical figure? Peter’s fascinating historical and cultural biography, Judas deconstructs that most vilified characters: Judas Iscariot, who famously betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Beginning with the gospel accounts, Peter explores two thousand years of cultural and theological history to investigate the man. A highly-respected writer and broadcaster, Peter’s previous books include The Devil – A Biography, and Heaven – A Traveller’s Guide to the Undiscovered Country.

Sonia Purnell

2.30pm Town Hall

£9

As Winston Churchill’s wife, Clementine was a pivotal figure in his becoming Prime Minister – a fact he publicly recognised in saying that his efforts during the war would have been ‘‘impossible without her”. With First Lady: The Private Wars of Clementine Churchill, Sonia – also author of the acclaimed biography of Boris Johnson – delves into the remarkable life of a woman born into impecunious aristocracy. In Winston, Clementine discovered a partner as emotionally insecure as her, and in his career she found her mission. It was a marriage that changed the course of history.

30 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 30 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

2.30pm Kenton Theatre

£12

In conversation with Lucy Cavendish 2.30pm Town Hall

October

Patrick Gale and Polly Samson

Rabbi Lord Sacks is recognised as one of this country’s great thinkers, having been Chief Rabbi for 22 years and authored 25 books. His latest, Not in God’s Name, deals with the rising tide of violence carried out ‘in God’s name’. But he argues that that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of the texts of the Bible that have influenced all three of the Abrahamic faiths. And, he says, we must heed the clarion call for people of goodwill from all faiths to join together to end the misunderstandings that threaten to destroy us all.

Thursday

Jonathan Sacks

£7

The very successful novelists behind two of this year’s most acclaimed books join forces to talk about their writing. Patrick’s latest, A Place Called Winter, was inspired by a family mystery about his mother’s “Cowboy Grandpa” – who, he was told, lived in a Canadian log cabin and killed bears with his bare hands. This family folklore formed the basis for his hero, Harry Cane, throwing off convention to head to the Canadian Prairies. Patrick is joined by Polly, who pursued a career in publishing (and by 24 years-old was on the board of Jonathan Cape) before turning her hand to journalism, and then to fiction writing. A revered lyricist, Polly has also contributed to Pink Floyd’s last two albums, as well as the solo work of her husband, David Gilmour. At the centre of her latest book, The Kindness, is a deception begging the question – can we ever truly trust each other?

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Charles Clarke

4.30pm Kenton Theatre

£9

Former Home Secretary and Education Secretary, Charles has co-authored two books: British Conservative Leaders and British Labour Leaders. He worked closely with Neil Kinnock and served on the front bench through most of Tony Blair’s premiership, but proved a fierce critic of both Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband – so it will be interesting to hear his take on Labour’s newest leader, elected just weeks earlier. He joins us in party conference season to discuss the best (and worst) leaders from either side of the Commons.

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Tops Marquees

4.30pm Town Hall

£9

6.30pm Bix Manor

£9 including books and a glass of Laithwaite’s wine

October

Proof Party with Tinder Press

A dramatic and emotional journey back to 1945. The war in Europe was over – but on the other side of the world, the Allies were still engaged in a bitter battle against the Japanese, who unleashed a terrible new form of warfare: the suicide pilots, or kamikaze. In Kamikaze Hunters, former Shiplake College pupil Will tells the story of the men facing the terrifying reality of fighting against these pilots, who – rather than risk their country’s dishonourable defeat – deliberately flew their planes into Allied aircraft carriers. Joining Will is Keith, aged 93 and one of those survivors, giving you a rare chance to hear firsthand what it felt like to come face-to-face with the kamikaze.

Thursday

Will Iredale and Keith Quilter

We’re delighted to be back at Bix Manor as Imogen Taylor, publishing director of Headline’s literary imprint, Tinder Press and editor Mary-Ann Harrington introduce two of their most exciting acquisitions for 2016. Debut authors Rebecca Mackenzie and Sarah Duguid will talk about their experience of writing, securing a publisher – and now preparing to launch their books onto the world stage next spring. Join all four for a glass of wine as they discuss the collaborative process and answer questions about writing and publishing. A proof copy of each novel will be exclusively available to each attendee.

Lisa Faulkner

6.30pm Kenton Theatre

£12

We’ve still not met anyone who doesn’t like tea and cake – especially when it’s sumptuously delivered by actress-turned-chef, Lisa. Bestselling author of Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter and winner of Celebrity MasterChef, she joins us to serve up a slice of Tea and Cake with Lisa Faulkner – packed full with recipes for biscuits, cakes, tarts and pies to dunk, slice and devour on your tea break, as well as fancier treats for special occasions and a whole chapter devoted to all things chocolate.

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October

Lynsey Addario and Sunny Singh In conversation with Clive Limpkin 6.30pm Town Hall

£9

Thursday

Fact meets fiction with leading war photographer, Lyndsey looking back on her career alongside journalist and writer, Sunny – whose latest novel features a female war photographer as its protagonist. Lynsey’s It’s What I Do is the story of how war has shaped her life. From Afghanistan to Iraq, to Darfur and her headline-making kidnapping by pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya, hers is a life packed with drama. Sunny’s Hotel Arcadia tells the story of Sam, a war photographer famous for capturing hauntingly beautiful pictures of the dead, who checks into an expensive hotel at the exact moment terrorists launch an attack. It is a dramatic and moving account of how the attack affects not just Sam, but the hotel manager and a small child found alive among the dead bodies. How close to fact is fiction?

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Around the world in books 8.30pm Town Hall

£7

8.30pm Town Hall

£9

Activist and journalist, Caroline made headlines in 2013 with her campaign to make sure there was at least one woman featured on British bank notes. In Do It Like A Woman…and Change the World, she tells how every day, all around the world, women are reinventing what it means to be female in cultures where power, privilege or basic freedoms are all too often equated with being male. She introduces us to some of these pioneering women: the first to cross the Antarctic alone; a female fighter pilot in Afghanistan; Russian punks who rocked out against Putin; and the Iranian journalist who dared to uncover her hair.

A 20 minute drive from Henley is the charming village of Woodcote. For almost nine years our highly acclaimed restaurant, opposite the village green, has been offering delicious food, wonderful wine (from their own Australian vineyard) and great value! To all Henley Literary Festival attendees bringing along this programme during the festival, we are extending a warm welcome together with a discount of 15% off the total bill. Open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch, Wednesday to Saturday for dinner. See our website for samples of our table d’hote, a la carte and Sunday menus. Reservations recommended 01491 680775 Located just off the A4074 Oxford to Reading road at Goring Road, Woodcote, RG8 0SD.

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October

Caroline Criado-Perez

As the world arrived in London for the Olympics Ann set herself the task of reading her way around the globe’s 196 independent countries, sampling one book from every nation. As Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer shows, she learned a great deal about the world. Joining her is Helle, arguably Denmark’s foremost modern novelist, who recently received the Lifetime Award of the Danish Arts Council. Her work has been translated into 13 languages, with her latest, This Book Should be Written in the Present Tense, the first to be printed in English. Who better to chair the conversation than top translator, much-travelled writer and festival favourite, Daniel?

Thursday

Ann Morgan, Helle Helle and Daniel Hahn

October

2 Friday

A Portrait of Henley 10.30am Town Hall

£7

Henley isn’t just about the Royal Regatta, as photographer Jim Donahue proves in his varied and impressive images of our town. Joined by local figures featured in the book, he talks about how he chose the subjects for Portrait of Henleyon-Thames, which looks way beyond the usual stereotypes. The American-born award-winning photographer portrays local sport, business, music and the arts, plus not-to-beoverlooked events including the Mayor Making ceremony and the annual ploughing match. An exhibition of select photographs from A Portrait of Henley takes place all week at the Old Fire Station Gallery in Market Place, open from 10am to 8pm.

Frederick Kelly and Rupert Brooke’s Great War Jon Cooksey, Graham McKechnie and Mike Read 10.30am Kenton Theatre

£9

Frederick Kelly was a remarkable man – a musician, composer and rower for both Henley’s own Leander Club and Great Britain at the 1908 Olympics – and one of many who died far too young in the Great War. His diary, Kelly’s War, covers the period from 1914-16 and is a detailed, movingly written account offering an insight into the Royal Naval Division, a group of sailors serving on land as soldiers. Formed by Winston Churchill, it included some of the most eminent scholars, thinkers, artists and athletes of the time – including Rupert Brooke, with whom Kelly was intimately acquainted and whose final hours he witnessed. Broadcaster Mike is the founder of the Rupert Brooke Society and now author of Forever England, a fascinating account of the man who wrote his own epitaph: “If I should die, think only this of me: that there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England”.

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Anne de Courcy

12.30pm Kenton Theatre

£9

Behind the staid exterior of Downing Street, the lives of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith and his wife Margot were far from straightforward. She was unconventional, known for her wit, style and bluntness, transforming Number 10 into a glittering social and intellectual salon. But it ended in a period of intense emotional and political turmoil as Asquith fell in love with his daughter’s best friend, and the First World War began to heighten tensions. In Margot at War, Anne reveals the extraordinary time when the Prime Minister’s residence was run like an English country house, with social activities taking precedence over politics and love letters being penned in the cabinet room.

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2.30pm Town Hall

£7

Discover two fascinating accounts of the Second World War behind enemy lines. In Another Man’s War, award-winning Al Jazeera correspondent Barnaby tells the story of Isaac Fadoyebo – who, at the age of 16, ran away from his Nigerian village to join the British Army in 1942. He travelled to the Burmese jungle where the Japanese ambushed his unit and left him for dead, but thanks to the help of a local family he was able to survive. In Fighters in the Shadows, Robert draws on first-person accounts to tell how the French and foreigners who took refuge in France reacted to the German occupation of 1940-44, and how the story of the many strands of the Resistance has been remoulded ever since.

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October

2 Friday

MC Beaton

2.30pm Kenton Theatre

Stephen Church £12

The creator of the wonderfully successful Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth comes to Henley for the first time. The most-borrowed UK adult author in libraries, the writer’s own life is worthy of a novel: Glasgow-born, she was in turn bookseller, theatre reviewer and crime reporter. She married and moved to New York, turning to writing Regency novels (more than 100) before moving back to Britain. A trip to Sutherland inspired the first Hamish Macbeth story and, after a move to the Cotswolds, Agatha was created. The rest, as they say, is history – including TV adaptions for both characters. Join us to discover the fascinating lives of the writer and her two best-loved characters in their latest books: Dishing the Dirt and Death of the Liar.

King John and Magna Carta 2.30pm Town Hall

£7

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta is the perfect time to reflect on King John. As the youngest of Henry II’s five sons, the future offered little for him until his older brother Richard died and he succeeded to the throne in 1199. But by his death in 1216, he had lost almost all that he inherited and had come perilously close to losing his English kingdom. Stephen recounts John’s story, drawing on thousands of contemporary sources. It moves from accession to rebellion and civil war, reveals exactly why John’s reign went so disastrously wrong, and tells how John’s failure led to the great cornerstone of Britain’s constitution: Magna Carta.

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4.30pm Town Hall

£9

4.30pm Kenton Theatre

October

Barney White-Spunner

Caroline Lucas became Britain’s first Green MP in 2010 and was reelected in May, with a majority of almost 8,000, after being endorsed by David Attenborough and Joanna Lumley. She is very much an outsider who has made her way inside the House of Commons to fight for parliamentary reform and for the interests of her constituents. Despite her solitary role, she is a politician with a radical mission and a clear vision for change. An eloquent and forceful speaker, in Honourable Friends?: Parliament and the Fight for Change she provides a fascinating insight into her first five years at Westminster with some bold and practical suggestions for a fairer British political system that would mean she is not a one-woman party.

Friday

Caroline Lucas

£12

A career soldier, Sir Barney rose through the ranks to become Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry and then Commander of the British Field Army, so is the ideal man to focus on the accounts of the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Waterloo. On the 200th anniversary of this decisive battle, Barney (now executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance) recounts the personal feelings and relationships of the men – with each other, their families, their leaders and their enemies. Of Living Valour uses many unpublished sources, letters and diaries, vividly capturing warfare in 1815.

Sponsored by Laithwaite’s Wine

Polly Vernon In conversation with Bryony Gordon 6.30pm Town Hall

£9

Following on from their hugely popular event at last year’s festival, the tables have turned as Polly is grilled by Bryony about her book, Hot Feminist. The Grazia columnist and Times feature writer presents a brave new perspective on feminism. Having dismissed many of the rules on ‘good’ feminism at some point in the early 90s, she’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about being a feminist (even when you care about how you look, and clock your own reflection at every opportunity). Two very exciting and amusing talents come together once again for what should be a very indiscreet and revealing hour.

Sponsored by Laithwaite’s Wine

www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

Britain and other islands 5pm Hibernia

£10

October

Fergus Craig, Tim Key and Katy Wix

5pm Kenton Theatre

Join the two Ma(t)thews for a trip around the outside and inside of this sceptered isle –all while the Hibernia traverses the Thames. In Lundy, Rockall, Dogger, Fair Isle, Mathew Clayton looks beyond the British shores and straight out to sea, wherein lie the most exquisite islands – little worlds of rugged and breath-taking geography, legends and folklore, scattered with ruins, wildlife and clues to their fascinating past, many of which remain untouched by the modern world – like Lundy, the perfect refuge for pirates, and St Kilda, the tiny island inhabited for over 2000 years, which now lies abandoned. Matthew Engel takes a similarly witty jaunt around England’s 39 counties in Engel’s England, finding it the most complicated place in the world. As he travels through all the English counties he meets the well-dressers of Derbyshire and the pyromaniacs of Sussex, the Hindus and huntsmen of Leicestershire and the goddessworshippers of Somerset, and tracks down the real Lancashire, a rather hedonistic Essex and the most mysterious house in Middlesex. Expect to be royally entertained.

Saturday

Mathew Clayton and Matthew Engel

£9

You wait for a top comic talent then three come along at once! Fergus, who chaired Katy’s very popular event last year, is the author of Tips for Actors. Boasting a foreword by Ellen Page, it offers such useful advice as ‘Never read the script. Would your character read the script? No, of course not. For them the script doesn’t exist.’ Former Independent columnist, Tim is a Radio 4 regular, including a stint on Party in which he starred longside Katy. In addition to being Alan Partridge’s ‘Sidekick Simon’ and an Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, he is a dab hand with an ode, as The Incomplete Tim Key: About 300 of his poetical gems and what-nots testifies. Not Going Out and Agatha Raisin star Katy returns with her second volume of Comic Monologues for Women. A very funny hour in prospect.

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October

Saturday

Robert Douglas-Fairhurst and Vanessa Tait

5pm Town Hall

£9

Beneath the fairytale of Alice lies the complex history of author Charles Dodgson and his second self, Lewis Carroll; and of Alice Liddell, and the fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up. Robert’s The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and The Secret History of Wonderland is the authorative take on the influence of Alice against a shifting cultural landscape. He is joined by Vanessa Tait, great-granddaughter of the real Alice, who has used her family history as background for The Looking Glass House, a novel about Dodgson. A fine mix of fact and fiction proving the lasting lure of Alice over the past 150 years.

50 www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

Giles Milton 7pm Town Hall

£9

History can sometimes be a dry old subject – but not when Giles brings his talent to bear, with the Fascinating Footnotes series. Did you know that Hitler took cocaine, or that Stalin robbed a bank? With his own inimitable style and humour, Giles has compiled 100 of the quirkiest nuggets that might seem like urban folklore but are pure fact. From the lone Japanese soldier still fighting World War II in 1974 to the cabin boy on the Hindenburg who lived to tell the tale when it was engulfed in flames in 1937, Giles tells all.

Adele Parks, Anne Marie Scanlon, Bryony Gordon and Clover Stroud with Victoria Young 7pm Kenton Theatre £12 including a glass of Laithwaite’s wine

Emma Kennedy

9pm Town Hall

October

Sponsored by Laithwaite’s Wine

Victoria assembled 20 top writers to contribute to Things I Wish I’d Known: Women Tell the Truth about Motherhood and tonight invites three talented writing mothers to reveal what it’s really like, according to their own experiences (as opposed to how things ‘should’ be). Join Victoria, bestselling novelist Adele, Telegraph columnist Bryony, travel writer Clover and Henley-based journalist Anne Marie for the perfect Saturday night event – with a much-deserved glass of wine.

Saturday

The actual, real-life truth about motherhood

£9

A Henley favourite returns, having gone from strength to strength. Her breakout hit The Tent, the Bucket & Me has now inspired BBC1’s The Kennedys – and she even managed to find time to win Celebrity Masterchef between writing and performing. Now her new novel, Shoes for Anthony, tells the story of an 11-year-old boy in a Welsh mining village that suddenly finds itself turned upside down by the arrival of the Second World War.

David Nobbs

9pm Kenton Theatre

£12

David’s full-house event in 2013 was one of the funniest evenings of the festival to date, so we are delighted to welcome him back to the Kenton as he marks two major milestones: his 80th birthday and 20th novel, The Second Life of Sally Mottram. Tonight the Reginald Perrin and A Bit of a Do creator will focus on some of the actors, comedians and others he’s worked with and met over the years. And what a cast list: from Davids Frost and Jason to The Two Ronnies via Stephen Fry, Kenneth Williams, Patricia Hodge and Billy Connolly. Oh and Ken Dodd, Les Dawson, Gwen Taylor, Frankie Howerd – and, of course, Leonard Rossiter. We could go on but let’s leave it to master raconteur David.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 51

October

Sunday

Christina Lamb 11am Town Hall

£9

Twenty-seven years ago, Christina Lamb left Britain to become a journalist in Pakistan and crossed into Afghanistan as mujahaddin fought the Russians. She fell in love with the country and, since 2001, has watched as the West fought a war with its hands tied, committed too little too late, failed to understand local dynamics and turned a blind eye as their Taliban enemy was helped by Pakistan. Having previously co-written I Am Malala, Christina comes to Henley with Farewell Kabul. The awardwinning Sunday Times foreign correspondent argues that the war has been a fiasco with Afghanistan still one of the poorest nations on earth, the Taliban undefeated, and nuclear-armed Pakistan perhaps the most dangerous place on earth.

Helena Coggan and Samantha Shannon In conversation with Amanda Jennings 11am Town Hall

£7

Two of the brightest young writers on the literary scene grace Henley. Aged just 15, Helena’s first novel, The Catalyst came out to rave reviews earlier this year. Telling the tale of Rose Elmsworth, it’s a complex and fantastical journey into a world of magic and danger. The Daily Mail declared it “a stunning debut, exploding with life, ideas and passion”. An equally dynamic young talent, Samantha began writing seriously when she was 15, wrote her first published novel, The Bone Season, while studying at Oxford and immediately signed a three-book deal with Bloomsbury. The Mime Order is the second in the series of a planned seven – and she is still just 23 years-old. An opportunity to meet two young writers, hear what inspired them, discover where they are going next and marvel at their talent and confidence.

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Glynis Barber and Fleur Borrelli

11am Phyllis Court

£10

Just look at actress Glynis as she approaches her 60th birthday with eight shows a week at West End hit Beautiful, and you will say “how does she do it?’ Here is your chance to find out, as the Blake’s 7 and Dempsey and Makepeace star swoops into Henley to talk about her stage career and beyond. Having been a keen advocate of natural health and wellness for many years, Glynis approached nutritional therapist, Fleur for advice, resulting in dietary and lifestyle changes which revolutionised her thinking – and so, the In-Sync Diet diet was born.

www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

From the moon landings to Leveson 11am Phyllis Court

£7

4 October

In a Fleet Street career spanning more than 50 years, Robin has been a reporter, gossip columnist, foreign correspondent, editor of the Sunday Express and executive managing editor of the Daily Mail. The first journalist to interview the Apollo 11 astronauts after they landed on the moon, he was in China the day Saigon fell to the Viet Cong and even ended up as a pen friend of Cherie Blair. He has seen enormous changes in the way that newspapers are produced, their place in society and their power, and is now involved in the fight for the free press.

Sunday

Robin Esser

Caribbean Cuisine

Rosemary Parkinson and Shivi Ramoutar 1pm Phyllis Court

£10

As autumn approaches, head to Phyllis Court beside the Thames to take in the recipes of the Caribbean. Close your eyes and you could be on a sun-kissed beach with the aromas of exotic food wafting in the air. Shivi’s Caribbean Modern: Recipes from the Rum Islands includes such delights, new and old, as Coconut Chicken Rundown, Baked Eggs Creole, Salted Tamarind Caramel Sundae and Smashed Banana Pancakes. Rosemary, born in Venezuela to Trinidadian parents is the author of a number of books about Caribbean food and makes a visit to the UK with Barbados Bu’n Bu’n.

Helen Lederer

1pm Town Hall

£7

Helen has been making us laugh for years on television screens, in everything from Absolutely Fabulous to Splash!, and now she returns to Henley with her debut novel. Naturally Losing It is very, very funny. The heroine – actress Millie – has to deal with money problems, men problems, weight problems and children problems, and when she’s asked to be the front-woman for a new diet pill, she naively believes that all her troubles will be solved. Really? Join Helen for what will certainly be a rip-roaring hour.

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In conversation with Sue Cook 1pm Town Hall

£7

4 October

After Samantha Shannon and Helena Coggan’s event at 11am, two – shall we say – more mature literary figures discuss their own first novels. Mary is well-known for her many books on women’s history, oral history and Caribbean history, and her book Fenwomen was the first to be published by Virago Press, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Now, she ventures into fiction with Dressmaker of Dachau, a dramatic tale of a young London seamstress taken prisoner by the Nazis and forced to survive the only way she knows how. Joining Mary is Sir Michael, best known for his award-winning biographies, who has finally published A Dog’s Life, the novel he wrote as a young man. It delves into his family’s complex and tangled lives – his father even threatened legal proceedings should he have the work published, which is why it was only ever released in America, where it was thought his family could not be identified. A fascinating insight into the more imaginary creations of two celebrated writers.

Sunday

Mary Chamberlain and Michael Holroyd

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Brian Blessed

1pm Kenton Theatre

£12

The very definition of larger than life. With his booming voice, huge frame and electric personality, Brian has been entertaining us for nearly 60 years. He burst onto the scene in TV’s Z-Cars and has enjoyed a career that has included a stint in the original production of Cats, works by Shakespeare, Peppa Pig – and, of course, Flash Gordon. From growing up as the son of a miner in Goldthorpe to nearly causing an international incident when meeting the Emperor of Japan, via falling for Katherine Hephurn and winning round George Lucas for a part in Star Wars, Brian will look back on an action-packed life in his inimitable, boisterous style. Oh, and he also sparred with Mohmammed Ali, attempted to climb Everest three times and became the oldest man to trek to the magnetic North Pole. A real national treasure comes to the Kenton stage to talk about his aptly named memoir, Absolute Pandemonium. Henley’s Alive!

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Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 55

October

Sunday

Award ceremony: Story in a teacup competition 3pm Town Hall

Free (booking required)

Helen Lederer, one of the judges of the Dragonfly Tea Story in a teacup writing competition, comperes the ceremony that celebrates the winners and runners-up for each of the categories. She will be joined by fellow judge Lauren Child, who will present the children’s prizes. Entrants from around the country have taken Dragonfly tea names as their inspiration: Emerald Mountain, Swirling Mist, Moonlight Jasmine, Green Gaucho and, for younger writers, Skinny Dragon. A chance to see potential top writers of the future. See page 71 for more information about the competition.

Diversity panel

Bidisha, Valerie Brandes, Stephen Tompson and Danuta Kean 3pm Phyllis Court

£7

This year’s Writing the Future report, commissioned by Spread the Word, made bleak reading: in an increasingly diverse culture, the UK publishing industry was found to be seriously lagging behind. This was the case in terms of authors, publishers and making sure that all readers are catered for. The report’s editor, Danuta is joined here by writer and broadcaster, Bidisha, novelist and playwright Stephen, and Valerie, publisher and founder of Jacaranda Books. Bidisha’s latest book is Asylum and Exile: The Hidden Voices of London, while Stephen’s most recent novel, No More Heroes is the fictionalised account of one of the Good Samaritans of the London bombings. Hear four excellent speakers reflect on their own experiences and the state of the industry in general.

www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

In conversation with Sue Cook 3pm Phyllis Court

£10

3pm Town Hall

October

Alan Tomkins

No one could describe Terry’s life as dull. He spent five years as a hostage from 1987-91, when he was captured in Lebanon while working to have prisoners released, in his capacity as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s special envoy. A respected humanitarian and speaker, he has spent much of his life helping charities but has now turned his hand to writing comic fiction. His book, The Voyage of the Golden Handshake, features a diverse cast of characters set off on the titular cruise ship – triumph, disaster and much comedy awaiting them. A chance to meet a fascinating man who has led a fascinating life.

Sunday

Terry Waite

£7 Love cinema? Then this is the event for you. A 40-year career that began with being draughtsman on Bond classic, Dr No finished with Alan as senior art designer on Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, Batman Begins. His movie credits include Lawrence of Arabia, 2001, Saving Private Ryan, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Empire Strikes Back, which rightly earned him an Oscar nomination. Join Alan to hear what it’s like working with directors including David Lean, Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Franco Zeffirelli and Clint Eastwood, as he discusses Stars and Wars, his book of unpublished film artwork and behindthe scenes photographs.

Alistair Horne and Eugene Rogan

5pm Phyllis Court

£10

Two respected historians come together to look at the effect of war on the 20th century. In Hubris, Sir Alistair revists six battles that changed the course of history, from the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 to Hitler’s 1941 bid to capture Moscow – while Eugene’s The Fall of the Ottomans finds the empire that had been a major European power in a diminished state as the First World War begins, with numerous predators waiting to finish it off.

Call 01491 575948 or book online henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk 57

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Post Office & Royal Mail antique and later post boxes, always a good selection in stock. Cast iron & steel for post mounting, wall insert or free standing. We supply garden and interior designers, collectors and people who want to keep their mail deliveries safe, some models also ideal as a safe in home or office. Our stock covers all reigns from Victoria to Elizabeth II. Prices from ÂŁ400 to ÂŁ4,000 Please contact Fred Nickson with your requirements CHILTERN ANTIQUES PO Box 4694 Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 5WY 0118 9242582 07768 918501 frednickson@chilternantiques.com

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Claire McGowan and Tasmina Perry 5pm Phyllis Court

£7

5pm Kenton Theatre

October

Peter Snow

Have you always wanted to be writer? Want to know how to get published? These are the questions that haunt would-be novelists. Come along and meet two successful authors who can answer your questions, offer top writing tips and tell you about how they came to be published and what that means to them. Tasmina is a Sunday Times topten bestselling author. She left a career in law to enter the world of women’s magazine publishing, going on to become an award-winning contributor to Elle and Marie Claire before editing InStyle. Her novels have now been published in 17 countries and sold over half a million copies. They include The Proposal, Deep Blue Sea and now The Last Kiss Goodbye. An established teacher of creative writing for the Guardian and the Arvon Foundation, Claire runs the UK’s first ever MA in Crime Thriller writing at City University. A former director of the Crime Writers’ Association, this year Claire had her London debut for her first original play, Backseat Drivers (as well as an original short story) broadcast on Radio 4. Claire has published three highly acclaimed crime novels and TV rights to two of them were sold to BBC Drama in 2014, with a series now in pre-production.

Sunday

Writing Workshop

£9 Peter goes to war again – this time, delving into the Battle of Waterloo. In association with the National Army Museum, much-respected broadcaster and historian, Peter and his son, Dan Snow, have produced The Battle of Waterloo Experience. Peter examines the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders, the armies and their weapons and discovers that, like all the greatest battles, Waterloo is steeped in controversy. The battle ended in decisive victory, but it might so easily have turned out differently. . .