2018 Programme

During his visit to the Festival Terry Waite will make specific reference to two of his latest books:  the first Out of the Silence is a collection of poems...

Everyone thinks they know about Winston Churchill but few realise that horses were a part of his life from the very beginning and one of the defining elements of...

Adapted is the unabridged autobiography of writer Josh Barry and his constant struggle with his own identity as a result of having Cerebral Palsy due to complications at his...

War is hard enough when your dad is missing in action, and even harder when you have to leave everything you know and love. Twelve year-old Harry is one...

This merry memoir tells how the author has lurched through a life full of friendship, laughter and bad behaviour. He has bonded with some of the most famous names...

Set in wartime London and occupied France, this is a thrilling story of love, danger and sacrifice from bestselling author Alan Titchmarsh. It tells the story of  seventeen-year-old Rosamund...

In his debut crime fiction, The Uncommon Prison of Henry V Henry, Simon Bullivant tells the story of a man’s transformation from a marginalised, almost invisible human being, who...

General the Lord Richards was Chief of the Defence Staff from 2010-2013 and a member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s National Security Council as well as the government’s military...

In Hitchcock’s Heroines, Caroline Young explores the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s leading ladies – their iconic roles, unforgettable costumes, and complicated relationships with the man behind the camera. From...

In 1981 Bob Champion and Aldaniti amazed the world with their dual comeback story. A man with testicular cancer given eight months to live and a lame horse ready...

A gripping talk about two remarkable female spies and the man who ran them: an animal-loving drop-out who went on to become MI5’s greatest spymaster. Based on Henry Hemming’s...

Mark Price spent over three decades working for the John Lewis Partnership culminating in running Waitrose for a decade and concurrently three years as the Partnership’s Deputy Chairman. He...

The number of prescriptions issued by family doctors has soared threefold in just fifteen years with millions now committed to taking a cocktail of half a dozen (or more)...

The smart-machines revolution is re-shaping our lives and our societies. Sir Nigel Shadbolt (one of Britain’s leading authorities on artificial intelligence) dispels terror, confusion, and misconception. We are not...

Lesley Blanch MBE was born in London in 1904. She spent the greater part of her life travelling to Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. A bold and...

Happy as Harry is a guide to human happiness as narrated by a wise and always happy dog called Harry. A lighthearted book that deals with serious matters, author...

In this talk, inspired by her debut novel, Tracy will take us into the turbulent world of the early Stuart court, where King James I waged a war on...

Fragile Lives is an incredible and award winning memoir from one of the world’s most eminent heart surgeons. In his 35 year career, Professor Stephen Westaby took chances and...

Event cancelled. From Blenheim to Chartwell is a biography of Winston Churchill through the houses he lived in and the gardens he made. It culminates with the full story...

In her Forgotten Women series of books, Zing Tsjeng re-discovers the lost histories of influential women who have surmounted obstacles of life and times to shape the course of...

EVENT CANCELLED Eleven days after the bloody death of the Queen, Jane Seymour is dressing for her wedding to Henry VIII. She knows she must bear a son –...

War Stories is a fascinating account of ordinary men and women swept up in the turbulence of war. These are their stories–many untold until now–of 28 individuals and three...

On one of the strangest pre-university gap years you’ve ever heard of, Leif Bersweden spent the summer of 2013 hunting down all 52 species of wild orchid native to...

Trouble with pests? Looking for the perfect plant for that tricky location? Join our knowledgeable panel, with well known gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh, multi gold medal winners plantsmen Rosy...

Johnny talks about his journey from a troubled childhood, through to his reasons for joining the Army, finding his feet in the military and then finding his way from...

Vesna Goldsworthy will talk about and read from Monsieur Ka, recently named one of the Times best new novels for 2018. The Guardian described this “deft continuation of Anna...

Dominic Minghella leads us on a journey from the initial concept to the final production of a successful TV series with amusing behind the scenes anecdotes and stories. Amongst...

As well as being the most famous woman in the world, Elizabeth II is also one of the most respected world leaders of our age. It’s not just about...

The Deadly Trade is a comprehensive account of the history of submarine warfare by the acclaimed naval writer Iain Ballantyne. Considered ineffectual and originally derided and loathed in equal...

Art for the Workers explores the mythology and reality of proletarian art from the first school for Russian workers on the island of Capri to post-revolutionary Petrograd. Specifically, this talk will be...

Tom Cunliffe’s book In the Wake of Heroes is a celebration of the best in nautical literature. In the talk he traces something of his own genesis as a...

Emily Wilding Davison was the most famous suffragette to die in the battle for women’s rights after she rushed onto the Epsom racecourse in 1913 and collided with the...

They say the first rule of politics is never to resign. But in recent decades Britain’s politicians have all too often failed – or refused – to cling on....

Untangling and making sense of the issues of the day, this year’s political panel includes maverick Labour former MP Austin Mitchell, the Conservative MP the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell,...