Althorp

Saul David, Justin Pollard & Patrick Bishop:
The Greatest Battle Debate

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

Decide who reigns supreme as The Greatest Battle of all time!  Join Saul David, Patrick Bishop and Justin Pollard in this vigorous and entertaining debate, as they discuss who should walk away with the title of The Greatest Battle.  In this lively, historical session, Saul David will be defending The Battle of Rorkes Drift, Patrick Bishop will be supporting The Battle of Britain, and Justin Pollard will be arguing for The Battle of Edington.

Sam Kiley:
Afghanistan: Past, Present and Future.

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

Join award winning news journalist Sam Kiley as he discusses his time embedded with the British forces in Afghanistan. Sam Kiley covered wars and insurgencies in more than thirty countries over the last twenty years, working extensively in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.  In this insightful, thought provoking session, Sam Kiley will be in conversation with Saul David, himself the leading historian on Britains past military involvement in Afghanistan.

Chris Hunter:
Extreme Risk

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

As one of the British Armys most experienced counter-terrorist bomb disposal specialists, Chris took his life in his hands on a daily basis. During a tour in Iraq, he became so effective at defusing the crude, unstable but deadly devices, that terrorists on both sides of the conflict, Sunnis and Shias, put a price on his head. Finding humour in even the most desperate situations, Chris is guaranteed to have audiences on the edge of their seats as he shares his fascinating experiences in some of the most dangerous places on earth, where every decision he made could have been his last.

Bill Bryson:
At Home

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

Join much loved travel writer Bill Bryson as he discusses his latest release, which stems from Bryson’s realisation that we devote a lot more time to the Wars of the Roses or the Normandy Landings than considering what most of history really consists of: centuries upon centuries of people quietly going about their daily business - eating, sleeping, having sex, endeavouring to be amused. In this lively and entertaining talk, he shares his journey around his home, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be, and sheds new light on the true meaning of home.

Jenni Murray:
Memoirs of a Not So Dutiful Daughter

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

Jenni Murray, the only child of an electrical engineer and a mother who resented the fact she had never been to university, well loved journalist and broadcaster Jenni Murray grew up in a traditional household in the 1950s.  Instead of becoming the conventional housewife her mother expected her to be, Jenni opted to forge her own path in both her career and her personal life.  The resulting tensions have lasted as long as she can remember.  How, she has often wondered, could two women be so close, so full of love for each other, and at the same time so full of hate that they broke each others hearts?  Join Jenni as she shares her remarkable memoirs, detailing her childhood, and most significantly, her relationship with her mother.

John Julius Norwich :
The Great Cities in History

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

Great cities have been at the centre of human civilisation from the origins of urbanisation in Mesopotamia to the extraordinary global dominance of the metropolises of today.

John Julius Norwich has edited and contributed to this magnificent volume which tells the story of seventy of the world’s greatest cities from Uruk at the the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC to Sydney and Shanghai of today.

Moving in chronological order, the galaxy of distinguished writers assembled by John Julius Norwich evoke the character, art, architecture and above all, the people of each city and explain the reasons for their success.

Among the contributors are:-
* JOHN JULIUS NORWICH on Constantinople
* SIMON SCHAMA on Amsterdam
* A N WILSON on London
* BETTANY HUGHES on Athens
* COLINTHUBRON on Samarkand
* MAGNUS LINKLATER on Edinburgh
* FELIPE FERNANDEZ-ARMESTO on Barcelona
* THOMAS PAKENHAM on Dublin

Richly illustrated with photographs, paintings, maps and plans, THE GREAT CITIES OFTHEWORLD is a hugely enjoyable and informative portrait of world civilisation.

Lord Norwich is the author of magisterial histories of Norman Sicily, the republic of Venice and of the Byzantine empire. He has also presented some thirty BBC television historical documentaries.

Gerald Dickens:
Mr Dickens is Coming!

Saturday 12th June 2010: to tbc

In this captivating and entertaining session, Charles Dickens’ great great grandson looks at the theatrical life of the great author.  Join Gerald Dickens as he provides a light hearted and varied insight into the lifestyle of Charles Dickens, using characters, diary extracts, observations by those who knew and worked with him, as well as observations from a modern perspective.  Guaranteed to fascinate and entertain, this session will provide you with a fresh and modern perspective on one of the greatest writers of all time.

Helen Rappaport:
The Lost Portrait of Mary Seacole and its Forgotten Painter

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

Well known historian and writer Helen Rappaport, author of bestselling Ekaterinberg: The Last Days of the Romanovs will be joining us for a fascinating talk on her experience of discovering a lost portrait of the Crimean War heroine and nurse, Mary Seacole. The portrait, its sitter and the artist himself had all been lost to history since the death of Mary Seacole in 1881. But who was the mysterious A.C. Challen who had executed what is now an iconic portrait that graces the National Portrait Gallery? In this talk, Helen will chart her extraordinary voyage of discovery - through the authentification of the portrait by the National Portrait Gallery and her loan of it to them, to her search for the portraits till then unknown artist.

Patrick Hennessey:
The Junior Officers Reading Club

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

For the first time in a generation, British soldiers are once again fighting at close quarters, coming under sustained and vicious firepower, losing friends in some of the most violent fighting the modern army has endured.  In this passionate and lively session, discover an insight into the reality of life through the eyes of a soldier - from the breeding ground of Sandhurst, to the gritty Balkans and out into the nightmare of Iraq and Afghanistans Helmand Province.  Join Patrick Hennessey as he shares his personal feelings on the importance of the army, and discover what is truly means to be part of an Army caught between a world that needs it and a society that no longer understands it.

Alan Davies:
My Favourite People and Me

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

A childhood memoir about growing up in the late 70s and 80s from QI favourite and star of Jonathan Creek, Alan Davies.

Alan will talk at the Althorp Literary Festival in June 2010, about his latest book My Favourite People and Me and will additionally be in conversation with Justin Pollard, popular historian, writer and producer, chatting about his other interests and achievements, including QI.

MY FAVOURITE PEOPLE AND ME isn’t a kiss and tell memoir about all of the famous (and not-so-famous) people Alan Davies knows. In fact, he’s never met most of the people he writes about in the book, mainly just admiring them from afar as an impressionable boy and teenager growing up in Essex.  And yet, this memoir, told through a series of chapters in which Davies writes about the personal icons who have made the strongest impression on him, is no less revealing for that. 

‘England won the World Cup in 1966, which I didn’t really comprehend at three months. Ten years later, I was cycling everywhere and wanting to go out more, which I was allowed to do as I was eleven. In 1978 the leash was further slackened and I started to develop my own tastes and pretended not to like Terry and June any more (though Hi-de-Hi was irresistible). I was starting to grow up. This book covers that growing up from 1978 to 1988. It is intended to be a nostalgia trawl with a little anecdotal back-up. An attempt to remember who and what I liked as a boy/youth/idiot and to work out why. There are also some pictures.’

Gavin Esler:
Power Play

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

On Sunday, award winning author and journalist Gavin Esler will be discussing his new release, PowerPlay.  Join Gavin as he tells the story of the decline in the US - British "special relationship", as seen throught the eyes of Alex Price, the British Ambassador to Washington, at a time of crisis.  The British, Scottish and American governments find themselves having a huge row over terrorism.  To patch things up, the British invite the American vice president to come on a shooting trip to Scotland - where he disappears.  In this lively and riveting session, Gavin will share this political adventure, which investigates what happens when the Anglo-American relationship seems irrevocably damaged beyond repair.

Gerald Dickens:
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

Join Gerald Dickens, the great great grandson of well loved author Charles Dickens, as he provides a light hearted and entertaining performance, which chronicles the adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.  Inspired by the RSCs 8 hour version, Gerald packs the plot into and hour, and is sure to entertain.  Travelling with Nicholas across the country, we meet some of Dickens greatest characters: Wackford Sqeers, Smike, Vincent Crummles. Newman Noggs, Sir Mulberry Hawk and many others.  This lively version of Nicholas Nickleby shows Charles Dickens off to his theatrical best.

Lady Antonia Fraser:
Must You Go?

Sunday 13th June 2010: to tbc

Harold Pinter and Antonia Fraser lived together from August 1975 until his death thirty three years later on Christmas Eve 2008.  Join Lady Antonia Fraser as she discusses her wonderful new memoir, Must You Go?, which provides an insight into modern literatures most celebrated marriage - between the greatest playwright of the age and a beautiful and famous prize-winning biographer. In essence, this book is a love story and, as with many love stories, the beginning and the end, the first light and the twilight, are dealt with more fully than the high noon in between.  In this compelling and heartfelt session, Lady Antonia will be in conversation with Suzi Feay.