There’s glittering line-up of world-class authors descending on Bridport for this year’s event including Joanne Harris, Mike Brearley, Simon Heffer, Helen Rebanks, Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan, with 45 events to choose from.
The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days
HELEN REBANKS
In a love-letter to goodness and wisdom, farmer’s wife and mother of four Helen Rebanks shares the joys, wonder and the grind of daily life. She takes us from her grandma’s farmhouse on a journey of self-discovery to Racy Ghyll Farm in the Lake District where she lives with husband, sheep farmer and author James Rebanks (English Pastoral), with whom she will be in conversation.
Electric Palace, November 5 at 4pm.
Anatomy of a Nation: A History of British Identity in 50 Documents
DOMINIC SELWOOD
From Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval folk music and the first Valentine’s Day letter to the origin of computer code, Hitler’s kill list of prominent Britons, the Sex Pistols’ graphic art and the Brexit referendum ballot paper, Anatomy of a Nation shines new light on Britain’s social history. Dominic Selwood explores over 950,000 years of British history by examining 50 documents which between them reveal Britain’s uniqueness.
Bull Ballroom, November 8 at 3.30pm
Jobs for the Girls: How We Set Out to Work in the Typewriter Age {book cover)
YSENDA MAXTONE GRAHAM
This lively chronicle explores British women’s working lives from the 1950s through cardigans and pearls, via mini-skirts and bottom pinching, to shoulder pads and the first emails of the 1990s. There are jollities as well as drudgeries, good men as well as the vile ones, nasty women as well as the heroines, the office crushes as well as the romances.
Bull Ballroom, November 9 at 10.30am
Kings and Queens: The Real Lives of the English Monarchs
PETER SNOW AND ANN MACMILLAN
Historians and broadcasters Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan, introduce us to the people who have sustained a national institution for over a thousand years. From Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II, this husband-and-wife duo reveal the fascinating stories behind the powerful men and women born to rule, whether villains or heroes, exploring the lives, loves, triumphs and disasters.
The Sir John Colfox Academy, November 9 at 12 noon
The Seaside: England’s Love Affair
MADELEINE BUNTING
Why have our English seaside resorts become a paradox of deep nostalgic affection and political neglect? Travelling clockwise around the country from Scarborough to Morecambe, Madeleine Bunting visited over 40 resorts during two years of research to tell the story of their fabulous rise, heyday and current struggle to reinvent themselves. Bunting explores the seaside resorts that have helped shape our national identity.
Bull Ballroom, November 9 at 2pm
The Three Graces
AMANDA CRAIG
In her most personal novel yet, bestselling author Amanda Craig (The Lie of the Land) sets her story against the backdrop of the Tuscan hills. In a riotous comedy of manners, three elderly expat women in the last decade of their lives, teetering on the brink – with four breasts, five eyes and three hip replacements between them – are determined to make more than the best of things.
Bridport Arts Centre, November 10 at 12 noon
Broken Light
JOANNE HARRIS
Have you ever felt invisible? Have you moved through a crowd and wondered why no-one ever sees you? Bernie Moon has. She has given her life to other people – as a wife, a mother, a friend. Now facing middle age and the menopause, she feels even more like a fading light. Joanne Harris’s new book is about rage, healing and forgiveness in a #MeToo age.
Electric Palace, November 10 at 2pm
Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars
SIMON HEFFER
Exploring the politics of the period between the wars, Simon Heffer puts moments of national turmoil, such as the General Strike of 1926 and the Abdication Crisis of 1936, under the microscope. He probes the deep divisions that split the nation, between the haves and have-nots, warring ideological factions, those who promoted fascism in Europe and those bitterly opposed to it.
Electric Palace, November 10 at 5pm
Turning Points: Crisis and Change in Modern Britain from 1945 to Truss
Every few weeks in British politics, a columnist uses the word ‘unprecedented’ as a cabinet minister resigns, or yet another inquiry is called. Top political commentator Steve Richards puts the recent chaos into context and takes a step back to explore 10 critical events that shaped modern Britain. He argues that it’s only with distance that we can perceive the tectonic plates shifting.
Electric Palace, November 10 at 6.30pm
Turning Over the Pebbles
MIKE BREARLEY
Former professional cricketer, Mike Brearley’s memoir looks back on a lifetime of the sport from joyful childhood games to his captaincy in the 1981 Ashes, leading England to victory. He read classics and moral sciences at Cambridge and later trained as psychoanalyst. Brearley blends reflection on his sporting life with introspections on literature, religion and leadership, using his experiences both on and off the field.
Electric Palace, November 11 at 2.30pm
Let’s Go!
Bridport Literary Festival runs from November 5- 11, there are 45 events to choose from including interviews with authors, poetry workshop, a pasta masterclass, a kids storytelling session and live music. For the full line-up and to book tickets visit bridlit.com or call the box office 01308 424901.
