Marking its 10th anniversary, this year’s line-up includes everything from cloud spotting to the reality of country life, via historical movers and shakers, pollinators and glassmakers
History Hits
Delve into the wartime past with best-selling historians including James Holland’s gripping Cassino ‘44: The Brutal Battle for Rome which details the Italian Campaign’s bloodiest battle. Saul David’s Sky Warriors reveals the role played by the British Airborne Forces during the Second World War, and Jonathan Dimbleby sets out the drama between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in his masterly narrative Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won the War. Lady Anne Somerset’s Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers sheds new light on this fascinating era. In Fallen, Mick Conefrey explores the story of George Mallory’s fatal Everest expedition of 1924. And in The Siege, Ben Macintyre shares a nail-biting account of the Iranian Embassy siege.
Come into the Garden
With bees, butterflies and other pollinators threatened by climate change and habitat loss, it’s more important than ever to support them by thinking about what we plant. In A Flower Garden for Pollinators, BBC Gardener’s World presenter Rachel de Thame (pictured) explains how to create a garden that nurtures pollinators all year round. In The Herbal Year, Christina Hart-Davis shares the long history of herbal remedies, exploring healing plants and their surrounding beliefs, including some simple recipes. She is joined by Vanessa Berridge whose book Garden Heaven takes us on a tour of 30 of Britain’s most beautiful National Trust gardens, from classic to modern, revealing the best time to visit.
Alan Hollinghurst has won numerous literary awards, including The Booker for The Line of Beauty (2004). His new novel, Our Evenings, offers a portrait of modern England in a story of race and class, theatre and sexuality, love and violence. Set in Southern Africa, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse (pictured), is a painstakingly researched and beautifully told story of adventure and courage, injustice and triumph. Also joining us are Tracy Chevalier, talking about her new novel The Glassmaker; set on the Venetian island of Murano, this is a family epic that spans 500 years. And Victoria Hislop, whose novel The Figurine, set in Greece, explores archaeology and cultural appropriation.
Life Stories
Tom Baldwin’s excellent biography of the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer is based on personal interviews with the Labour leader. Acclaimed curator Michael Peppiatt shares new insights into one of the 20th century’s most important artists, Francis Bacon; while John Suchet gives a personal account of his lifelong quest to understand the composer Beethoven. In Off the Beat, Nusrit Mehtab (pictured) shares her experience as a British Asian Muslim during her 30-year career in the Met, demonstrating extraordinary resilience in the face of misogyny and racism. We also have revealing memoirs from the internationally acclaimed barrister, Michael Mansfield, and sportsman Mike Brearley on ‘a life in cricket and in the mind’.
Giles Wood and Mary Killen swapped city life for rural Wiltshire over 30 years ago. Famous for their regular appearance on Channel 4’s Googlebox, the couple share their hard-earned lessons and the secret skills of grumbling and bumbling their way towards a contented new life with Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie Magazine, in Country Life: A Story of Peaks and Troughs. For recent city escapees and indigenous country folk alike, Giles and Mary sift through their dreamy myths and the practical reality of every aspect life in rural outposts, including, but not limited to, planning wars, class wars, dog thefts, tree-felling fights and the role of the Heron Appreciation Society.
Countryside Matters
For his book Land Smart, BBC Country File presenter Tom Heap toured Britain’s countryside meeting farmers, scientists, conservationists and warehouse managers who are solving the most pressing challenges facing our planet. Heap sets out how we can give both humanity and nature the space to thrive. Cloud Spotting for Beginners, by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, is a wondrous introduction to the world of clouds and their secrets and stories. In The Lost Paths, Jack Cornish head of the Rambler’s Society, shares his knowledge of Britain’s millennia-old path network, many forgotten and undiscovered, that are crucial to understanding the cultural and environmental history of our landscape.
Television presenter Kate Humble has a knack for sharing her own journey towards a more purposeful life. Her latest book, Where the Hearth Is, will resonate with those seeking to make the most of their lives during the many hours we spend at home – whether it’s a case of tiny adjustments or dreaming big. In Never Give In: The 12 Commando Rules for Life, Scotty Mills (pictured) the Marines’ highest-ranking black officer, reveals how he became ‘an ordinary lad who has done extraordinary things.’ These include training Olympians and dining with the Queen. He believes every individual can develop the ethos and understanding necessary to thrive, even in the toughest circumstances.
Current Affairs
Up to the minute debate at this year’s Dorchester Literary Festival includes Polly Toynbee and David Walker on ways to take Britain from austerity to prosperity in The Only Way Is Up. Geopolitical expert and former director of Chatham House, Sir Robin Niblett reveals how the contest between the US and China will shape our century. How AI Thinks: How we built it, how it can help us, and how we can control it – is a fascinating guide by leading AI entrepreneur and member of the UK Business Council, Nigel Toon. And Chris Atkins shares witty and poignant stories from the underbelly of the justice system in Time After Time.
Poetry & Classics
Pam Ayres has gathered her career’s work of poetry to create a beautifully illustrated collection, Doggedly Onwards in which she traces the course of her life from a young woman juggling boyfriends, to wife adrift amid the joy and terror of new motherhood, to her current position of adoring granny. And Poetry Slam, our hugely popular open mic event for local writers and poets is also back. In How To Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks Adam Nicolson travels through the transforming world of ancient Greece to the origins of Western thought. Using maps, photography and artwork, he asks what light its thinkers can throw on our deepest preconceptions.
It’s a Dog’s Life
For award-winning writer and broadcaster, Clare Balding (pictured), dogs are never just pets. In Isle of Dogs: My Canine Adventures Through Britain, she explores the history of how dogs became such an intrinsic part of our lives and their practical roles. She shares stories from people whose everyday survival depends on their dog, whose lives have been transformed by them, and what dogs have meant to her. BBC journalist and award-nominated podcaster Rory Cellan-Jones shares the story of adopting Sophie a rescue dog, made popular by the viral hashtag #SophieFromRomania - from her battles with anxiety, to the joys of play and first foray outside, all while navigating Rory’s Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Let’s Go!
Dorchester Literary Festival runs from October 12 – 19, with talks held at various locations around town including the Dorford Centre on Bridport Road, and Dorset Museum. To book tickets for these events and others visit dorchesterliteraryfestival.com.
