Friday 8th July

12 noon Jane Shilling and Jessica Cargill Thompson

'The Stranger in the Mirror' is one woman's attempt to understand what happens to us in middle age. It won't unfortunately halt the ageing process but it will almost certainly make you laugh. Jane is a columnist with The Times.

'a frank, humorous and thoughtful meditation on female middle age. In fact it is HRT in book form' (The Telegraph)

Former Deputy Editor of Time Out, and contributor to Wallpaper*, Jessica is a freelance writer, editor and blogger. 'The Midlife Manual' is a guide to having a more graceful middle age. It is both funny and possibly quite helpful!

'It's the funniest book of the year’ (The Times)

15.00 Jake Wallis Simons

Jake is a journalist and commentator whose recent novel 'The English German Girl' sold out within days. This well-researched and moving novel focuses on a Jewish family leaving pre-war Berlin.

‘A fine tribute to the bravery of the Kindertransport’ (The Times). 

 18.00 Amol Rajan

Amol is a columnist and deputy comment editor on The Independent and former sports news correspondent. 'Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers' is both charming and witty and lifts the lid on even the most mysterious deliveries from W. G. Grace to Shane Warne.

'You will want to read this holding the book in your left hand and a cricket ball in your right. My attempts to replicate Ajantha Mendis's carom ball have already cost me two teacups.' (The Guardian)

20.00 Michael Dobbs

With a career that has seen him advise both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, be Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party and create one of fiction’s iconic villains in Francis Urquhart ('House of Cards'). Lord Dobbs of Wylye is uniquely positioned to share his insights and observations and provide a hugely entertaining evening.
Michael is unlike his most famous creation, who of course, ‘couldn’t possibly comment...’

"Razor-sharp and merciless." Daily Mail