Joan Bakewell
Stephen Pile
Simon Hoggart
Sam Leith
Jessica Fellowes
PD James
Adam Nicolson
Sarah Raven
Alistair Hignall
Sue Townsend
Sandy Gall
Ben Macintyre
James Le Fanu
Anne Somerset

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Sponsored by Voyages to Antiquity

Now in their 15th year, the Oldie Literary Lunches have become a venerable institution on the London literary scene. Held at Simpsons-in-the-Strand, the lunches feature three speakers who each address the audience for ten minutes. A delicious three-course lunch with wine accompanies the talks.


 

The journalist and broadcaster who brought us All The Nice Girls returns to Liverpool in her new novel, She's Leaving Home... the story of three members of one family, playing out their lives in 1950’s England. All around them are tales of escape: Gagarin is the first man in space; Nureyev defects in London; the old is giving way to the new. Soon that air of escape arrives in Liverpool. The 1960’s are on their doorstep, bringing with it Beatlemania, the sexual revolution and rock ‘n’ roll...

 

 


In October 1987, Matthiew Boya popped out during his lunch break for some golf practice next to an air base in the African state of Benin. Slicing his shot to perfection, he drove the ball over the fence and into a passing bird, which coughed, squawked and plummeted towards the runway, smashing into the windscreen of a plane about to take off and alarming the pilot who slammed on his brakes and skidded, plunging into Benin's four (and only) military jets.

TV critic and journalist, Stephen Pile brings us an assortment of moments when the truly great make endeavours that somehow go heroically wrong.

Parliamentary sketch-writer for The Guardian, Simon Hoggart will read from and discuss his
new collection of sketches, in which he casts an amused and sceptical eye over the political events of the past five years. Send Up The Clowns picks up where The Hands of History left off and takes us from the dying days of Tony Blair's leadership, through the Gordon Brown era and on to the bewildering days of the comedy double-act Cameron and Clegg.





 
You Talking to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama sees The Guardian and Evening Standard journalist enjoy a wordplay bonanza as he examines the art of persuasion through speech-making from its Attic origins to its twenty-first century apotheosis. Sam tells the stories of rhetoric's heroes and villains – from Hitler and George W Bush to Gyles Brandreth and Homer Simpson. 

Jessica Fellowes on The World of Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is the television sensation of the moment - and Jessica Fellowes's guide to its making has breached the top ten in the bestseller lists for several weeks in a row. Jessica is a former deputy editor of Country Life and niece of its creator, Julian Fellowes. A fascinating behind-the-scenes peek.

 
Renowned as a rugby international for England, a county cricketer and broadcaster, Alastair Hignall was forced to retire at an early age due to injury. Later, struck by multiple sclerosis, he had to give up broadcasting. In spite of considerable physical difficulty and adversity, Higgy has continued to lead a full and varied life and is now a leading spokesperson and campaigner for those suffering from MS.

'A rare book - utterly wonderful and full of heart.' Jonathan Agnew

Adam Nicolson’s latest book concentrates on fourteen families from 1400 to the present day. From the medieval gung-ho of the Plumpton family to the high-seas adventures of the Lascelles in the 18th-century, the book provides a chronological picture of the English, seen through these intimate, passionate, powerful stories of family saga. The families have been selected from all over the country and range from the famous to the unknown.  All of them are vivid depictions of the life and code of the gentry.

 

Appearing alongside her husband, broadcaster, cookery and gardening expert and national treasure in-the-making Sarah Raven comes before the Oldies for the first time - to discuss her lifelong passion for wild flowers. Her book is a lavishly illustrated guide to the incredible variety of flora that grows on verges and in hedgerows - plants often totally overlooked. And Sarah's passion was first learn at the hands of her father who was himself a botanist. 

30 years ago, Adrian Mole burst onto the English literary scene - where he has remained a firm favourite ever since. Today, Sue will be talking to us about her latest novel, The Woman who Went to Bed for a Year - a funny and touching novel on family life that demonstrates once again why Sue is one of the UK's most loved comic writers.











Best-selling writer and legendary war reporter, Sandy Gall has brought to the bookshelves a comprehensive analysis of the war in Afghanistan. He draws on interviews with Afghan politicians, businessmen and ordinary people as well as talks with British, American and Euopean diplomats and soldiers. He asks why the reconstruction of Afghanistan has withered on the vine; and addresses the political, military and religious challenges facing those still engaged in the conflict.
 

Also coming on May 13th, a seasoned Oldie favourite,

Ben Macintyre on
Double Cross

 

 

From bestselling author of ‘Agent Zigzag’ and ‘Operation Mincemeat’,  columnist Ben Macintyre, comes a new story of Second World War deception.

 

Weaving together never-before-seen photographs, documents, letters and diaries as well as newly released material from the intelligence files of MI5, the author  traces the thrilling story of the spies who hoodwinked the Third Reich and ensured the success of the D-Day landings – including one whose role, never before revealed, saved the invasion from catastrophe…

 

 

     





















Long-time contributor to The Oldie magazine, James Le Fanu is best known for his twice-weekly column which he writes on medicine in the Sunday and Daily Telegraphs. His Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine is a hugely acclaimed survey of the 'twelve definitive moments' of modern medicine and the intellectual vacuum which followed them. The book was first published in 1999 and, testament to its enduring success, has been revised, updated and relaunched.

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