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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Dorchester Literary Festival
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T113000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104143Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104143Z
UID:10000175-1792665000-1792668600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Anthony Seldon – The Path of Light
DESCRIPTION:In 2021\, Anthony Seldon\, inspired by a fallen First World War soldier who dreamed of a ‘Via Sacra’ tocommemorate the war dead and stand as a marker for the triumph of peace\, set out on a 1\,000km walktracing the historic route of the Western Front. He went on to recount that story in the widely acclaimedThe Path of Peace. But there wasn’t to be lasting peace\, with the continent falling into an even morehorrific war two decades later. \n\n\n\nIn The Path of Light\, Seldon sets out to walk a new 1\,300 km route from the same starting point atKilometre Zero to Auschwitz\, discovering in the towns and villages through which he walks stories ofwomen and men who bravely protected the vulnerable and stood up to evil in the face of unimaginablebrutality during the Second World War. \n\n\n\nAs he ruminates on these ‘figures of light’\, whose uplifting stories he encounters along his path\, a pattern begins to emerge about how we can draw on their lives to build a better and more peaceful world\, never more needed than now\, with the ominous and increasing drumbeat of belligerence globally that month by month is the constant backdrop of his walk between 2023 and 2025. It proved a harder book to write than The Path of Peace. But it was a project he knew he had to complete\, whatever the cost. \n\n\n\nSir Anthony Seldon is an educator\, historian\, writer and commentator. He is author or editor of over fortybooks on contemporary history\, politics and education\, including the Sunday Times bestsellers Johnsonat 10 and Truss at 10 \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/anthony-seldon-the-path-of-light/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/the-path-of-light-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T130000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104142Z
UID:10000176-1792670400-1792674000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jonn Elledge – 31 Inventions that Built Our World
DESCRIPTION:For over 10\,000 years\, the human race has been busy altering our environment and embracing ‘progress’\, evolving seamlessly from hunter gatherers to the modern urban sophisticates we seeourselves as today. But what are the ideas and inventions that enabled humanity to become\, by the early 21st century\, a majority urban species for the first time? How did the essential infrastructure of modern life – the innovations that we barely even notice\, but without which our world would fall apart – happen? \n\n\n\nWith his characteristic wit and boundless curiosity\, Jonn Elledge invites us to join him on a fascinating and often surprising tour of the ideas and technologies that made modernity possible. From elevators to electric lighting\, street numbering to sewers\, he guides us through the history of civilisation itself. \n\n\n\nJonn Elledge is the author of the number-one bestseller\, A History of the World in 47 Borders. A New Statesman and New World columnist\, he is a regular on the podcasts Oh God\, What Now? and the late\, lamented Paper Cuts\, and a frequent contributor to The i Paper\, the Guardian and assorted other publications. He was previously an assistant editor at the New Statesman\, where he created and ran its urbanism-focused CityMetric site\, spending six happy years writing about cities\, maps and borders and hosting the Skylines podcast. He has written three books\, as well as over 200 editions of the Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything. He lives in London\, with the best dog in the world. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jonn-elledge-31-inventions-that-built-our-world/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/31-inventions-that-built-our-World-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T150000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104141Z
UID:10000177-1792677600-1792681200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Victoria Hislop – The Wine Dark Sea
DESCRIPTION:Beloved\, bestselling author Victoria Hislop explores the turbulence of the post-war era in Greece in this unforgettable and riveting new novel that will delight those fans who cherish The Island and The Figurine. \n\n\n\nDuring three years of brutal civil war in Greece\, thousands of children were caught in the chaos that swept across the country. Huge numbers were orphaned\, many found themselves imprisoned alongside their mothers and others were left to fend for themselves. The Wine-Dark Sea follows the travails of a mother\, searching for both a daughter who has been kidnapped and taken behind the Iron Curtain and a boy who\, unbeknown to her\, has been sold into adoption. \n\n\n\nVictoria Hislop said\, ‘I am excited about the publication of The Wine-Dark Sea\, which is my tenthbook. The post-war period in Greece has many untold stories\, buried through shame and a desireto forget. Research took me not just to obscure corners of Greece itself\, but also outside it\, to Hungary and the US. I continue to learn so much about Greece\, in particular the lesser-known parts of its history\, which are a source of great inspiration. The hidden stories of this country\, that has made me its own\, continue to fascinate me and provide rich material for fiction.ʼ \n\n\n\nVictoria Hislop’s debut novel The Island has sold over 6 million copies. Her books have been translated into forty languages and Victoria was executive producer on the adaptations of three of her novels for Greek television. She divides her time between England and Greece and in 2020 was granted honorary citizenship by the President of Greece. She is Vice President of the British School at Athens\, is on the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles and also on the Advisory Board for the Parthenon Project. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Patra and Sheffield. In 2025\, she was awarded the Byron Medal for Philhellenism at the Athens Academy and became the first woman to become an honorary member of the Society of Greek Writers. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/victoria-hislop-the-wine-dark-sea/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/victoria-hislop-jkt-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T170000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104141Z
UID:10000178-1792684800-1792688400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Blake Morrison –  Afterburn and On Memoir
DESCRIPTION:In Afterburn\, Blake Morrison returns to poetry\, his first calling\, to offer scenes from his own life and the lives of others. In psychology\, ‘afterburn’ refers to the time before a past event is assimilated – an idea that resonates through these poems (which themselves linger after reading) about memory and our attempts to articulate\, shape or contain it. \n\n\n\nThroughout the collection\, not least in two extraordinary sequences – one about his sister\, the otherabout Elizabeth Bishop – the poet sees with new eyes the turning points in a life’s accidental course.What holds his wise\, touching\, melancholy yet joyful poems together are the small intimacies that bindus to others\, under time’s lengthening shadow: ‘you moved too fast for me to catch you / and so didthe years.’ \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/blake-morrison-afterburn-and-on-memoir/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/afterburn-blake-morrison-jacket.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261022T190000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T111902Z
UID:10000189-1792692000-1792695600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Julian Fellowes – In Conversation: My Life and Work
DESCRIPTION:Julian Fellowes is a multi-award-winning actor\, writer\, director\, producer and Conservative peer.  In conversation\, Julian will talk about his early life\, acting and the writing career that made him a household name. As creator of  Downton Abbey\, he has won three Emmy awards as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford Park. Other writing credits for film include Vanity Fair\, Young Victoria\, and The Gilded Age. His books include the international bestsellers Snobs and Past Imperfect. Julian Fellowes became Baron Fellowes of  West Stafford in 2011. He lives in Dorset and London with his wife\, Emma. \n\n\n\nJulian Fellowes will be in conversation with Mark Chutter\, Creative Director of the Thomas Hardy Society. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/julian-fellowes-in-conversation-my-life-and-work/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/julian-fellowes-upscale.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T113000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104139Z
UID:10000186-1792751400-1792755000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Dr Eleanor Drage – What If We Got AI Right?
DESCRIPTION:We’re confused about AI: what it is\, and where it’s leading us – whether into a utopia or an apocalypse. Yet these obsessions thwart efforts to make meaningful change in an industry with very real problems. \n\n\n\nHere\, Dr Eleanor Drage\, one of the world’s leading AI ethicists\, unpicks the culture and ideas that drive the AI arms race\, from billionaires trying to cheat death to biased police algorithms and state capture by big tech. \n\n\n\nWe need new language and new ideas to re-determine what AI is for and how we should use it. Only by bringing feminism\, reparative justice and climate politics into the debate can we create a better future with machines. \n\n\n\nDr Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. One of the UK’s leading AI ethicists\, her work has been covered by the BBC\, the Guardian\, Telegraph and Forbes\, and she frequently speaks on radio and at AI conferences. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/dr-eleanor-drage-what-if-we-got-ai-right/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/what-if-we-got-ai-right-jacket-image.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T130000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104139Z
UID:10000179-1792756800-1792760400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Ferdinand Addis – Conquest: The Roman Invasion of Britain
DESCRIPTION:An epic\, visceral history of the Romans in Britain\, from Caesar’s first invasion attempt in 55 BC to the fall of the Roman Empire\, by the author of Rome: Eternal City. \n\n\n\nBringing together archaeology\, anthropology\, geology and history\, Addis paints a vivid portrait of what life was like for Roman and Briton during these centuries\, and examines how the face of Britain was changed in ways that can still be felt today. Britain wasn’t conquered in a day. Caesar invaded twice\, but didn’t try to complete a conquest of the island. It was only when Claudius and his legions arrived in AD 43 that true colonization was possible. Forty years later\, almost the whole of southern Britain was under Roman control\, where it stayed until the final decline of the empire\, the weakness of the colony’s defences and the quarrels of Roman generals brought the experiment to an end. Piecing together evidence from the often-propagandistic Roman literary sources – including the writings of Caesar\, Tacitus and Livy – and making brilliant use of archaeological and anthropological research\, Addis paints a vivid portrait of Roman and British life both in prehistoric times and in the first century AD. He brings the violence and intrigues of British tribal life into vivid relief\, but also evokes the ways in which these diverse peoples lived\, their monumental burial sites\, their customs\, their trade with continental Europe\, their military organization and the kinds of war they practiced. Conquest is an exploration of the workings of empire at the deepest level\, revealing how the struggle between Roman and Briton was fought on battlefields and in books\, in forts and fields\, between clashing visions of humanity\, and rival gods. From Caesar’s first landing at the white chalk cliffs of the English Channel to Boudicca’s rebellion at Camulodnum\, to legionaries darning their socks on Hadrian’s Wall\, Conquest tells the Roman occupation of Britain as a story of domination and resistance\, of cultures colliding and entwining\, and of the slow transformation of a landscape and its people. \n\n\n\nFerdinand Addis read classics at Oxford\, before embarking on a career as a journalist and author. His critically acclaimed 2018 book Rome: Eternal City was a Times Book of the Year. He lives in London with his wife and daughter. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/ferdinand-addis-conquest-the-roman-invasion-of-britain/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/conquest-the-roman-invasion-of-britain.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T150000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104138Z
UID:10000180-1792764000-1792767600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jeremy Hunt – Can We Be Rich Again?
DESCRIPTION:Is Britain stuck in a doom loop of higher debt and higher taxes? Or can we fix the British economy?Jeremy Hunt argues that getting out of Britain’s low growth is a solvable problem\, and that we should approach the country’s economic future with optimism. Hunt asks the key questions: How deliverable are the changes we need by a Labour\, Conservative or Reform government? How do we get the economy growing despite dangerous levels of debt? How do we sell long term reforms when our leaders have so little political capital? But countering pessimism needs solutions not just assertions\, and they need to be realistic – plans that politicians can actually deliver in a democratic system and the majority of the electorate can get behind. \n\n\n\nJeremy Hunt was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in 2005. He was first appointed Secretary of State for Health in September 2012\, then served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from July 2018 to July 2019\, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from October 2022 to July 2024. Before his election as an MP\, Jeremy ran his own educational publishing business\, Hotcourses. He also set up a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa in which he continues to play an active role.  \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jeremy-hunt-can-we-be-rich-again/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/can-we-be-rich-again-cover-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T190000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104138Z
UID:10000181-1792778400-1792782000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Kathy Lette – The Sisterhood Rules
DESCRIPTION:The Sisterhood Rules: \n\n\n\n\nNever let a man come between you\n\n\n\nShare all your secrets\n\n\n\nLive life to the fullest – girls just wanna have fun\n\n\n\n\nFor twin sisters Isabel and Verity\, the sisterhood rules were shattered when Verity had an affair with Izzy’s husband. Unforgivable\, right? Devastated by her sister’s betrayal\, Izzy casts Verity into social Siberia. \n\n\n\nBut when their mother goes missing\, Verity and Izzy are forced to come together again to find her. And then the estranged sisters’ problems only get bigger. Their mother has a new younger lover and where there’s a will. he’d clearly like to be in it. \n\n\n\nCan they stop their mother making a dreadful mistake? And in doing so find a way to bury the pain of the past? \n\n\n\nFull of laugh-out-loud humour and devastating pathos\, Kathy Lette’s brilliant new novel takes us on a roller-coaster ride which proves that from pain comes healing\, from honesty comes forgiveness\, and that nothing is more important than your sisters.Kathy Lette is a celebrated and outspoken comic writer with an imitable take on serious current issues. One of the pioneering voices of contemporary feminism\, she is the author of twenty novels that have been published in nineteen languages. She was writer in residence at the Savoy Hotel\, and is an Ambassador for The National Autistic Society\, Their World and Ambitious about Autism. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/kathy-lette-the-sisterhood-rules/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Sisterhood-Rules-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T113000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104137Z
UID:10000182-1792837800-1792841400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Dr Sian Williams – The Power of Anxiety: How to ride the worry wave
DESCRIPTION:Anxiety can have an immense power\, affecting the way we think\, feel and behave. Keeping us inside\, away from people\, places and opportunities. Making us question\, doubt or criticise ourselves. Sending us into a sea of worry\, which threatens to overwhelm us.  But what if we stopped trying to fight the waves and\, instead\, learned to ride them? \n\n\n\nThis compelling\, warm and accessible book looks at anxiety differently. It helps us understand how to drop the struggle with it and listen to what it is saying. And to start celebrating the unique sensitivity that makes us feel deeply and intensely – so we can let intuition guide us\, not fear. To see sensitivity as our strength and anxiety as our tool. Not a trap. \n\n\n\nReaders will discover how to live alongside their anxiety well\, with tips\, exercises\, expert research and stories from those who’ve learnt how to ride the worry wave\, including a multi-million album selling musician\, a top author and a national TV presenter. Written by psychologist and broadcaster Dr Sian Williams\, this book explores performance anxiety\, perfectionism\, social anxiety\, panic\, self-criticism and people-pleasing to present a new way to live with anxiety in kinder\, better-informed and more understanding ways. \n\n\n\nDr Sian Williams is an award-winning broadcast journalist and chartered counselling psychologist. She’s spent years counselling those living with anxiety\, both in the UK’s NHS and privately and has also worked with media organisations\, governments and businesses to help prevent staff burnout. One of Britain’s most trusted broadcasters\, having spent four decades in TV and radio\, including eleven years hosting BBC Breakfast\, Sian now presents BBC Radio 4’s Life Changing and BBC Radio 3 Unwind. Anxiety is her lifetime companion. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/dr-sian-williams-the-power-of-anxiety-how-to-ride-the-worry-wave/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/the-power-of-anxiety-jacket-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T130000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104137Z
UID:10000183-1792843200-1792846800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:John Sweeney – The Real Nigel Farage
DESCRIPTION:Nigel Farage is arguably the most consequential British politician of our age\, and on current polling he is set to become the UK prime minister after the next general election. But aspects of his life story remain shrouded in mystery. Who is the real Nigel Farage\, and does he possess the qualities to lead the country at a time of domestic turmoil and international peril? Based on interviews and reporting in the UK and across Europe by the fearless John Sweeney\, The Real Nigel Farage will be published just ahead of the 2026 autumn party conference season as battlelines are drawn for the next election and thecontest to lead the Right intensifies. \n\n\n\nJohn Sweeney is the Reform UK correspondent of The Nerve. As a reporter\, first for the Observer and then for the BBC\, he has covered wars in around 100 countries and has been undercover in the dangerzones of Chechnya\, North Korea and Zimbabwe. The author of 16 books\, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Killer in the Kremlin\, he has challenged both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin face-to-face. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/john-sweeney-the-real-nigel-farage/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/hbg-title-the-real-nigel-farage-2-9.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T150000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104136Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104136Z
UID:10000184-1792850400-1792854000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Simon Jenkins – A Short History of America: From Tea Party to Trump
DESCRIPTION:In 2026 the United States of America will celebrate its 250th birthday. How did this vast land\, long inhabited by diverse indigenous cultures\, come to be dominated by English speakers? How has it grappled with the stark contradictions between its ideals of liberty and the grim reality of its ongoingracial divide? This extraordinary collection of fifty distinct states has weathered immense – and recent – challenges\, including a Civil War that was still raging as the first London Underground station opened. And yet the democratic project of the Founding Fathers continues to endure. How did this melting pot of peoples and ideas not only survive but rise to dominate global politics\, commerce\, culture and warfare? What insights does this rich history offer about an increasingly divided yet\, in many ways\, still thriving nation – and the world that moves to its rhythm? \n\n\n\nA Short History of America is rich with vivid characters – from arrogant conquistadors and idealistic revolutionaries to imperial presidents – and the most foundational and formative events\, from Colombus’ arrival and the Declaration of Independence\, right through to the War on Terror and a former president facing criminal charges. This is a gripping must-read\, based in part on years of close observation\, for anyone seeking to understand our world today.Simon Jenkins is author of the bestselling A Short History of England\, A Short History of Europe\, Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations\, England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses. He is a former Editor of the Evening Standard and The Times\, and columnist for the Guardian. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/simon-jenkins-a-short-history-of-america-from-tea-party-to-trump/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/a-short-history-of-america-simon-jenkins.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T190000
DTSTAMP:20260608T205835
CREATED:20260605T104135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104135Z
UID:10000185-1792864800-1792868400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Alison Steadman – Out of Character: A Memoir
DESCRIPTION:The first memoir from the national treasure\, critically acclaimed actress and much-loved Gavin &Stacey star. Candice Marie in Nuts in May\, Beverly in Abigail’s Party\, Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice\, Betty in Fat Friends\, Sue in Here We Go and Pamela in Gavin & Stacey: Just a few of the beloved\, iconic characters brought to life by the magnificent Alison Steadman. \n\n\n\nGrowing up in post-war\, working-class Liverpool\, the young Alison – ever the entertainer – would address the world from the stage of her bedroom window\, until she got a taste for performing in front of an actual audience at her progressive 1960s drama school. By the time she left\, her mind was made up: she was going to be an actress! If only she could conquer the onstage giggling … \n\n\n\nAlways pushing boundaries – reclining naked on a sofa in her first role\, embracing groundbreaking female characters from day one – Alison has deservedly found acclaim and recognition\, succeeding inher TV and theatre career while juggling family life – a difficult feat for any working mother\, but particularly for an actress in the twentieth century. From the nervy Mrs Bennet to the robo-dancing Pam-el-aah\, Alison has proved herself again and again to be a comedy genius. Here\, with her distinctive warmth and humour\, she vividly recalls all the must- read moments of a life spent in and out of character. \n\n\n\nAlison Steadman is one of the best-loved English actresses. She has achieved recognition across television\, film and stage. She has won an Olivier\, a National Society of Film Critic Award\, and has been nominated for two BAFTAs. She lives in London with her partner Michael and is a keen birdwatcher and patron for the RSPB. Alison was awarded an OBE in 2000. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/alison-steadman-out-of-character-a-memoir/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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