Tuesday 10 November Archives - Bridport Literary Festival

Event 28 | Julie Montagu | Secrets of an English Country House

£25.00

Julie Montagu - Secrets of an English Country House
Julie Montagu, Countess of Sandwich, invites you inside Mapperton, one of England’s finest manor houses. Julie offers a rare insight into the 900-year-old Dorset estate she and her husband, Luke, have been restoring, rewilding and breathing new life into since 2016. Drawing on her book Secrets of an English Country House: A Year at Mapperton, she will share the hidden stories behind its historic doors. A captivating conversation celebrating the enduring spirit of a much-loved country house. Coffee and cake included. This event includes the opportunity to tour the house (at either 10.15am or 12.15pm). Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 10 am

Where: Mapperton House

PRIORITY BOOKING Details
Event 29 | Paul Morley | On Hockney

£12.00

Paul Morley - On Hockney - An Artist for Life

The late David Hockney remains one of Britain’s most recognisable artists. His career spanned decades of constant reinvention, taking him from post-war Bradford and Swinging London to Los Angeles, Paris, Normandy and the Yorkshire Wolds. In David Hockney: An Artist for Life, writer and broadcaster Paul Morley explores how these locations shaped the painter’s vision. Morley traces Hockney’s key friendships and artistic influences showing how he repeatedly renewed his creative practice while remaining unmistakably himself. The result is a celebration of a restless, resourceful and deeply optimistic figure whose life and work mirrored broader changes in society and altered how a nation sees itself and understands the world.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 10.30 am

Where: Bull Ballroom

PRIORITY BOOKING Details
Event 30 | Frank Tallis | Wise

£12.00

Frank Tallis - Wise - A History of Wisdom

Renowned clinical psychologist and author of the Vienna Blood novels Frank Tallis addresses the art of growing old. Chaired by philosopher Julian Baggini, this event explores how to maintain psychological health and purpose despite the daunting realities of later life, loss, physical decline and accumulated regrets. Making use of decades of psychotherapeutic practice as well as insights from Stoicism, Jungian psychology and neuroscience, Tallis argues that living well requires reconciling all aspects of our past and present self. He’ll be talking about how we can embrace our mortality, make peace with time’s inevitable passage and cultivate true happiness in our later years. “Transformative and deeply insightful”, Guardian.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 12 noon

Where: Bull Ballroom

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Event 31 | Juliet Nicolson | The Book of Revelations

£12.00

Juliet Nicolson - The Book of Revelations
Research shows that the average person is keeping thirteen secrets at any one time, five of which they’ve never shared with a soul. The Book of Revelations, by the bestselling social historian Juliet Nicolson, is specifically about the secrets women hold. Told through a blend of first-person stories, family history and memoir, Nicolson’s compelling account moves from the “silent generation” of the 1950s to the influencers of the 2020s. What does the changing nature of the secrets women keep tell us about our world and what makes any of us hide or reveal ourselves? In conversation with the novelist and television producer Daisy Goodwin. “Utterly engrossing and timely”, India Knight. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 1.30 pm

Where: Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Ros & John Senior

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Event 32 | Sarah Churchwell & Jon Lee Anderson | America’s Stories

£14.00

Sarah Churchwell & Jon Lee Anderson - America’s Stories

The United States is defined by the tales it tells about itself, a land of freedom, opportunity, self-sufficiency and equality. But, as America marks its 250th year, these foundational myths have never looked more fragile. Bridport-based New Yorker writer Jon Lee Anderson and Sarah Churchwell, professor of American Literature and Public Understanding at the University of London, discuss how these narratives have found expression through history, and whether they remain fit for purpose. Jon Lee Anderson’s latest publication is To Lose a War. Sarah Churchwell’s books include studies of Gone with the Wind and The Great Gatsby.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 3.00 pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Diana & Robert Clarke

PRIORITY BOOKING Details
Event 33 | Francis Spufford | Nonesuch

£12.00

Francis Spufford - Nonesuch
Lauded by the Times as “one of the finest prose stylists of his generation”, the author of Golden Hill and Light Perpetual talks to fellow author Raffaella Barker about his fantastical new novel, Nonesuch. It’s the summer of 1939. London is on the brink of war. Iris Hawkins, an ambitious young woman working in the City, has a chance encounter with Geoff, a technical whizz at the BBC’s new TV unit. But what was supposed to be one night of abandon leads her instead into a netherworld where time bends and spirits can be summoned. London will soon be burning. But Iris has more to worry about than the Blitz. A fascist fanatic is at large with a gun in her hand. And only Iris can stop her from altering the course of history. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 4.30 pm

Where: Bull Ballroom

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Event 34 | Nicholas Hely Hutchinson | This Ancient Shore

£12.00

Nicholas Hely Hutchinson - This Ancient Shore - Paintings of the Dorset Coast
In 1993, the artist Nicholas Hely Hutchinson moved to Dorset. First walking to the ancient chapel of St Adhelm’s overlooking the sea, he was captivated by the coast. From that moment, he has walked and painted the coast path time and time again, often in the company of his dogs. The book follows his travels west from Studland to Lyme Regis. In this work, which is accompanied by short essays, Nicholas perfectly recreates the drama in the landscape and seascape, its nature, farmland, the forgotten lanes and distant fields. His Dorset paintings will delight residents and visitors alike. £30 for 2 course supper Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 6.30 pm

Where: Sladers Yard

Sponsored by: Rachel & Allan James

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Event 35 | The Bookery with Angela Tomaski | Home

£10.00

The Bookery with Angela Tomaski - Home
Bridport’s regular literary pop-up presents an evening of readings on the theme of “Home”. A trio of Dorset authors is led by Angela Tomaski whose “exquisitely gothic and darkly comedic” The Infamous Gilberts was shortlisted for the 2026 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. The five eccentric protagonists of Tomaski’s novel are a romantic, a traditionalist, a dreamer, a diva and an explorer. As their crumbling stately home is handed over to a chain of luxury hotels, these five fatherless siblings are cast adrift on the troubled shores of the 20th-century. Angela is supported by Ros Huxley whose novel Kendal Acts Up, is published by local imprint WriteSideLeft, while Lesley Gillilan, shares her work-in-progress, Creatures of Habit. Two hours, with interval. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.

When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 7.00 pm

Where: Bull Ballroom

PRIORITY BOOKING Details