| When: Wednesday 18th Sep 2024 @ 2.30pm |
| Where: Electric Palace |
-
Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors – and looters – alike. In her new novel Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people, and countries, will pay to cling on to them. She says: ‘I have been down a long and exciting path to write The Figurine. I admired the beauty of the Cycladic figurine for many years and began to understand what a huge influence they had on 20th century art. I also began to realise that their beauty has an irresistible and seductive power and wanted to write about the crime that such beauty and antiquity can drive people to. My story is set during the period of the Junta, an army dictatorship that committed many crimes, effectively robbing people of their lives and driving others into exile. To me there seemed to be a striking parallel. I hope readers will be pulled into this period of history, and the question of where something, or someone, really belongs.’ Victoria Hislop in conversation with Sally Laverack Copies of The Figurine can be purchased in paperback with a 10% discount prior to the event, from The Bookshop, South Street, Bridport. Become a friend. -
John Lewis-Stempel - England - A Major Natural History in 12 Habitats
John Lewis-Stempel’s magnum opus is a five year project that offers an intimate account of the landscapes that define England. Described by The Times as ‘Britain’s finest living nature writer’ he weaves a tapestry of distinctive habitats which together create a country unique for its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Immersing himself in twelve quintessential places, he explores each for their singular atmosphere: the feel of the winter wind; the sounds of daybreak; the solace of twilight. In beautiful prose, and detailed wildlife observation, Lewis-Stempel captures the essence of England. an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Sunday 3rd November 2024 @ 4.00 pm Where: Electric Palace Sponsored by: Rob and Alex Appleby -
Jo Willett - Sarah Siddons - The First Celebrity Actress
Sarah Siddons grew up as a member of a family troupe of travelling actors, always poor and often hungry. She rose from abject poverty to superstardom before she was 30 and became one of the country’s most celebrated and revered tragic actresses, electrifying audiences with her performances. Jo Willett has written this first biography of the legendary actress who was not only adored and celebrated by everyone but who also had to manage her reputation in an eighteenth-century world of gossip and satire.
an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 4.00 pm Where: Bridport Arts Centre Sponsored by: Felicity Fairbairn -
Henry Hemming - Four Shots in the Night - A True Story of Espionage, Murder and Justice in Northern IrelandBest selling author of seven non-fiction books about the thrilling world of espionage, Henry Hemming’s latest story is a blend of scrupulous investigative journalism and true crime narrative. In Four Shots in the Night, he delivers a jaw-dropping narrative of double agents and unsolved murders set in the parallel worlds of the IRA and British Intelligence in a timely and urgent exploration of the ramifications of The Troubles.
an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 10.30 am Where: The Bull Ballroom -
SOLD OUT - Oliver Smith - On This Holy Island - Finding the Ancient Paths Across Modern Britain
Travel writer, Oliver Smith, sets out radically to reframe our idea of ‘pilgrimage’ in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time; from ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century. He embarks on an epic adventure across British landscapes – sacred routes to churches, cathedrals, standing stones – exploring prehistoric, pagan and Christian places. He reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary sites of pilgrimage. The routes walked are ancient and the pilgrims he meets are modern. an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 4 pm Where: The Bull Ballroom -
SOLD OUT - Sue Prideaux - Wild Thing - A Life of Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin is chiefly known as the giant of postimpressionist painting whose bold colours and compositions rocked the Western art world. Less known, he was a stockbroker in Paris and after the 1882 financial crash, struggled to sustain his artistry. As a journalist he exposed the injustices of French colonial rule in Tahiti. Award winning biographer, Sue Prideaux, re-examines the artist’s adventurous and complicated life, illuminating the people, places and ideas that shaped his vision.
an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 6.00 pm Where: The Bull Ballroom -
SOLD OUT - Lucy Hughes-Hallett - The Scapegoat - The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham
Award winning biographer, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, charts the meteoric rise and fall of James I’s favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. She transports us, with a novelist’s touch, into a courtly world of masques and dancing, gorgeous clothes, the art of Rubens and Van Dyck, genderfluidity, sex and appallingly rudimentary medicine. Lucy explores the beginnings of the Enlightenment, print media and public opinion as a political force and charts the vivid personalities of Buckingham, canny James I and doomed Charles I.
an illustrated talk
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Wednesday 6th November 2024 @ 2.00 pm Where: The Bull Ballroom Sponsored by: Sue Robinson -
Andrew Ziminski - Church Going - A Stonemason’s Guide to the Churches of the British Isles
Churches are many things to us: they are places of worship, vibrant community hubs and oases of calm reflection. To know a church is to hold a key to the past that unlocks an understanding of our shared history. Andrew Ziminski has spent decades as a stonemason and church conservator, often acting as an informal guide to curious visitors. Church Going is his handbook to the medieval churches of the British Isles in which he reveals their fascinating stories – a celebration of British architectural history.
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Thursday 7th November 2024 @ 10.00 am Where: The Bridport Arts Centre -
Daisy Dunn - The Missing Thread - A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It
For centuries, men have been writing histories of antiquity filled with warlords, emperors and kings. But when it comes to incorporating women, aside from Cleopatra and Boudica, writers have been more comfortable describing mythical heroines than real ones. Spanning 3,000 years, from the birth of Minoan Crete to the death of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome, award winning classicist, Daisy Dunn, explores the stories of dozens of women in The Missing Thread that puts them at the centre of the narrative.
an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Thursday 7th November 2024 @ 2.00 pm Where: Sir John Colfox School -
Sonia Purnell - Kingmaker - The George Millar Literary Dinner
We are delighted to welcome biographer and journalist, Sonia Purnell, to this year’s dinner. Her biography of Virginia Hall: A Woman of No Importance – WWII’s Most Dangerous Spy and her biography of First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill and her first book: Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition have all been bestsellers. Her latest sensational biography of Pamela Churchill Harriman – one of the most important and influential woman of 20th century politics, is undoubtedly her most engaging and Thursday 7th Nov revealing. Born Pamela Digby, a British socialite, Sonia reclaims in Kingmaker her legacy which has mostly been dismissed as secondary to the men that she was involved with. A life of intrigue, scandal, glamour and involvement with some of the biggest names in the second half of the twentieth century has now exposed her as one of the most powerful confidantes in international politics.
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Thursday 7th November 2024 @ 7.00 pm Where: Tithe Barn, Symondsbury Sponsored by: Richard and Emily Cave | Furleigh Estate | Symondsbury Estate -
Damien Lewis - SAS Daggers Drawn - The Mavericks Who Made the SAS
In the summer of 1944, the SAS were charged with the most crucial D-Day missions, taking on the might of the Nazi Reich deep behind the enemy lines. Facing Hitler’s armoured legions with little more than raw courage, it would take maverick thinking and unconventional warfare to survive and overcome. Theirs was to become a bitter struggle to topple the dark power wielded from Berlin. SAS Daggers Drawn is the latest in WWII historian, Damien Lewis’s series covering the wartime exploits of the SAS and his powerful celebration of the daring-do of these renegade soldiers.
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Friday 8th November 2024 @ 10.00 am Where: Electric Palace Sponsored by: Nick Pearson -
SOLD OUT - Bettany Hughes - The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The names still echo down the ages: The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Temple of Artemis, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, The Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, The Colossus at Rhodes, The Lighthouse of Alexandria – The Seven Wonders of the World were staggeringly audacious and brilliant impositions on our planet. Award winning historian, author and broadcaster, Bettany Hughes gives us a thrilling narrative enriched with the latest archaeological discoveries and takes us on a journey through the landscapes of both ancient and modern time to explore traces of the Wonders themselves. an illustrated talk Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901When: Saturday 9th November 2024 @ 4.00 pm Where: Electric Palace Sponsored by: Alastair and Susanne Cooper Francesca Radcliffe