The Bull Ballroom Archives - Bridport Literary Festival

Event 6 | Ian Acheson | Screwed

£12.00

Ian Acheson - Screwed - Britain’s Prison Crisis and How to Escape It
Ian Acheson has served for twenty years as both an officer and Prison Governor. In 2015, the then Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove, asked him to lead an independent review of prison extremism which laid bare a corporate culture of ineptitude, secrecy and arrogance that threatened national security. Nothing has changed Screwed is the inside story of the collapse of His Majesty’s Prison Service told from the front line. This hard hitting account looks at the politics and the operational decisions that have driven our prison to rock bottom, where extreme violence, indolence and victimisation are normalised. Acheson also outlines how a new corporate culture and mission can achieve a much needed revolution in the way the service is run. in conversation with Jamie Giles Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 10.30 am

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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Event 7 | Roland Philipps | Broken Angel

£12.00

Roland Philipps - Broken Angel - The Tempestuous Lives of Roger Casement

Pioneering, human rights campaigner, patriot, traitor, romantic and martyr, Roger Casement was one of the twentieth century’s most complex figures. In 1904, he became internationally celebrated for unearthing the violence of the Belgian Congo and soon after won even greater renown for his humanitarian work in the Amazon jungle. However, his internal fault lines ran deep. Casement was vulnerable to his own unexamined emotions. Roland Philipps reveals all.
in conversation with John Dean Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 12 noon

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Flora Hood

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Event 8 | Andrew O’Hagan | Caledonian Road

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Andrew O’Hagan - Caledonian Road
Andrew O’Hagan is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and serious chroniclers of our times. Born in Glasgow he has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times and his novels have won him worldwide critical acclaim. Caledonian Road is a sweeping Dickensian portrait of modern Britain in which nobody is let off the hook. Over the course of an incendiary year, a web of crimes, secrets and scandals reveals that privilege is not exempt from shattering exposure. This state of the nation novel exposes an unseemly clash of classes.
in conversation with Nic Jeune Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 2.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Tim and Sara Clarke

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Event 9 | Jo Willett | Sarah Siddons

£12.00

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 424901

When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 4.00 pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

Sponsored by: Felicity Fairbairn

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Event 10 | Derek Gow | Hunt for the Shadow Wolf

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Derek Gow - Hunt for the Shadow Wolf - The Lost History of Wolves in Britain and the Myths and Stories that Surround Them

Wolves were endemic to Britain around the time of the last Ice Age 10-12,000 years ago. Sightings in this country have long been restricted to cages at zoos and at wildlife parks. After raising two cubs in his home, Derek Gow became fascinated with the wolf. With bitingly funny and tender stories, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf is his quest to reveal the true nature of this magnificent creature and, as a maverick re-wilder, his hope that we will see the return of the wolf in Britain.
in conversation with Sam Rose Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Monday 4th November 2024 @ 6.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: West Dorset Wilding

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Event 11 | Henry Hemming | Four Shots in the Night

£12.00

Henry Hemming - Four Shots in the Night - A True Story of Espionage, Murder and Justice in Northern Ireland
Best 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 424901

When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 10.30 am

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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Event 12 | Charlotte Philby | The End of Summer

£12.00

Charlotte Philby - The End of Summer - A Novel

Life seldom works out to what is planned. How much of this is due to circumstance and fate? When a telephone rings in a french farmhouse, Judy knows her past has finally caught up with her. Her daughter, Francesca, insists on knowing why there are so many journalists in pursuit of her. Charlotte Philby writes a gripping nuanced literary thriller which exposes the secrets and lies so many mother/ daughter relationships have to come to terms with.

in conversation with Olivia Glazebrook
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 12 noon

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Georgia Langton

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Event 13 | Rick Stroud | I Am Not Afraid of Looking into Rifles

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Rick Stroud - I Am Not Afraid of Looking into Rifles - Women Secret Agents of the First World War
This is the untold story of the women in the Resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict. Relating their heroism and their inevitable tragedies, Rick Stroud tells an enthralling narrative and reveals the inspirational work of eight exceptionally brave women who affected the course of war. They included Gabrielle Petit, an ordinary working class girl, Edith Cavell, a member of the bourgeoisie and the Princess de Croy from the upper echelons of society. in conversation with Rene Wyndham Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 2.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Prue and Howard Davies

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Event 14 | Oliver Smith | On This Holy Island

£12.00

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 424901

When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 4 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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Event 15 | Sue Prideaux | Wild Thing

£12.00

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 424901

When: Tuesday 5th November 2024 @ 6.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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Event 17 | Christopher Stocks | The Book of Wild Flowers

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Christopher Stocks - The Book of Wild Flowers - Reflections on Favourite Plants

This essential wild flower selection – illustrated by Angie Lewin – is the history and science of the nation’s wild flowers. Author and journalist, Christopher Stocks offers both fascinating and unusual insights into a range of flowering plants alongside guidance on where to find them and how to cultivate them. This special study of our blooming British countryside will appeal to everyone who loves wild flora.
in conversation with Rachel James Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Wednessday 6th November 2024 @ 10.30 am

Where: The Bull Ballrooom

Sponsored by: Jim Bartos

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Event 18 | Michael Sheridan | The Red Emperor

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Michael Sheridan - The Red Emperor - Xi Jinping and the New China

Xi Jinping rules over 1.4 billion people and the second biggest economy on earth. He commands huge armed forces and runs a technology programme which claims to dominate the globe. His ambition is to take the place of the United States and to change the world order. Xi’s life is full of drama: plots, purges, power struggles and a pandemic. Michael Sheridan charts the rise of the isolated China of the 1950s to the modern economic and military juggernaut of today.

in conversation with Paul Lashmar
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Wednesday 6th November 2024 @ 12 noon

Where: The Bull Ballroom

SOLD OUT Details
Event 19 | Lucy Hughes-Hallett | The Scapegoat

£12.00

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 424901

When: Wednesday 6th November 2024 @ 2.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Sue Robinson

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Event 20 | Rose Boyt | Naked Portrait

£12.00

SOLD OUT - Rose Boyt - Naked Portrait - A Memoir of Lucian Freud

At the back of a cupboard not long after the death of her father, Rose Boyt came across a box containing hundreds of typed pages, immediately recognisable as her half-forgotten diary of 1989/1990. Naked Portrait is a searing memoir of her relationship with her renowned father, Lucian, and explores her experience sitting for him from childhood until after her marriage. It is a viscerally honest account of a complicated father/ daughter relationship, of its power imbalance and her adulation of him.

in conversation with Annie Freud and Caroline Montagu

When: Wednesday 6th November 2024 @ 4.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

SOLD OUT Details
Event 21 | John Bowers KC | Downward Spiral

£12.00

SOLD OUT - John Bowers KC - Downward Spiral - Collapsing Public Standards and How to Restore Them

The Johnson era will be remembered for a series of scandals that severely eroded trust in the British Government. But this is not the overall reason for the decline in public standards. John Bowers fearlessly examines the institutions responsible for holding the government accountable, exposing how they have been bypassed by prime ministers and how the next goverment can and should restore integrity. Confronting failings presents concrete proposals for creating a more transparent and accountable system for those in power.

in conversation with Paul Lashmar
Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Wednesday 6th November 2024 @ 6.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Lindsay and Martin Bowdery

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