The Independent Woodstock Literary Festival
Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th September

07 August 2009

Now in its fifth year, the 2009 festival includes over 50 talks and events held in venues throughout the town of Woodstock.  As a festival partner, Blenheim Palace is the site of many of the talks, including the magnificent annual festival dinner.

A few of this year’s speakers include Ronni Ancona, David Cameron, Leslie Caron, Simon Carr, Zac Goldsmith, Joanne Harris, Alex James, Martin Kemp, Tony Parsons, Tom Philips, Andrew Roberts, Fergal Sharkey, William Shawcross, DJ Taylor, Sarah Waters, and many more.

The Oxford Times is the festival’s regional media sponsor

www.woodstockliteraryfestival.com.

Editor’s note

For further information, author interviews and images, please contact:
Leslee Holderness on IWLF@orangesquarepr.com or 01993 810 875

About any of the festival’s events, including…

Oxfordshire Local Interest
Paws Under the Table – Forty Dog-Friendly Pubs and Walks from Oxford to the Cotswolds, by Helen Peacocke

The Finest Views in England – The Landscape and Gardens at Blenheim Palace, by Jeri Bapasola

Art
An exhibition at Blenheim Palace, Royal Art, featuring a collection of signed lithographs by HRH The Prince of Wales, as well as, from the 1840’s,  a selection of etchings and a watercolour by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. 

A talk by Martin Kemp, in relation to his publication ‘The Profile of a Milanese Woman’, based on a portrait, painted on velum in coloured chalks which will be shown for the first time, mid-September, in Vienna.

In ‘Conversations with Artists’, Martin Kemp interview Tom Phillips.

Turner and Italy by James Hamilton, in which he will also discuss the making of the international exhibition held at the National Galleries of Scotland earlier this year.

Biography
Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation by Andrew Lambert

Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham, by Selina Hastings

Thank Heaven, by Leslie Caron
           
Current Affairs
Martin Bell, Robert Risk, Ann Leslie, in conversation

Food & Drink
Forgotten Fruits – The stories behind Britain’s traditional fruit and vegetables, by Christopher Stocks – a guide to unusual varieties as well as a fascinating look at natural and social history.

Full English, by Tom Parker Bowles – travels round the country finding out what food means to the English and how traditions have shaped a nation.

Settler’s Cookbook, by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Fiction
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - set in 1940s rural Warwickshire in a crumbling country manor house haunted by a dying way of life…and perhaps by something more sinister…

The Madonna of the Almonds, by Marina Fiorato – historical fiction with a cast of character and which tells the tale of a young widow in 16th-century Lombardy who creates of the drink, Amaretto.

Julian Fellowes, author of Past Imperfect, in conversation with David Freeman.

Giles Foden, author of Turbulence, in conversation with The Independent’s Literary Editor, John Walsh.

Historical Fiction
Warrior of Rome II – King of Kings, by Harry Sidebottom

Gardens
Back to the Garden, by Ursula Buchan – writings on the ways in which gardens enrich, enlighten and fascinate.

Bulb, by Anna Pavord

The Medici Gardens, by Ross King.

British History
The Morbid Age – Britian Between the Wars, by Richard Overy – British intellectual life between the wars, a combination of liberal, uncensored society and a large educated mass that made for creative, new ideas but also produced an anxious era.

Elizabeth’s Women by Tracey Borman

Remembered, by Julie Summers

Summer of Blood – The Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, by Dan Jones – this dramatic and bloody event with all its squalor, drama and complex social hierarchies is examined, as well as village life and the government of the day.

General History
Becoming Queen, by Kate Williams
Three Emperors by Miranda Carter

Natural History
Birdscape – Birds in Our Imagination and Experience, by Jeremy Mynott – a fascinating compendium into the many ways humans interact with birds, it has been called ‘a classic birder’s bedside book’

Social History
Eclipse by Nicholas Clee – the horse that founded dynasties that dominate the bloodstock market today, in England and throughout the world.

An illustrated talk on Carlos de Bestigui’s celebrated Venice Costume Ball – the most famous society ball of post war Europe, by The Hon. Desmond Guinness, founder of The Irish Georgian Society

What on Earth Happened? …in brief, by Christopher Lloyd – the complete history of our planet comes to life!

Politics

The New British Constitution, by Vernon Bogdanor – examines how the constitution might be reformed and the political system opened up.

The Truth That Sticks – New Labour’s Breach of Trust, by Martin Bell – dissecting scandals from Bernie Ecclestone to David Blunkett; exploring Labour’s democratic deficit, abuses of power, cash-for-peerages, and more. 

Archie Brown, Richard Overy, Victor Sebestyen, in conversation

Religion
History of Christianity, by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Travel
The Magnetic North, by Sara Wheeler

Other events include…

Walking Tours of Woodstock with Alistair Lack

The theme of this year’s Festival Dinner (held in the Orangery at Blenheim Palace) is Churchill – Then & Now, with a talk by one of Britain’s finest military historians, Andrew Roberts.

The Ultimate Read, a book club event with Joanne Harris, Nicolette Jones and John Walsh.

BOOKING INFORMATION: prior to the festival, up to 6pm on Tuesday 15th September, tickets can be booked in person at the Oxford Playhouse, or by telephone 01865 305 305 or online www.woodstockliteraryfestival.com

Key festival websites include:
www.woodstockliteraryfestival.com
www.blenheimpalace.com

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