Books open doors to worlds that may be new or familiar, offering enlightenment, escape, adventure and much more besides. This year’s Dorchester Literary Festival has invited some incredible speakers, and whether you’re interested in fiction, crime, science, history, railways, politics, the natural world, health, music, walking, biography or crime, there’s something to tempt you in a week’s worth of live events from 18-25th October.
Glittering local authors include Martin Clunes, who celebrates of the ways animals enrich our lives in Meetings with Remarkable Animals, Professor Geoffrey Guy, who gives us a glimpse the future of medicine with Quantum Biology, while Natasha Solomon retells the unmissable story of legendary Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Chris Chibnall, creator of Broadchurch, sets his crimes in Dorset’s most picturesque spots including the local boozer in Death at the White Hart.
There’s plenty to get stuck into on the political and history front, from Sarah Vine’s explosive memoir How Not to be a Political Wife to BBC News Gordon Corera’s The Spy in the Archive about an introverted Russian archivist who exposed the KGB, or Jonathan Sumption’s The Challenges of Democracy. Max Hasting is also back with his latest bestseller Sword: D-Day Trial by Battle.
Health and well-being are high on the agenda with Dr Julie Smith’s instant Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller Open When on how to reframe life’s complex problems when you feel overwhelmed, or pioneering scientist Tim Spector’s introduction to the life-changing benefits of fermentation.
Extraordinary real life stories are brought to life; Anne Sebba’s exclusive first-hand accounts of The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, or the astounding memoir of West African Monica Macias who describes her upbringing in North Korea under the guardianship of President Kim II Sung. Not forgetting Somewhere a Boy and A Bear, Gyles Brandreth’s charming account of AA Milne, Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh.
