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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lichfield Festival
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260322T103000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260322T113000
DTSTAMP:20260216T172415Z
CREATED:20260115T152523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T172415Z
UID:10000805-1774175400-1774179000@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Alison Weir - Queens at War: England's Medieval Queens
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out. Please join the waiting list for any returned tickets\, or we think you might like: Tracy Borman – The Stolen Crown \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR ALISON WEIR\n  \nFestival favourite Alison Weir returns with her latest book and five fascinating Queens… \nThe fifteenth century was a turbulent age and each of the five queens who appear in this book were caught up in wars that changed the courses of their lives: the Hundred Years War between England and France\, and the Wars of the Roses\, between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York. Henry IV\, Henry V and Henry VI all married to seal a peace with France. Edward IV married – scandalously – for love\, Richard III to gain great estates. Of their respective wives\, Joan of Navarre was imprisoned as a witch; Katherine of Valois\, who brought her husband the French crown and became the ancestress of the Tudors; Margaret of Anjou fought a civil war on her weak husband’s behalf; Elizabeth Wydeville lived to see her sons\, the Princes in the Tower\, disappear from history; and Anne Neville died after losing her only child\, forsaken by her husband. Theirs are stirring stories of triumph and tragedy\, love and loss\, murder and malice. \nAlison Weir is the biggest-selling female historian (and fifth best-selling historian) in the UK. She has published 32 titles and sold more than 3 million books – over a million in the UK and 2.2 million in the US. \n 
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/alison-weir-queens-at-war-englands-medieval-queens/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Alison-Weir-Queens-at-War-22nd-March-scaled-e1768397464804.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T203000
DTSTAMP:20260211T103102Z
CREATED:20260115T152556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103102Z
UID:10000806-1774121400-1774125000@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Robert Newman - Intelligence
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR ROBERT NEWMAN\n  \nAward-winning author and comedian (Newman & Baddiel; The Mary Whitehouse Experience)\, brings us an unputdownable novel about love\, secrets and wartime espionage… \nOxford\, 1938. Ida and Medora are two brilliant young philosophers at the heart of a group who gather in storied rooms to dance\, drink and debate theories of right and wrong. But as the world spins towards war\, theoretical questions of life and death become all too real. While her friends are called up to do intelligence work\, Ida\, the irrepressible Texan outsider\, seeks academic distraction. Then she stumbles across secret Nazi information that could radically change the direction of the war. Can she and Medora capture the attention of the spymasters and mandarins in London in time to save thousands of lives? Seductive\, witty and page-turning: an unputdownable new novel from one of the UK’s best-loved writers and comedians. \nRobert Newman is an award-winning author\, comedian and broadcaster who made his name in the 1990s as a writer and performer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Newman & Baddiel. Intelligence is his seventh book. He has written and starred in many TV and radio shows\, including Robert Newman’s Total Eclipse of Descartes\, History of Oil and No Planet B – or the History of the World Backwards\, and has performed sold-out stand-up shows all over the world. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR ROBERT NEWMAN
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/robert-newman-intelligence/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Robert-Newman-Intelligence-21st-March-scaled-e1768828375614.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T183000
DTSTAMP:20260211T103146Z
CREATED:20260115T152539Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103146Z
UID:10000807-1774114200-1774117800@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Arthur Snell - Elemental: How We Will Live on a Warming Planet
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR ARTHUR SNELL\n  \n‘An extraordinary mastery of geopolitics and a deep ethical concern for the world in the face of catastrophe. A masterpiece’ – Rory Stewart \nWith over 30 years’ experience in conflict zones and fragile states\, Arthur Snell travels from the heat of the Sahel to the Arctic Circle to show how climate change is coinciding with a breakdown in geopolitical order\, increasing conflict and economic crises. Within our lifetimes\, rising temperatures\, sea levels and scarcity will inevitably drive both conflict and mass migration globally. When the rain wrecks India’s ability to grow rice\, the heat makes building impossible in Saudi Arabia\, wildfires rage through America’s most populated regions\, and in Russia huge areas of highly fertile land are exposed by the melting ice\, what will living on a warmer planet actually look like? \n Arthur Snell is an expert on the interaction between geopolitics and climate change with a degree in History from the University of Oxford. He has over 30 years’ experience in conflict zones and fragile states throughout the Middle East and Africa\, and advised governments – including Ukraine during the current conflict – on a range of security- and conflict-related issues. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute\, the world’s oldest think tank\, a former British Ambassador\, and has hosted numerous podcasts which have had millions of downloads. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR ARTHUR SNELL
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/arthur-snell-elemental-how-we-will-live-on-a-warming-planet/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Arthur-Snell-Elemental-21st-March-scaled-e1768396906965.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T153000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T163000
DTSTAMP:20260211T103227Z
CREATED:20260115T152615Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103227Z
UID:10000808-1774107000-1774110600@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Masud Husain - Our Brains\, Our Selves: What a Neurologist's Patients Taught Him About the Brain
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR MASUD HUSAIN\n  \nWinner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize \nWhat makes us who we are? \nThrough the stories of seven of his patients\, acclaimed Oxford University neurologist Masud Husain shows us how our brains create\, change and can even restore our identity. Husain introduces us to a man who ran out of words\, a woman who lost all inhibitions and another who believed she was having an affair with the man who was really her husband. These compelling human dramas reveal how our identities are created by different functions within the brain. It will ignite new ideas about who we really are – and why we act in the ways we do. \nMasud Husain is Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at New College\, Oxford. Unusually\, he works across departments of neuroscience\, brain imaging and psychology to understand cognitive functions in both healthy people and patients with brain disorders. Masud is Editor-in-Chief of Brain\, a leading international journal of neurology. First established in 1878\, Brain is widely considered to be one of the most influential publications in the field\, with its monthly editorials being a key source of authoritative perspectives. His book Our Brains\, Our Selves won the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2025. \nPhoto credit: Oliver Mayhall \nBOOK TICKETS FOR MASUD HUSAIN
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/masud-husain-our-brains-our-selves-what-a-neurologists-patients-taught-him-about-the-brain/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Masud-Husain-Our-Brains-Our-Selves-21st-March-e1768396580237.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T141500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T151500
DTSTAMP:20260211T103309Z
CREATED:20260115T152632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103309Z
UID:10000809-1774102500-1774106100@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Tracy Borman - The Stolen Crown: Treachery\, deceit and the death of the Tudor dynasty
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR TRACY BORMAN\n  \nSuccession meets the Tudors in this explosive account of the passing of the crown from Elizabeth I to James Stuart\, from Festival Patron\, Tracy Borman \nIn March 1603\, Elizabeth I lies dying at Richmond Palace. The queen’s ministers cluster round her bedside\, urging her to name her successor – something she has stubbornly resisted throughout her reign. Almost with her last breath she whispers that James VI of Scotland should succeed her. Or so we’ve been led to believe… \nBut\, as enthralling new research shows\, this is not what happened. Elizabeth went to her grave without formally naming an heir. The notion of an approved succession from Tudors to Stuarts is little more than an elaborately constructed fiction – one with devastating consequences\, as the Stuart regime rapidly descended into turbulence\, uncertainty\, conspiracy\, witchcraft and gunpowder. With a combination of rigorous research and brilliant storytelling\, The Stolen Crown takes us behind palace doors to reveal the secret history of the Tudor succession. \nTracy Borman OBE is a best-selling author\, British historian\, broadcaster and Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces\, appearing regularly on Channel 5’s Inside the Tower of London and numerous other documentaries. Amongst her many other roles\, we are very proud to have her as a Lichfield Festival Patron! \nBOOK TICKETS FOR TRACY BORMAN
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tracy-borman-the-stolen-crown-treachery-deceit-and-the-death-of-the-tudor-dynasty/
LOCATION:Guildhall\, Bore Street\, Lichfield\, Staffordshire\, WS13 6LU\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Tracy-Borman-Stolen-Crown-21st-March-scaled-e1768396073866.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T121500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T131500
DTSTAMP:20260309T133935Z
CREATED:20260115T152655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T133935Z
UID:10000810-1774095300-1774098900@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Tracy Borman - The Stolen Crown: Treachery\, deceit and the death of the Tudor dynasty
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out\, please join the waiting list for any returned tickets\, or there are limited tickets left for Tracy’s 2:15pm talk\, available to book here. \n  \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR TRACY BORMAN\n  \nSuccession meets the Tudors in this explosive account of the passing of the crown from Elizabeth I to James Stuart\, from Festival Patron\, Tracy Borman \nIn March 1603\, Elizabeth I lies dying at Richmond Palace. The queen’s ministers cluster round her bedside\, urging her to name her successor – something she has stubbornly resisted throughout her reign. Almost with her last breath she whispers that James VI of Scotland should succeed her. Or so we’ve been led to believe… \nBut\, as enthralling new research shows\, this is not what happened. Elizabeth went to her grave without formally naming an heir. The notion of an approved succession from Tudors to Stuarts is little more than an elaborately constructed fiction – one with devastating consequences\, as the Stuart regime rapidly descended into turbulence\, uncertainty\, conspiracy\, witchcraft and gunpowder. With a combination of rigorous research and brilliant storytelling\, The Stolen Crown takes us behind palace doors to reveal the secret history of the Tudor succession. \nTracy Borman OBE is a best-selling author\, British historian\, broadcaster and Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces\, appearing regularly on Channel 5’s Inside the Tower of London and numerous other documentaries. Amongst her many other roles\, we are very proud to have her as a Lichfield Festival Patron! \nBOOK TICKETS FOR TRACY BORMAN
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tracy-borman-the-stolen-crown-treachery-deceit-and-the-death-of-the-tudor-dynasty-2/
LOCATION:Guildhall\, Bore Street\, Lichfield\, Staffordshire\, WS13 6LU\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Tracy-Borman-Stolen-Crown-21st-March-scaled-e1768396073866.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260321T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260321T110000
DTSTAMP:20260211T103502Z
CREATED:20260115T152941Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103502Z
UID:10000811-1774087200-1774090800@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:John Suchet - In Search of Beethoven: A Personal Journey
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR JOHN SUCHET\n  \nA Presto ‘Book of the Year’ from star journalist and Classic FM presenter\, John Suchet \nJohn Suchet’s most personal book is dedicated to the life of an extraordinary composer. Part biography\, memoir and travelogue\, it draws on Suchet’s own life and career as a new anchor and foreign correspondent to show how Beethoven’s music has accompanied him through the best and worst of times. It was with him as a music-loving and adventurous teenager\, as a journalist in war-torn Beirut\, and\, as he has continued to explore the old cities of Bonn and Vienna\, in search of the man behind the music. In this compelling book\, we see Beethoven brought vividly – and sometimes painfully – to life. Suchet traces Beethoven’s footsteps from his early years in Bonn to his dying days in Vienna\, taking us on a journey both literal and symbolic\, as he uses his own experience as a Beethoven aficionado to show the life-changing power of great music. \nJohn Suchet OBE is a bestselling author\, journalist\, radio and TV presenter. He was the voice of morning radio on Classic FM for almost a decade and before that\, he was one of the UK’s best-known television journalists and newscasters\, regularly presenting ITN’s flagship News at Ten for nearly 20 years. A recognised authority on Beethoven\, he is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Beethoven: The Man Revealed (2020)\, as well as biographies of Mozart\, Strauss\, Verdi and Tchaikovsky. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR JOHN SUCHET
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/john-suchet-in-search-of-beethoven-a-personal-journey/
LOCATION:Guildhall\, Bore Street\, Lichfield\, Staffordshire\, WS13 6LU\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/John-Suchet-In-Search-of-Beethoven-21st-March-scaled-e1768828221470.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T203000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T213000
DTSTAMP:20260318T093058Z
CREATED:20260115T153020Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T093058Z
UID:10000812-1774038600-1774042200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Pierre Novellie - Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? A Comedian's Guide to Autism
DESCRIPTION:This event is now Sold Out. Join the waiting list below for returned tickets\, or we think you might like: Robert Newman – Intelligence \nJOIN WAITING LIST\n  \n‘Like a Martian’s guide to living on Earth. Funny\, enlightening and gobsmacking’ – Frank Skinner \n Why were the other kids at school obsessed with Britney Spears instead of The Goon Show? Why don’t people ever say what they mean? And… why is everyone chewing so loudly? Comedian Pierre Novellie was on stage when a heckler suggested he was autistic. Usually\, this disruption would be water off a duck’s back but two things made this heckler different: first\, he was himself autistic. Second\, he turned out to be absolutely right. \nThis random encounter led to a diagnosis of autism at the age of 31 that unravelled his world\, explained his struggles and answered questions that had bothered him for his entire life. At once a hilarious and insightful journey through autism and neurodivergence\, an entertaining explainer for the uninitiated and observational comedy for the neurodiverse\, this is the perfect read for anyone who has ever asked themselves: why can’t I just enjoy things? \nPierre Novellie is a stand-up comedian\, writer\, radio host and podcaster. His new Radio 4 show – Why in the name of Pierre Novellie – is currently airing this January\, and he is co-host on both The Frank Skinner Show (Absolute Radio) and the hit Budpod podcast (with Phil Wang). His TV appearances include World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave)\, The Mash Report (BBC2)\, and Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). On the radio\, Pierre has performed on The Now Show (Radio 4) and hosted the BBC Sounds podcast series Obsessed With… SAS: Rogue Heroes. As a writer\, Pierre was one of the regular writers on the rebooted Spitting Image (ITV/Britbox) and has also written on shows including Mock the Week (BBC2)\, The News Quiz (Radio 4) and The Mash Report (BBC2). Pierre has performed stand-up around the world\, including sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe\, residencies in Soho and nationwide tours. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR PIERRE NOVELLIE
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/pierre-novellie-why-cant-i-just-enjoy-things-a-comedians-guide-to-autism/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Pierre-Novellie-20th-March-e1768828141459.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T184500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T194500
DTSTAMP:20260221T212314Z
CREATED:20260115T153042Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260221T212314Z
UID:10000813-1774032300-1774035900@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Andrew Lownie - Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out\, please join the waiting list for any returned tickets\, or we think you might like: Lucia Osborne-Crowley – The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell \n  \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR ANDREW LOWNIE\n  \n‘The most devastating royal biography ever written’ – Daily Mail \nPacked with extraordinary revelations\, Entitled is the first joint biography of the now former Duke and Duchess\, revealing how their lives are still deeply entwined. Drawing on four years’ research\, numerous FOI requests and interviews with over 100 people who have never spoken before\, Andrew Lownie traces the lives of the late Queen’s second son and his ex-wife\, through their childhoods\, courtship\, marriage\, divorce\, careers and royal and charitable activities. It reveals new details of how the couple have been able to financially sustain their extravagant lifestyles\, delving into ever-deepening links with Jeffrey Epstein. Chronicling their lives in parallel\, the picture that emerges is of a spoilt prince unable to connect and a duchess pushed by her insecurities into a desperate need to maintain her ‘royal’ status. \nANDREW LOWNIE was educated at Magdalene College\, Cambridge\, where he was President of the Union\, before taking his master’s and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society\, he later returned to Cambridge as a visiting fellow at Churchill College. He has been a bookseller\, publisher\, journalist writing for The Times\, Telegraph\, Wall Street Journal\, Spectator\, Guardian and since 1988 has run his own literary agency.  He is President of the Biographers Club\, sits on the board of Biographers International Organisation and is a Trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. His books include the prize-winning Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess (2015) and the top ten Sunday Times bestsellers The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves (2019) and Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (2021). \nPhoto credit: Nick Gregan \n 
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/andrew-lownie-entitled-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-house-of-york/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Andrew-Lownie-Entitled-20th-March-e1768394614593.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T164500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T174500
DTSTAMP:20260211T103719Z
CREATED:20260115T153103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T103719Z
UID:10000814-1774025100-1774028700@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Lucia Osborne-Crowley - The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY\n  \n‘A blazing book that puts the criminal justice system under the microscope’ The Independent \nIn November 2021\, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of five counts of sex-trafficking of minors and is now serving 20 years in prison for the role she played in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of four girls. Journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley was one of the only reporters allowed into the courtroom every day. In her meticulous account of this incendiary trial\, she paints a blistering critique of a criminal justice system ill-equipped to deliver justice for abuse survivors. Written as a gripping true crime drama\, The Lasting Harm questions our appetite for crime and punishment\, offering a new blueprint for meaningful reparative justice. \nLucia Osborne-Crowley is a trained lawyer\, legal reporter and journalist and the author of two books\, I Choose Elena (2019) and My Body Keeps Your Secrets (2021)\, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award. Her forensic but accessible reporting of the Maxwell trial was described as some of the best and most trauma-informed coverage of the case\, and it saw her social media following grow by over 35\,000 followers. She has appeared as an expert journalist on the Maxwell and Prince Andrew cases on BBC News\, Sky News\, LBC News and BBC Radio among others. Her analysis appeared in print in The Independent and ABC News. Elsewhere\, her news reporting has appeared in the Guardian\, The Sunday Times and GQ Magazine and her literary writing has been published in Granta and Meanjin. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/lucia-osborne-crowley-the-lasting-harm-witnessing-the-trial-of-ghislaine-maxwell/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T150000
DTSTAMP:20260211T101444Z
CREATED:20260115T153122Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T101444Z
UID:10000815-1774015200-1774018800@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Simon Hart - Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out. Join the waiting list below in case returned tickets become available\, or we think you might like Vernon Bogdanor & Andy Beckett – Making the Weather / The Searchers \nJoin Waiting List\n  \nAn insider’s story from the heart of government – as told by a man who knows… \nFormer Chief Whip and MP Simon Hart had a front-row seat to the most turbulent times in Britain’s recent political history: Brexit\, Liz Truss’s 49-day premiership\, the invasion of Ukraine… he’s seen and heard it all. In the oft misunderstood position of Chief Whip\, Simon oversaw a record fifteen Conservative MPs fall by the wayside\, for offences ranging from Matt Hancock’s unauthorized appearance on I’m A Celebrity… to Lee Anderson’s comments about the London Mayor. Each involved a noisy and vitriolic public commentary; none stopped him from becoming one of the few Chief Whips to survive an entire premiership. In an unflinching look at life as a Chief Whip\, Ungovernable is a revealing\, blow-by-blow account – offering a glimpse of what truly goes on in Westminster behind closed doors. \nSimon Hart was MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire between 2010and 2024. Previously a chartered surveyor\, Simon cut his political teeth as the former CEO of the Countryside Alliance. He served on four select committees and then\, following Theresa May’s election as prime minister in 2016\, became her representative on the Committee for Standards in Public Life. He was appointed as Minister for Implementation in the Cabinet Office under Boris Johnson\, and then joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales. He later resigned from his government the day before Johnson himself surrendered. In October 2022\, Rishi Sunak invited him to become Chief Whip. He is married with two adult children\, and lives in Pembrokeshire. \n  \n 
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/simon-hart-ungovernable-the-political-diaries-of-a-chief-whip/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Simon-Hart-Ungovernable-20th-March-scaled-e1768393640680.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T130000
DTSTAMP:20260216T172035Z
CREATED:20260115T153140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T172035Z
UID:10000816-1774008000-1774011600@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Andrew Ziminski - Church Going: A Stonemason's Guide to the Churches of the British Isles
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out\, please join the waiting list for any returned tickets\, or we think you might like: Charles Saumarez Smith – John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture \n  \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR ANDREW ZIMINSKI\n  \n‘A joyous and illuminating exploration of our glorious heritage’ – Sir Tony Robinson \nChurches are many things to us – 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. \nAndrew Ziminski has spent decades as a stonemason and church conservator\, acting as an informal guide to curious visitors. This is his handbook to the medieval churches of the British Isles\, in which he reveals their fascinating histories\, features and furnishings\, from flying buttresses to rood screens\, lichgates to chancels. Beautifully written and richly illustrated\, it is a celebration of the architectural history of the British Isles. \nAndrew Ziminski is a stonemason\, church conservator and author living and working in Frome\, Somerset. He has four decades of experience working on some of the greatest cathedrals and churches in Britain\, including the tower of Salisbury Cathedral and the dome of St Paul’s in London. He is a SPAB William Morris Craft Fellow\, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries\, and conservation advisor to the Salisbury Diocesan advisory committee for the care of churches. He is the author of The Stonemason: A History of Building Britain. \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR ANDREW ZIMINSKI
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/andrew-ziminski-church-going-a-stonemasons-guide-to-the-churches-of-the-british-isles/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Andrew-Ziminski-Church-Going-20th-March-e1768827957744.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260320T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260320T110000
DTSTAMP:20260211T104044Z
CREATED:20260115T153158Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T104044Z
UID:10000817-1774000800-1774004400@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Charles Saumarez Smith - John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR CHARLES SAUMAREZ SMITH\n  \nA special Literature Festival event to mark the tercentenary of the great architect’s death \nSir John Vanbrugh was one of Britain’s greatest architects and the designer of some of the most important and best beloved English country houses\, including Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace. By the standards of architects of the time\, Vanbrugh was a worldly figure\, friend and ally of the great\, with a strong sense of the imaginative characteristics of architecture\, its power of evocation\, and a building’s emotional impact\, particularly when compared to the more disciplined and scholarly work of his contemporaries\, Wren and Hawksmoor. Charles Saumarez Smith paints a fascinating portrait of a man whose architecture was shaped by his personality\, exploring Vanbrugh’s activities as a playwright and theatre manager\, his circle of friends\, his place in 18th-century society\, and\, his influence on later architects from Robert Adam to Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. \nCharles Saumarez Smith did a PhD. on ‘Charles Howard\, third Earl of Carlisle and the Architecture of Castle Howard’ at the Warburg Institute.  His first book\, The Building of Castle Howard\, was published by Faber and Faber in 1990 and won the Alice David Hitchcock Medallion.  After a career working in museums and galleries\, he retired in 2018\, since which he has returned to writing about architecture as the architecture critic of The Critic.  His book\, John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture was published by Lund Humphries in November and an exhibition of the same title will open in February 2026 at Sir John Soane’s Museum. \nCharles will be in conversation with Lichfield’s very own Annette Rubery\, an academic\, theatre historian\, editor and author with a special interest in Vanbrugh and his circle. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR CHARLES SAUMAREZ SMITH
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/charles-saumarez-smith-john-vanbrugh-the-drama-of-architecture/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Charles-Saumarez-Smith-20th-March-scaled-e1768827899137.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260319T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260319T203000
DTSTAMP:20260211T104118Z
CREATED:20260115T153215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T104118Z
UID:10000818-1773948600-1773952200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Ben Benton - All You Can Eat: The Search for a New British Menu
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR BEN BENTON\n  \n‘Ben Benton is the rarest of beasts\, in that he both cooks and writes beautifully’ – Meera Sodha \nA chef’s tour of the best and most innovative foods in Britain sees Ben Benton on a mission. British food is usually seen as a dire affair – if people think of it at all\, they picture fish and chips\, tea and cakes\, stiff sandwiches and limp vegetables. But the truth is that British food today is one of the world’s most diverse cuisines\, and Benton is setting out to catalogue the best dishes from across the country – from Black Isle to the Balti Triangle\, from Liverpool to Land’s End. Whether sampling seafood on the coast of Northern Ireland or jollof rice in an Essex carpark\, join Ben for a delectable tour celebrating the extraordinary variety of cultures and people in Britain today\, a moreish adventure that offers a chef’s perspective on how to find and cook delicious food where you live. \nBen Benton is a chef\, food writer and co-host of the Go-To Food podcast. He has cooked at Rochelle Canteen and the Dock Kitchen and was head chef at LeCoq\, before co-authoring Max’s Sandwich Book and writing for Vittles\, The Guardian\, The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR BEN BENTON
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/ben-benton-all-you-can-eat-the-search-for-a-new-british-menu/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Ben-Benton-All-You-Can-Eat-19th-March-scaled-e1768827309806.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260319T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260319T180000
DTSTAMP:20260211T104203Z
CREATED:20260115T153232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T104203Z
UID:10000819-1773939600-1773943200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Robert Colls - George Orwell: Life and Legacy
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR ROBERT COLLS\n  \n‘Everything is freshly presented – his imperial origins and shifting politics\, truth-telling journalism and relations with women. If you want a new view of Orwell\, read Colls’ – The New Statesman \nAn authentic account of Orwell’s life and work from his birth in the high noon of British imperialism\, to his death on the eve of the Cold War in 1950 – a life played out against a background of two world wars\, the rise of communism\, and the war-time pre-eminence of the US. Yet no matter how alert he was to the world order\, and how guarded his personal life\, Orwell never shied away from the question of who he was\, and the contradictions that entailed. His modern masterpieces Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) arrived to define the age he lived in. Interest in him has never abated since; no writer is more quoted or misquoted\, leaving him in danger of being lost to soundbites. Colls reveals the author once again. \nRobert Colls was professor of English History at the University of Leicester before joining the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University\, also in Leicester. He has written widely on modern British history\, and for The New Statesman and the Literary Review\, as well as for other newspapers and journals\, and on television and radio including\, most recently\, The Rest is History podcast. His This Sporting Life (OUP 2020) won the Aberdare Prize for sport history writing. His Identity of England (OUP 2002)\, George Orwell English Rebel (OUP 2014) and This Sporting Life (OUP 2020) were Books of the Year in The Times\, The Sunday Times\, The Observer\, The New Statesman and the BBC History Magazine. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR ROBERT COLLS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/robert-colls-george-orwell-life-and-legacy/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Robert-Colls-George-Orwell-Life-and-Legacy-e1768827789326.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260319T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260319T150000
DTSTAMP:20260309T133355Z
CREATED:20260115T153249Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T133355Z
UID:10000820-1773928800-1773932400@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Alwyn Turner - A Shellshocked Nation: Britain Between the Wars
DESCRIPTION:This event is now sold out\, please join the waiting list for any returned tickets\, or we think you might like: Vernon Bogdanor & Andy Beckett. The Hub @ St Mary’s 22 March \n  \nJOIN WAITING LIST FOR ALWYN TURNER\n  \nFrom Times Book of the Year writer and historian\, Alwyn Turner \nThe Great War left Britain shattered and the years that followed were wracked by crises: the Spanish Flu\, the General Strike\, the Depression\, the Abdication. In these confused times\, people looked for meaning in the oddest places – Spiritualism and Stonehenge enjoyed renewed popularity\, newspaper horoscopes were invented\, and strange phenomena observed\, from Tutankhamun’s Curse to ‘Nessie’ and the Cottingley Fairies. \nIt was also a time of escapism – the Jazz Age\, the birth of the BBC\, Bertie Wooster and Hercule Poirot\, Gracie Fields and Ivor Novello\, of greyhound racing and Butlin’s. As George Formby sang\, ‘It’s turned out nice again.’ Perhaps the most striking feature of the time is not what happened\, but what didn’t happen. Even as countries across Europe fell to dictatorship\, Britain remained immune to extremist politics. \nAlwyn Turner is a writer and historian who teaches at the University of Chichester. He is best-known for his chronicles of twentieth-century Britain\, which take in political\, cultural and social history\, and for his studies of British culture\, from the Daleks to the Biba boutique\, and from the Last Post bugle call to the early days of rock ’n’ roll and glam rock. A Shellshocked Nation follows his earlier Little Englanders: Britain in the Edwardian Era\, which was a Times Book of the Year. He spent his teenage years in Lichfield\, where his father was a musician in the Staffordshire Regiment. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR ALWYN TURNER
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/alwyn-turner-a-shellshocked-nation-britain-between-the-wars/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Alwyn-Turner-Shellshocked-19th-March-e1768309826113.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260319T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260319T130000
DTSTAMP:20260211T104348Z
CREATED:20260113T102352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T104348Z
UID:10000821-1773921600-1773925200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Tom McTague - Between the Waves: The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution 1945-2016
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR TOM MCTAGUE\n  \n‘A lucid\, thoughtful and richly provocative book’ – The Sunday Times \nA riveting story of the clashing ideals that have pulled at Britain’s public imagination for more than seven decades\, Between the Waves chronicles the battle of ideas\, events and personalities that first took the country into the Common Market in 1973… only to take it out of the EU in an explosive referendum a little over 40 years later. \nIn a story of ambition and underhand politics\, of nation\, identity and belief\, Tom McTague unearths the roots of ideological conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the 20th century as they fought for the future of Europe – Charles de Gaulle\, Harold Macmillan\, Jean Monnet\, Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher. Alongside these famous figures are the lesser-known actors in Britain’s great post-war drama: a coterie of Eurosceptic student radicals\, eccentric billionaires and political strategists who turned the tide of history. \nTom McTague is the Editor-in-Chief of The New Statesman. He has previously held positions as Political Editor at UnHerd and The Independent on Sunday\, staff writer at The Atlantic and Chief UK Correspondent at POLITICO. He has been highly commended at the British Press Awards and co-anchored the geopolitical history podcast These Times. He is co-author of Betting the House\, named by The Times as a 2017 Political Book of the Year. He grew up in County Durham in the northeast of England and now lives in London with his wife and three children. Between the Waves is his first work of history. \nTom will be interviewed by Jo Durrant\, now a regular Festival event chair. Jo is a broadcaster\, event host\, podcaster\, and presents the award-winning arts & science podcast Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR TOM MCTAGUE
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tom-mctague-between-the-waves/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Tom-McTague-Between-the-Waves-19th-March-scaled-e1768827650856.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260319T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260319T110000
DTSTAMP:20260211T104444Z
CREATED:20260113T102352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260211T104444Z
UID:10000822-1773914400-1773918000@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Annie Garthwaite - The King's Mother: There Can Only Be One
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS FOR ANNIE GARTHWAITE\n  \nThe sweeping sequel to the best-selling Cecily sees the Duchess of York plotting for supremacy in the Wars of the Roses \n1461. Through blood and battle Edward has gained England’s throne – king by right and conquest – eighteen years old and unstoppable. Cecily has piloted his rise to power and stands at his shoulder now\, first to claim the title King’s Mother. But war is come again\, as brother betrays brother\, and cousins turn treacherous\, other mothers rise up to fight for other sons. Cecily must focus her will to defeat every challenge. Wherever they come from. Whatever the cost. For there can be only one King\, and only one King’s Mother. \nFrom the Wars of the Roses to the dawn of the Tudor age\, this is a story of mothers and sons; of maternal ferocity and female ambition – of all they can build and all they can destroy. \nAnnie Garthwaite is the acclaimed author of two novels that bring the women of the Wars of the Roses to life. Cecily (Viking\, Penguin 2021) was named a ‘top pick’ by The Times and Sunday Times\, a ‘Best Book of 2021’ by independent bookshops and Waterstones\, and has recently been optioned for television. The King’s Mother (Viking\, Penguin 2024) was named ‘Book of the Month’ by The Times immediately upon publication. Annie came to writing after a 30-year international business career\, determined to cast light on female histories often overlooked. \nBOOK TICKETS FOR ANNIE GARTHWAITE
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/annie-garthwaite-the-kings-mother/
LOCATION:The George Hotel\, Bird Street\, Lichfield\, WS13 6PR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Annie-Garthwaite-The-Kings-Mother-19th-March-e1768827547598.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250718T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250718T190000
DTSTAMP:20250528T135223Z
CREATED:20250410T075929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T135223Z
UID:10000741-1752861600-1752865200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:MARK WATSON - Book Event
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS\n  \nOne of the UK’s best-loved comedians joins us for an exciting double-bill. \nAt this event\, Mark will introduce his new book One Minute Away – an unforgettable novel about the human encounters at the heart of modern cities\, followed by a book signing. \nAfter this\, event there will be time to grab a drink or some food\, before a rare chance to see Mark’s stand-up in such an intimate venue.  Click this link for details of the stand-up show. Note that separate tickets need to be booked for the two events. \nEvent Sponsor The George Hotel \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/mark-watson-book-event/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Comedy,Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Mark-e1744271887320.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250718T150000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250718T160000
DTSTAMP:20250610T130646Z
CREATED:20250410T080025Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250610T130646Z
UID:10000742-1752850800-1752854400@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:ALISON WEIR - The Cardinal
DESCRIPTION:This event is now SOLD OUT. \nJOIN WAITING LIST\n  \nRevered historical writer Alison Weir returns to the Festival to discuss her latest fiction book\, The Cardinal. \nIn it\, she tells the story of Cardinal Wolsey – his incredible rise to power and his tragic fall. Delving beyond the splendour and political machinations of the Tudor court\, Weir skilfully reveals the secrets of Wolsey’s private life\, the woman he loved devotedly\, and the deep-rooted bond between him and the King. \nEvent Sponsors John Maxwell-Jones \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/alison-weir-the-cardinal/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Alison-Weir-59-scaled-e1744272017582.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250717T161500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250717T171500
DTSTAMP:20250609T150004Z
CREATED:20250410T090721Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250609T150004Z
UID:10000746-1752768900-1752772500@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:NICOLA TALLIS - Young Elizabeth
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS\n  \nElizabeth I’s story is well known. But queenship was by no means a certain path for Henry VIII’s younger daughter. \nHistorian Nicola Tallis joins us to talk about her latest book\, which draws on primary sources – including writings by Elizabeth herself – to present the heart racing story of her youth as she steered through perilous waters towards England’s throne. \nNicola will be interviewed by Jo Durrant\, award-winning presenter of the independent arts & science podcast Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe and a now regular Festival visitor! \n“History as it should be written\, vivid\, colourful\, pacy and evocative\, but above all authentic” Alison Weir \nEvent Sponsor Jill Sutton \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/nicola-tallis-young-elizabeth/
LOCATION:Wade Street Church\, Wade Street\, Lichfield\, Staffordshire\, WS13 6HL\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Nicola-Tallis-book-cover.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250716T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250716T150000
DTSTAMP:20250620T094539Z
CREATED:20250410T081107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250620T094539Z
UID:10000751-1752674400-1752678000@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:TRACY BORMAN - Holbein and the Year That Changed Tudor England
DESCRIPTION:This event is now SOLD OUT\nScroll down to find some other events we think you might like.\n \nJoin Waiting List\n  \nThe year 1533 changed everything for Henry VIII and his kingdom. By the end of it\, England had a new queen\, Anne Boleyn\, a new church and a new royal heir\, the future Elizabeth I. This turbulent year was captured forever by Hans Holbein\, the most famous court painter of the age. \nThe Ambassadors\, seen by millions of National Gallery visitors each year\, is full of meanings and symbols. Based on her new book\, Holbein: The Ambassadors\, Festival Patron Tracy Borman’s talk will unlock the mysteries of this painting and reveal the secrets that it tells us about the Tudor court. \n \n  \nAlso at 11am \n  \nEvent Sponsors Lichfield Festival Friends | Jill Sutton \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nJOIN WAITING LIST
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tracy-borman-holbein-2/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/TRACY_BORMAN__43A9517-1-scaled-e1744272659887.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250716T110000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250716T120000
DTSTAMP:20250620T094238Z
CREATED:20250410T081126Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250620T094238Z
UID:10000753-1752663600-1752667200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:TRACY BORMAN - Holbein and the Year That Changed Tudor England
DESCRIPTION:This event is now SOLD OUT.\nScroll down to find some other events we think you might like.  \nJoin Waiting List\n  \nThe year 1533 changed everything for Henry VIII and his kingdom. By the end of it\, England had a new queen\, Anne Boleyn\, a new church and a new royal heir\, the future Elizabeth I. This turbulent year was captured forever by Hans Holbein\, the most famous court painter of the age. \nThe Ambassadors\, seen by millions of National Gallery visitors each year\,is full of meanings and symbols. Based on her new book\, Holbein: The Ambassadors\, Festival Patron Tracy Borman’ \ns talk will unlock the mysteries of this painting and reveal the secrets that it tells us about the Tudor court. \n \n  \nAlso at 2pm \n  \nEvent Sponsors Lichfield Festival Friends  | Jill Sutton \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nJOIN WAITING LIST
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tracy-borman-holbein-1/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/TRACY_BORMAN__43A9517-1-scaled-e1744272659887.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250712T141500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250712T151500
DTSTAMP:20250528T143034Z
CREATED:20250410T083548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T143034Z
UID:10000774-1752329700-1752333300@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:NANDINI DAS - Courting India
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS\n  \n‘An intelligent and gripping book with a thoughtful awareness of human relationships and frailties’ (The Critic) \nWhen Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I’s first ambassador to the Mughal Empire\, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best\, and\, to the Mughals\, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified ‘Great Britain’ under the Stuart monarchy. Meanwhile\, the court he entered in India was wealthy and cultured\, its dominion widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires of the world. \nA Waterstones and History Today Book of the Year\, Courting India reveals how Roe’s time in the Mughal Empire was a turning point in history – offering a radical challenge to our understanding of Britain and its early empire. \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nPhoto: Fran Monks \n  \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/nandini-das-courting-india/
LOCATION:Wade Street Church\, Wade Street\, Lichfield\, Staffordshire\, WS13 6HL\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/Nandini-Das-Credit-Fran-Monks-scaled-e1744274142502.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250711T153000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250711T163000
DTSTAMP:20250528T143757Z
CREATED:20250410T084102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250528T143757Z
UID:10000780-1752247800-1752251400@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:PAUL SPICER - Sir Arthur Bliss: Standing Out from the Crowd
DESCRIPTION:BOOK TICKETS\n  \nFormer Festival Artistic Director Paul Spicer’s biography of composer and conductor Sir Arthur Bliss has won awards in both the UK and USA; this talk marks the 50th anniversary of Bliss’s death. \nPaul will talk about Bliss’ life – despite his musical training being cut short by World War I\, he went on to become Master of the Queen’s Music for over 20 years – and the full breadth of his works\, from the great ballets and operas for stage and television\, to his stunning orchestral and choral music. \n  \nEvent Sponsor Close Friends – in memory of Robert Grew \n  \nConcessions are available for some individuals/groups for Festival events – please see How to Book | Lichfield Festival or ask our Box Office team for further details \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/paul-spicer-sir-arthur-bliss-standing-out-from-the-crowd/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Classical,Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/1-37-scaled-e1744274451594.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250330T194500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250330T204500
DTSTAMP:20250213T164747Z
CREATED:20240115T100421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250213T164747Z
UID:10000704-1743363900-1743367500@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Lindsey Davis - There Will Be Bodies: A Flavia Albia Novel
DESCRIPTION:A new and intriguing crime novel from the celebrated pen of ‘Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement’ winner Lindsey Davis  \nTen years after the eruption of Vesuvius\, the destroyed cities and luxury villas on the Bay of Naples are not utterly lost. Flavia Albia and her husband Tiberius Manlius are tasked with restoring one villa and identifying any surviving remains.  \nWhat they unearth is beyond disturbing: the body of the previous owner\, Publius Primus\, laid out carefully and covered by falling ash. Was Primus murdered? And\, if so\, why? Can Flavia Albia solve the mystery?  \nThere Will Be Bodies looks beyond the well-known tragic events to what must have happened afterwards…   \nBirmingham-based historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her novels set in Ancient Rome\, including the much-loved Marcus Didius Falco series.   \nHer books are translated and five radio dramas are regularly rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4X. Her many awards include the Premio Colosseo (from the city of Rome) and the Crime Writers’ Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Most recently she was awarded the Ivanhoe Prize for lifetime achievement in historical fiction. \nLFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 4th February | Silver/Bronze: 11th February | General Booking Opens: 18th February \n  \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/lindsey-davis/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lichfieldfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/TWBB-UK-jacket-scaled-e1736511785383.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250330T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250330T190000
DTSTAMP:20250206T093635Z
CREATED:20240115T100421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250206T093635Z
UID:10000703-1743357600-1743361200@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Anne Somerset - Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers
DESCRIPTION:It is generally accepted that Queen Victoria reigned but did not rule. This couldn’t be more wrong.  \nQueen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers masterfully traces Victoria’s political evolution\, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian\, demonstrating her passionate involvement in state affairs\, and casting fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers – from her girlish adoration of the worldly-wise Lord Melbourne\, her first Prime Minster\, via her ‘favourite’ Benjamin Disraeli\, to her great antipathy for Disraeli’s rival\, the Liberal William Gladstone.   \nAnne Somerset charts the bitter clashes and affectionate interactions Victoria had with her ten premiers in often hilarious detail. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources\, it casts a fresh and highly illuminating perspective not just on Victoria herself\, but on the exceptionally able politicians who served her in government.  \nAnne Somerset read history at King’s College London\, graduating in 1976. She is now an acclaimed and prize-winning writer whose works have spanned the courts of William IV\, Elizabeth I\, James I and Queen Anne (the latter winning the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography).   \nPhoto: Caroline Forbes \nLFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 4th February | Silver/Bronze: 11th February | General Booking Opens: 18th February \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/anne-somerset/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250330T160000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250330T170000
DTSTAMP:20250128T133322Z
CREATED:20240115T100421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T133322Z
UID:10000702-1743350400-1743354000@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Mary Hollingsworth -  Catherine de’ Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
DESCRIPTION:History is rarely kind to women of power but few have had their reputations so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici\, the Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive sons. Thrust suddenly into the spotlight by the untimely death of her husband\, her position was ambiguous and not made easier by the frailties of these sons\, nor by her courtiers\, villainous characters who placed their own ambitions before loyalty to the crown.  \nFew recognize her achievements in the arts\, as one of the most impressive patrons of the period. For most she was a witch\, steeped in the arts of poison and other vicious practices of her homeland; others accused her of starting the religious wars which threatened to destroy France and\, and most sinister of all\, as instigator of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre (1572)\, in which thousands of innocent Protestants were slaughtered.  \nMary Hollingsworth is a scholar of the Italian Renaissance\, whose previous works have dealt with the papers of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este\, the patronage of Renaissance art\, plus titles including The Borgias\, The Medici and the Princes of the Renaissance.  \nLFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 4th February | Silver/Bronze: 11th February | General Booking Opens: 18th February \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/mary-hollingsworth/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250330T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250330T150000
DTSTAMP:20250306T140346Z
CREATED:20240115T100421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250306T140346Z
UID:10000701-1743343200-1743346800@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:David Spiegelhalter - The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance\, Ignorance\, Risk and Luck
DESCRIPTION:This event is now SOLD OUT  \nWe think you may like: \nMike Berners-Lee – A Climate of Truth: Why We Need It and How To Get It | Lichfield Festival \nFrom ‘the UK’s greatest living statistician’ (Daily Telegraph)\, a clever and data-driven guide to how we can live with risk and uncertainty \nWe live in a world where uncertainty is inevitable. How should we deal with what we don’t know? And what role do chance\, luck and coincidence play in our lives? \nThe Art of Uncertainty shows us how the principles of probability can help us think more analytically about everything from medical advice to pandemics and climate change forecasts… explaining along the way why roughly 40% of football results come down to luck rather than talent\, and why we can be so confident that two properly shuffled packs of cards have never\, ever been in the exact same order. \nDrawing on a wide range of captivating real-world examples\, this is an essential guide to navigating uncertainty while also having the humility to admit what we do not know.  \nProfessor Sir David Spiegelhalter is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Cambridge University. Together with his writing and media appearances\, he works to improve the way in which risk and statistical evidence are taught and discussed in society.   \nPhoto: Amanda Benson \nLFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 4th February | Silver/Bronze: 11th February | General Booking Opens: 18th February \nBOOK TICKETS
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/david-spiegelhalter/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250330T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250330T130000
DTSTAMP:20250128T133525Z
CREATED:20240115T100421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T133525Z
UID:10000700-1743336000-1743339600@lichfieldfestival.org
SUMMARY:Tess Gerritsen - The Summer Guests
DESCRIPTION:The Summer Guests is the exhilarating and gripping new thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast  \nThe Martini Club isn’t open to everyone. Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis)\, and some gentle birdwatching. \nBut trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive to packed streets\, bar brawls\, petty theft. And now\, a missing teenager down by the lake.  \nWhen their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl’s disappearance\, they must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves\, to prove they are not just a meddlesome group of retirees\, but able to uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen…  \nInternational bestselling author Tess Gerritsen began to write fiction whilst on maternity leave as a physician. She has since sold over forty million copies of her books in forty countries. Now retired from medicine\, she lives in Maine and writes full time.  \nPhoto: Josh Gerritsen \nLFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 4th February | Silver/Bronze: 11th February | General Booking Opens: 18th February \nBOOK TICKETS\n 
URL:https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/tess-gerritsen/
LOCATION:The Hub at St Mary’s\, Market Square\, Lichfield\, WS13 6LG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Literature
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