What's On
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When: Tuesday 10th December 2.30-4pm
Where: The Glapthorn Suite, Fletton House, Fletton Way, Oundle, PE8 4JA
An exciting new series of afternoon lectures looking at classic tales from a fresh perspective by Dr. Diana Hallam, teacher and specialist in literary lectures. We hope to have Diana back to guide us on further classic adventures with Jane Austen, the Brontë’s, Keats, Shakespeare and others, but for this first event she asks us:
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Sleeping Beauty - A Feminist's Worst Nightmare?
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Enjoy a hot drink, homemade cake and good company whilst Diana takes us on a literary journey looking at this well-loved classic fairy tale in a new way.
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​Tickets are £10, including a hot drink and homemade cake.
Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.
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The Oundle Bookshop will be present on the night with copies of classic books available to purchase.
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When: Thursday 20th February 2025, 7.30-9pm
Where: The Oundle Suite, Fletton House, Glapthorn
Road, Oundle PE8 4JA
Join us as local Author, Beth Lynch comes to Oundle Festival of Literature for an interview style event. Melding themes of nature and loss into her literary memoirs, Beth joins us after the critical success of her first book, 'Where the Hornbeam Grows', and with her new book 'The Cove - a Cornish Haunting.' garnering similarly effusive reviews.
Unfolding through a medium of salt and slate, and the elemental indifference of Atlantic Cornwall, The Cove is a lyrical meditation on being a revenant, on haunting and being haunted.
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'A mesmerising, elegiac mix of meditation and memoir' ― Saga Magazine
'Lynch writes lyrically about the natural world '― DAILY MAIL
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The author interview will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
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Tickets: £9 General Admission, £8 Early Birds and Over 60s. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.
The Oundle Bookshop will be present on the night with copies of the book/ previous books available to purchase.
Click photo for more speaker info.
When: Friday 16th May 2025, 7.30-9pm
Where: Queen Victoria Hall, 7 West Street,
Oundle PE8 4EJ
Oundle welcomes international authors, Katherine Mezzacappa & Lisa Medved to discuss their latest historical fiction novels, which retell history through the voices of unheard women.
Mezzacappa's, book, tells the tale of orphan Giulia, who is thrust into the orbit of the powerful Medici's after the virility of a prince marrying into their family is called into question. Based on true events, the story gives a charismatic voice to a woman in the shadows of history.
'Immaculately researched and imagined, rich in period detail and emotionally compelling, The Maiden of Florence is a historical fiction tour de force' —Deborah Swift, author of The Poison Keeper
Medved's 'The Engraver's Secret' is released by Harper Collins in the UK on 10th April 2025. Featuring a dual timeline between two women separated by centuries, Charlotte's and Antonia's lives intertwine as they unearth long-buried secrets about a master artist and his engraver where theft, betrayal and the fallout of family loyalty run rampant.
'An inspired blend of history and suspense... This wonderful debut novel will inhabit your dreams.' -Dominic Swift, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Last Painting of Sara de Vos'.
The evening will feature a conversation between Katherine, Lisa and our Festival Curator, Karen, an audience Q&A and a book signing.
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Tickets: £9 General Admission, £8 Early Birds and Over 60s. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.
The Oundle Bookshop will be present on the night with copies of both author's books available to purchase.
Click photo for more speaker info.
When: Thursday 30th January 2025, 7.30-9pm
Where: St Peter's Church, North Street, Oundle PE8 4AL
'This is deep stuff, personal yet learned, funny and vulnerable ... the book I didn't know I needed.' Sally Phillips
Elizabeth Oldfield's book challenges us to ask, what it means to be FULLY ALIVE? Part memoir, part manifesto for how we can live deeper, wiser lives and become the kind of people the world might need, Oldfield draws on ancient wisdom and stories from her own life in her quest to live a meaningful, fulfilling life.
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FULLY ALIVE is for readers looking for an honest conversation about the deepest questions in our ordinary lives, and practical, meaningful ideas to help us pay attention to the people we are becoming.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A and book signings. ​
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Tickets: £9 General Admission, £8 Early Birds and Over 60s. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.
The Oundle Bookshop will be present on the night with copies of the book/ previous books available to purchase.
Click photo for more speaker info.
When: Wednesday 9th April 2025, 7.30-9pm
Where: St Peter's Church, North Street, Oundle PE8 4AL
Nick Bailey, leading English Plantsman, Garden Designer and BBC Gardeners' World Presenter, joins us to guide us through the knowledge captured in his best selling book, '365 Days of Colour in Your Garden', sharing tips on how to plant and manage your garden to ensure year-round colour and interest, whatever its size.
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Nick has created and and managed gardens on four continents and brings a wealth of gardening knowledge and experience to share with you at this sure-to-be inspirational event.
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After his talk, there will be an audience Q&A, your chance to ask those pressing gardening questions, and then a book signing. Nick will have copies of his book available to purchase on the night.
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'A beautifully photographed guide for gardeners' - Daily Telegraph
'Nick offers solutions for every season' - Country Living
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Tickets: £15 General Admission, £12 Early Birds and Over 60s. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.
Nick will have copies of his book available to purchase on the night.
Click photo for more speaker info.
When: Thursday 3rd July 2025, 7.30-9pm
Where: St Peter's Church, North Street, Oundle PE8 4AL
​6th August 2025 marks 80 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, arguably the most significant event of WWII.
Award winning writer, Iain MacGregor’s latest book, ‘The Hiroshima Men’ tells the decade-long (1936-46) story of the race for the atomic bomb, through the eyes of four main participants (American and Japanese), the war across Europe and the Pacific, and ends when Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and war journalist John Hersey breaks the story of what 'Little Boy' actually did to Hiroshima in his iconic article for The New Yorker magazine.
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'I can think of no more important book for our time. Written with moral clarity, tremendous verve, and the ability of a truly great historian to render the immensity of a moment through the smaller voices as well as being faithful to the facts. I recommend this magisterial, haunting book to all generations.' Fergal Keane - Foreign Correspondent, BBC
Iain has worked with bestselling historians such as Simon Schama, Alice Roberts and John Nicol as a successful editor, and on podcasts with The Imperial War Museum and R4’s ‘In Our Time’ series with Melvyn Bragg. He has been published in The Guardian, BBC History Magazine, The Spectator and The Washington Post. The Hiroshima Men is his fourth historical non-fiction book. ​​
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Tickets: £9 General Admission, £8 Early Birds and Over 60s. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Oundle Bookshop (cash only) or online via TicketSource by clicking 'Book Tickets' below.​​​
