Festival of Literature

Home , Alexander Armstrong, Bel Mooney, John Suchet, Jonathan Dimbleby, Paul Gambaccini, Shaun Evans

The Blenheim Palace Festival of Literature, Film & Music Thursday 24 – Sunday 27 September 2015 festival of Box Office 01993 812291 liter ature (11am – 2.30pm) film & Music blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Thursday 24 – Sunday 27 September 2015 The ultimate boutique literary festival

festival of Featuring Orhan Pamuk • Dr Maki Mandela • Antony Beevor • Sir Karl Jenkins • Maureen Lipman liter ature Alexander Armstrong • Prince Asserate • Sue MacGregor • Paul Gambaccini • Bel Mooney Max Mosley Douglas Hurd Alfred Brendel Claudia Roden John Suchet Daphne Selfe Courtyard of The Feathers hotel, Woodstock • • • • • film & Music Peter Hennessy • Dan Jones • Gino D’Acampo • Daniel Finklestein • Michael Billington THE PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE Box Office 01865THE 305305 PROGRAMME • blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com AT A GLANCE

Thursday 24th September Saturday 26th September

12pm Maki Mandela Blenheim Palace 11am Alexander Armstrong Blenheim Palace 12pm James Russell Blenheim Palace 12pm Alfred Brendel St Mary Magdalene Church 2pm Dan Jones Blenheim Palace 2pm Gino D'Acampo Blenheim Palace 2pm Jonathan Fenby Blenheim Palace 4:30pm Martin Jennings, Jamie Muir 4pm Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Blenheim Palace and Ed Taylor Blenheim Palace 4pm Beth Powning, Michael Crummey, 6pm Karl Jenkins St Mary Magdalene Church Serge Patrice Thibodeau and Sue Goyette Blenheim Palace 7.30pm Literary Salon Dinner La Galleria Restaurant 6pm Orhan Pamuk Blenheim Palace 8pm Claudia Roden Dinner The Feathers Hotel Sunday 27th September

10am Two Earnest: Friday 25th September A reworking of Oscar Wilde Blenheim Palace 10.30am Jonathan Fenby, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown 10.30am Sonia Purnell Blenheim Palace and Gwenan Edwards Blenheim Palace 11am Jonathan Bate St Mary Magdalene Church 10.30am Asfa-Wossen Asserate Blenheim Palace 12pm Bel Mooney Blenheim Palace 12pm Dermot Turing and Gordon Corera Blenheim Palace 12.30pm Max Mosley Blenheim Palace 12pm Ann Treneman and Peter Brookes Blenheim Palace 2pm Shaun Evans, Russell Lewis 2.15pm Special Guest and Peter Hennessy Blenheim Palace and Dan McCulloch Blenheim Palace 4pm Paul Gambaccini Blenheim Palace 2pm Michael Billington Blenheim Palace 4pm Andrew Lambert Blenheim Palace 2pm Madeleine Shaw Blenheim Palace 5.45pm John Suchet Blenheim Palace 3pm Andrew Gant St Mary Magdalene Church 5.45pm Hugh Purcell Blenheim Palace 4pm Daphne Selfe Blenheim Palace 6pm Patrick Gale St Mary Magdalene Church 4pm Douglas Hurd Blenheim Palace 7pm Antony Beevor – Black Tie Dinner Blenheim Palace 5pm Maureen Lipman, Jeremy Robson, Jacqui Dankworth, Charlie Wood, Julian Siegel and Oli Hayhurst Blenheim Palace Festival Director’s Welcome

A very warm welcome to the 2015 festival established partners HM Government of which has been widened to include film, Gibraltar; English Heritage and The Oxford television and music – art forms which have Times; to our new partners the Rosewood all been enriched and inspired by literature. London Hotel; to Owen Mumford for sustaining our Marlborough School Festival We are hugely grateful to our Royal Patron, and for the continuing generosity of our HRH The Duke of Gloucester, for initiating patron donors, Ian and Carol Sellars, the lecture series that will bear his name Eileen and Munir Majid and Desmond and each year and to our most distinguished Fiona Hayward. inaugural lecturer. Every year our speakers enthuse about the The ITV Network have arranged four great beauty of the festival’s magnificent outstanding preview screenings of major backdrop of Blenheim Palace for which autumn programmes with casts and crew. we thank Their Graces, The Duke and We greatly appreciate the support of Richard Duchess of Marlborough and the estate Klein, director of factual/broadcast ITV plc team. and his colleagues. The historic town of Woodstock offers The festival sees a host of celebrated festival-goers the opportunity to meet and international speakers this year, including talk with novelists, historians and writers Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, Dr Maki in historic hotels, inns, restaurants and Mandela, Antony Beevor, Prince Asserate, Sir cafes – an atmosphere heavy with autumn Karl Jenkins, Alfred Brendel and four leading wood smoke and unique to Britain’s writers from Canada’s Atlantic coast. ultimate boutique literary festival.

The festival is indebted once more to HSBC We look forward to a memorable and and its chief executive, Antonio Simoes, for engaging weekend with you all. their foundation sponsorship; to our long SALLY DUNSMORE Festival Director

1 HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO Royal Patron of The Festival

In recent years the festival has featured an increasing number of international speakers and events and the 2015 roll call is the most impressive to date. I am particularly pleased that my inaugural lecture will see a figure of such distinction in discussion with Lord Hennessy. Blenheim Palace has provided the backdrop for many motion pictures (from the 1930s onwards), so it is appropriate that the festival’s remit has been extended to include both film and music, art forms that have been reflected in so many ways in literature over the past century.

RICHARD

2 Blenheim Palace When war broke out in Europe, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, a military genius, was chosen as leader of the allied troops. During 1702 and 1703 Marlborough defended Holland from invasion from the French. In 1704 a decisive battle took place near a small village called Blindheim in Bavaria, Blenheim in English, where Marlborough won a great allied victory over the forces of Louis XIV. In reward, Queen Anne granted Marlborough the Royal Manor of Woodstock and signified that she would build him there a house to be called Blenheim. Sir John Vanbrugh was appointed to design Blenheim Palace and Capability Brown landscaped the park, creating the great lake over which Vanbrugh’s Grand Bridge now stands. Blenheim Palace is one of the largest finest private houses in England, a world heritage site set in 2100 acres of parkland. Its stunning formal gardens include the Italian Garden, the Water Terraces, Rose Garden, Arboretum and Maze. It is home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough and was the birthplace in 1874 of Sir Winston Churchill. Guided tours of the palace run throughout most of the season and ‘Blenheim Palace: The Untold Story’ tells the story of the last 300 years through the eyes of the servants.

General Information Opening times: the palace, park and formal gardens open daily until 2nd November. From 5th November to 14th December, the palace and formal gardens are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The park is open all year except on Christmas Day. The park opens at 9.00am: the formal gardens at 10.00am and the palace at 10.30am. Last entry to the park and palace is at 4.45pm. The palace closes at 5.30pm and the park and gardens close at 6.00pm. www.blenheimpalace.com

Tickets for festival events at Blenheim Palace on all 4 days, Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th September, include free entry to the grounds and gardens on the day of the ticket (price normally £13.80).

3 Festival Patrons, Sponsors and Partners

Royal Patron We should like to thank the following for their most generous support of the festival: HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO Partners Sponsors Patrons His Grace The Duke of Marlborough The Rt. Hon David Cameron MP Lord Fellowes Sponsor of the festival green room Ben Okri Felicity Bryan David Freeman Professor Martin Kemp Ian and Carol Sellars Festival Hotel Eileen and Munir Majid Blenheim Palace Literary Festival Broadcast Television Partner Chairman Bruce Thew Deputy Chairman and Co-founder Jill Dunsmore Festival Director and Co-founder Sally Dunsmore School Events Sponsor Special Adviser Tony Byrne Cultural Partner Festival Administrator Louise Croft Publicity Joe Ogden, Four Communications (0)20 3697 4261 (media enquiries only) Regional Magazine Partner Green Room Manager Rachel Byrne Festival London Hotel Partner Digital Strategy and Website Festival Dinners Administrator Alex Oakes Patron Donors Lawers to the Festival Graphic Design Stafford & Stafford Ian and Carol Sellars Website and Content Editor Derek Holmes Eileen and Munir Majid Website Design Bear Ram Elk Regional Media Sponsor Desmond and Fiona Organisation Support Francie Von Schonfeld Heyward

4 Sponsors Associates City Audio Visual La Galleria Restaurant The Marlborough School St Mary Magdalene Church KT Bruce Photography Save the Children Bookshop Wake up to Woodstock Woodstock Bookshop

We should also like to thank all the voluntary festival stewards for their time and generous support throughout the festival.

Front cover photo and all Blenheim images New Brunswick, Canada by kind permission of Blenheim Palace Festival Bookseller Woodstock and other photos by kind permission of KT Bruce www.ktbrucephotography.com and Oxford Picture Library www.cap-ox.com All other photos individually credited The festival on-site bookseller is where known Blenheim Palace Retail who provide speakers’ books at all festival venues. For information on sponsorship opportunities for the 2016 festival, please contact Tony Byrne at [email protected] or on Festival Online Bookseller 07801 287510

Programme printed by Oxuniprint, the printing division of Oxford University Press Prestige Publishing Partner The festival is produced by Iconic Programmes Ltd Registered office Greyfriars Court, Paradise Square, Oxford, Oxon OX1 1BE Company number 07180906 5 HSBC and The Blenheim Palace Festival of Literature, Film & Music

HSBC is delighted to once again sponsor the Blenheim Palace Festival of Literature, Film & Music, supporting the series of talks and events on ‘leadership’ and ‘women in society’, past, present and future. Our continued association with the festival reflects HSBC’s commitment over the past 150 years to encourage the exchange of ideas, helping to build connections, open up opportunities and strengthen relationships. This year’s festival reflects its increasing focus on events from a wide creative field. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the talks, debates and events taking place over four unforgettable days.

ANTONIO SIMOES Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc

,       ,  .

Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com THURSDAY 24th SEPTEMBER

Maki Mandela talks to John Battersby Mandela: Life, Legacy and Art 12 noon / Blenheim Palace: Orangery / £12 Dr Maki Mandela, the eldest daughter of Nelson Mandela, talks to leading South African journalist John Battersby about her father’s life and legacy and about the works of art that he created in later life. Makaziwe ‘Maki’ Mandela is the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his first wife, Evelyn Mase. She worked closely with the South African government on her father’s memorial celebrations in Johannesburg and on the funeral in his ancestral home, Qunu. Nelson Mandela is perhaps the most famous statesman of the latter part of the 20th century. He also took up art in later life, and Maki Mandela will talk about the works of art he produced that included sketches of Robben Island, where he was imprisoned, and the famous Hand of Africa. Maki Mandela was educated at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. In 1993, she earned a PhD in anthroplogy at the University of Massachusetts, USA. She is a businesswoman and founder of the House of Mandela wine label. She has worked at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Battersby is a former editor of The Sunday Independent in Johannesburg and former correspondent for the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor. He gained a reputation for analysing and interpreting the complexities Maki Mandela of transition, reconciliation and reparation at the end of apartheid. He is the former UK country manager of Brand South Africa, which promotes the country’s image for trade, tourism and investment. Battersby knew Nelson Mandela during his years as a foreign correspondent and interviewed him many Presented by times.

Sponsored by

Victoria Schofield Haile Selassi and General Franco

23 FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Jonathan Fenby, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. Dermot Turing and Gordon Corera. Chaired by Paul Blezard Leadership in Society Chaired by Gwenan Edwards From Turing to Today: The Changing Face of the Spy Breaking News: A Review of Today’s in the Internet Age Newspapers 12 noon / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 10.30 / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 Alan Turing’s nephew Sir John Dermot Turing and security Well-known journalists Jonathan Fenby and Yasmin correspondent for BBC news Gordon Corera look at Turing the man Alibhai-Brown review the day’s newspapers with BBC and his genius in breaking the Nazi codes in World War II and at presenter Gwenan Edwards. Expect some expert opinion how his legacy and the Internet age has bred a new kind of spy. Who and lively discussion about current affairs. are these people working in the shadows today to spy on extremists, businesses and governments? Fenby is a former editor of The Observer and of the South China Morning Post. He has written several popular books Dermot Turing’s new biography of his uncle, Prof: Alan Turing about China, including The Penguin History of Modern Decoded, takes a look at the short 42-year life of a man widely China and Will China Dominate the 21st Century, and a regarded as a war hero badly mistreated by his country – a story that series of books on French history including his latest, The gained new prominence from the recent hugely successful History of Modern France: From the Revolution to the Hollywood movie, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Present Day. He speaks about the history of France at Cumberbatch as Turing. Dermot Turing uncovers the real man Dermot Turing another festival event on Thursday. behind the stories and looks at his wartime work after 1942, which was kept even more secret than the Enigma work. Alibhai-Brown is one of the UK’s leading commentators on race, multiculturalism and human rights. She writes for Corera’s Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and Spies tells national newspapers and is often seen and heard on the story of computers and spies from the work of Turing and his television and radio. She won the George Orwell Prize for colleagues at Bletchley Park to the present day. Corera uncovers the political journalism in 2002 and the Emma Award for true stories about the new spies that have begun to dominate in the journalism in 2004. Her latest book is Exotic England, The decades following Turing and the work at Bletchley Park. These are Making of a Curious Nation and she also appears at a the hackers and spies of the modern internet age who are using festival event on the nature of Englishness. computers to shape our future. Edwards has presented television news programmes Dermot Turing works for the law firm, Clifford Chance, where his including Wales at Six on ITV and Newsroom South East focus is on regulation, insolvency and risk management for financial on the BBC. She has also reported from across the world institutions. He is a trustee of Bletchley Park. Corera is security for BBC World News. Edwards has presented and correspondent for the BBC. He has presented major documentaries Gordon Corera reported for a number of well-known television on cyber security and is author of The Art of Betrayal: Life and Death programmes including Watchdog on in the British Secret Service and Shopping for Bombs: The Rise and Sponsored by BBC1 and the BBC Proms. Fall of the AQ Khan Network. In 2014 he was named Information Supported by Security Journalist of the Year at the BT Information Security and Ian and Carol Sellars Journalism awards

24 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER

Ann Treneman and Peter Brookes. Special Guest Talks to Peter Hennessy Chaired by Daniel Finkelstein Pencils Sharpened: The Satirists’ Take on The Inaugural Duke of Gloucester Lecture Recent Politics 2.15pm / Blenheim Palace: Orangery / £12

12 noon / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 One of Britain’s most prominent politicians talks to contemporary historian Lord Peter Hennessy about Writer Ann Treneman and cartoonist Peter Brookes his life, career and influences. This is a unique explore the subversive power of political satire with a opportunity to hear this special guest in serious eye and a healthy dose of humour. conversation with the leading chronicler of our age. Treneman, The Times parliamentary sketch writer Hennessy is Attlee Professor of Contemporary British and author of All in it Together: My Five Years History at Queen Mary, University of London, a Stalking Dave and Nick, and multi-award-winning crossbench peer and a former lobby correspondent. The Times cartoonist Brookes, will share their own He spent 20 years as a journalist, variously working unique interpretations of the General Election and its for The Times, the Financial Times and The fallout. And the event will include the live drawing by Economist and co-founded the Institute of Brookes of a cartoon. Contemporary British History. He recently hosted two Coat of Arms of HRH the Duke of Gloucester Treneman has been parliamentary sketch writer of series of Reflections, on BBC Radio 4, where he The Times for ten years. All in It Together is her asks senior politicians to reflect on their life and hilarious take on the five years of the coalition times and the people who influenced their views. government from the AV referendum and the tuition- This event will be introduced by HRH the Duke of fee vote to the Scottish Referendum. No one is Gloucester, royal patron of the festival. spared, whether it be Cameron, Clegg, Miliband or Farage. Brookes was voted cartoonist of the year at the British Press Awards in six out of the last 13 years. His latest collection of hilarious and beautifully crafted cartoons are published in Testing Times.

Ann Treneman Peter Brookes Lord Hennessy

Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER

The Gibraltar Lecture in the presence of HRH The Duke of Goucester, patron of ‘The Friends of Gibraltar’ Andrew Lambert – The Royal Navy and Gibraltar in World War II

4pm / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 Naval historian Professor Andrew Lambert marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with a look at the part played by Gibraltar. Lambert will focus on some of the key events involving Gibraltar and its naval base. These included the sinking of the Bismark, the disabling of the French Vichy fleet at Mers-El-Kebir in July 1940 by a British fleet from Gibraltar; relief convoys to Malta from Gibraltar, particularly Operation Pedestal in August 1942, which broke the siege of Malta; and the planning of Operation Torch – the invasion of North Africa – by General Eisenhower in Gibraltar in November 1942 when the general became the only non- Briton to be appointed Commander-in-Chief, Gibraltar. Lambert is professor of naval history at King’s College London. His books include Nelson: Britannia’s God of War, Admirals: The Naval Commanders Who Made Britain Great and Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Exploration. His history of the British Navy, War at Sea, was turned into a three-part television series on BBC 2. The Gibraltar Lecture is delivered each year at the festival and takes the form of an address, an ‘in conversation’ or a debate. It is devoted to matters of major cultural, historical or international importance at the invitation of Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar. Andrew Lambert The Gibraltar Lecture in 2014 was delivered by Lord Carey. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable and escorting vessels approach Gibraltar during World War II.

The lecture will be introduced by the The Hon Fabian Picardo, MP Chief Minister, HM Government of Gibraltar Sponsored by

27 FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Paul Gambaccini talks to Daniel Finkelstein John Suchet talks to Gwenan Edwards Love, Paul Gambaccini: My Year under the Yewtree The Last Waltz: The Story of the Strauss Dynasty

4pm / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 5.45pm / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 One of Britain’s best-known and most respected Former television journalist-turned Classic FM DJs and radio presenters Paul Gambaccini presenter John Suchet explains how the gives Lord Daniel Finkelstein a no-holds-barred Strauss family took Europe by storm in the account of the year he spent under a cloud of 19th century. suspicion before being told he would not face Suchet shows how two generations of the historic sex assault charges. Strauss family came from nowhere to produce Gambaccini was arrested in October 2013, hundreds of enduring melodies such as The disgraced in the Press, had many personal Blue Danube Waltz, Tales from the Vienna possessions confiscated and found himself Woods, Voices of Spring and The Radetzky unable to work while having to pay thousands John Suchet March. He describes a family living in an era in legal fees. His story is one of betrayal by the of major upheaval and one that was also beset by tension, feuds and country he had adopted and grown to love, of jealousies. Suchet shows how, throughout this chaotic period, the Strauss the misadventures he had with the Crown family composed waltzes that Austrian families danced and drank Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police, champagne to as their country headed towards World War I. and of how he fought back with the support of Suchet is an award-winning television journalist who covered events such his partner and true friends. as the Iran revolution and the Soviet investigation of Afghanistan for ITV and Gambaccini is the only presenter to have presented News at Ten. He now presents Classic FM’s flagship morning broadcast regularly on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 and programme and is recognised as a leading authority on Beethoven. He has 4. He was a long-time presenter of Classic FM’s published six books on Beethoven including a biography, Beethoven: The The Classic Countdown and currently hosts Man Revealed. America’s Greatest Hits on Radio 2 and music Here he talks to BBC news presenter and quiz Counterpoint on Radio 4. journalist Gwenan Edwards, whose credits Here he talks to Lord Finkelstein, politician and include the BBC Proms, Wales at Six on ITV, former executive editor of The Times, and and Newsroom South East and Watchdog on someone who was critical of the time spent on BBC1. bail by Gambaccini. In association with the Woodstock Music Society. Sponsored by Supported by Ian and Carol Sellars

28 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER

Hugh Purcell talks to Sue MacGregor Leadership in Society Patrick Gale A Very Private Celebrity: The Nine Lives of John A Place Called Winter Freeman 6pm / St Mary Magdalene Church / £12 5.45pm / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 Novelist Patrick Gale talks about his Journalist, biographer and former television producer Hugh new and poignant historical novel of Purcell talks to radio presenter Sue MacGregor about the love, relationships, secrets and escape polymath and forensic television interviewer John Freeman A Place Called Winter – a The Sunday who believed in changing his life – and his wife – every ten Times bestseller and a pick for the years. There will be clips from some of Freeman’s famous BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club. interviews, and stories, some never told before, about The novel is loosely based on a real- interviewees such as Carl Jung, Edith Sitwell, Augustus John life family mystery. The story follows and Evelyn Waugh. shy and conventional Harry Cane who Hugh Purcell Purcell had a long career in radio and television and travelled is forced to abandon his wife and child Patrick Gale to California to interview Freeman in 1988 before the BBC and emigrate to the newly colonised repeated Freeman’s famous interview series Face to Face. It Canadian prairies. He settles on a began a long fascination with the man who was at various homestead in a place called Winter, stages of his life a University of Oxford student, a war hero, which is a world away from his Member of Parliament, Government minister, television previous life in a turn-of-the century interviewer of celebrities, broadcast executive, Ambassador to Edwardian suburb. Faced with the US and academic. Despite his celebrity, Freeman was isolation in a harsh landscape and the notoriously private and interviewed his famous subjects with threat of war, madness and from a his back to the camera. magnetic and evil man, he discovers an inner strength and capacity for love Freeman died at the end of last year, just short of his 100th beyond anything he knew before. birthday, and Purcell has now published A Very Private Sue MacGregor Celebrity: The Nine Lives of John Freeman, the Gale was born on the Isle of Wight and result of ten years of trying to get to the bottom spent his infancy at Wandsworth of Freeman’s enigmatic life and personality. prison, where his father was governor. He now lives in Cornwall and has MacGregor is best known for her work made a name as one of Britain’s best- In association with The presenting Woman’s Hour and the Today loved novelists. His recent works Woodstock Bookshop Programme on BBC Radio 4. In 2013, she include A Perfectly Good Man, The presented a radio programme that looked back Sponsored by Whole Day Through and the Richard at archive recordings of Freeman’s Face to Face and Judy bestseller Notes From An interviews. Exhibition. Woodstock

The Italian Gardens, beside The Orangery, Blenheim Palace Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER

Antony Beevor Ardennes 1944 – Hitler’s Last Gamble Dinner hosted by Their Graces The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc in the Presence of HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO and HRH The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO

7pm / Blenheim Palace: Orangery / £150 / Dress code: Black tie Join renowned military historian Antony Beevor for a Dinner is preceded by a reception on the terrace of black tie literary dinner in the magnificent the Duke of Marlborough’s beautiful Italian Gardens. surroundings of Vanbrugh’s Orangery and hear him The price of this event includes reception, drinks, talk about the greatest battle of the war for Western dinner, wines and a copy of Ardennes 1944: Hitler’s Europe. Last Gamble, which you can have signed by the author. Hitler launched his last gamble in the forests and gorges of the Ardennes on the Belgian/German border Previous speakers at the festival dinner have been: in December 1944. The offensive involved more than Richard Holmes (2008) a million men. The generals doubted its success but Andrew Roberts (2009) younger and more junior officers were desperate to Peter Snow (2010) believe that it could save them from the Red Army Sir Terry Wogan (2011) approaching from the East. Beevor explains how the Frederick Forsyth (2012) Ardennes was the battle that finally broke the German Lucy Worsley (2013) fighting machine and paved the way for the Red Sir Jonathan Miller (2014) Army’s final onslaught on Berlin. Beevor was educated at Winchester and Sandhurst. He left the Army to write and his award-winning novels and works of non-fiction have sold more than four million copies. Stalingrad won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature, and Berlin received the first Longman-History Today Trustees’ Award. His other well-known works include D Day – The Battle for Normandy and The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Antony Beevor Sponsored by

Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER

Alexander Armstrong talks to Paul Blezard ITV Preview Screening: Land of the Midnight Sun

11am / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 Actor, comedian and television presenter Alexander Armstrong discusses his new three-part ITV documentary and book, Land of the Midnight Sun – recounting his epic 8,000-mile journey around the Arctic – and introduces preview clips from the three episodes before they are premiered on ITV. Armstrong set off from Scandinavia for Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Alaska. He learnt how to survive wildly unpredictable weather and temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Along the way he witnessed some of the natural wonders of the world and found out why the region holds such a magnetic lure for its inhabitants. Armstrong praises the warmth of the welcome he received on a journey he described as “always cold, often perilous, frequently hilarious”. Armstrong rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong & Miller first on Channel Four and then in a Bafta- winning version on the BBC. He is a frequent host on Have I Got News for You and but is best-known as host of the hugely Alexander Armstrong successful BBC daytime quiz show Pointless. He has acted on television in both straight roles and in sitcoms including Love Life, Life Begins, Mutual Friends and Hunderby. Land of the Midnight Sun will air on ITV later this year. This event is chaired by Paul Blezard and lasts two hours. In association with the ITV network

37 SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Alfred Brendel talks to Gina Thomas Music, Sense and Nonsense

12 noon / Woodstock: St Mary Magdalene Church / £12 One of the world’s greatest living pianists Alfred Brendel reflects on music and his work in conversation with journalist Gina Thomas. Brendel is famous for his interpretations of the great composers Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Liszt. Although he had his first piano lessons at the age of six, he had little formal training and regards his unconventional musical background as an advantage. In a prolific career that began in the 1950s, he has won countless awards for his recording, including the Léonie Sonning Prize, the Siemens Prize and the Prix Venezia. The conversation will be interspersed with excerpts from some of his best- known recordings. Brendel has now retired from the stage and has just published Music, Sense and Nonsense: Collected Essays and Lectures. He is one of the world’s most influential writers on music and the book brings together all of his published essays and articles alongside some new previously unpublished material. Here he talks to the UK cultural correspondent of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Gina Thomas. In association with the Woodstock Music Society.

Supported by Ian and Carol Sellars

Alfred Brendel Gina Thomas Woodstock

38 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER

Gino D’Acampo talks to Donald Sloan ITV Preview Screening: Gino’s Islands in the Sun: 100 recipes from Sardinia and Sicily 2pm / Blenheim Palace: The Gallery / £12 Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo introduces some clips from his new television series about the food of Sardinia and Sicily and talks food and Italy with the head of Oxford Gastronomica Donald Sloan. Neapolitan D’Acampo is one of the most popular chefs on British television, best known for his prime time ITV series Gino’s Italian Escape. His many television credits include Saturday Kitchen, Ready, Steady Cook and This Morning. His huge popularity with viewers was demonstrated when he was voted King of the Jungle in the popular reality television show I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here. In his latest television series, he heads for Sicily and Sardinia to discover the authentic and delicious Italian food and recipes from these islands. D’Acampo was born in Naples and inherited his grandfather’s love of cooking. He studied at the Luigi di Medici Catering College before working across Europe and eventually settling in England. He has opened three My Pasta Bar restaurants in London and later this year expands the concept into two new restaurants – in Manchester and the West End. Sloan is head of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management at Oxford Brookes University and chair of Oxford Gastronomica, a specialist centre for the study of food, drink and culture that works to enhance our relationship with food and drink and to celebrate their place in our lives. This event will last 2 hours. In association with the ITV Network

Gino D’Acampo Donald Sloan

39 SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Martin Jennings, Jamie Muir and Ed Taylor. Chaired by Paul Blezard ITV Preview Screenings: In the Shadow of Mary Seacole

4.30pm / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 Watch some preview clips of a new ITV documentary film about the creation of Britain’s first statue of a named black woman in Britain – Crimean War heroine, Mary Seacole. The landmark statue will have a prominent position outside St Thomas’ Hospital, London, opposite the Houses of Parliament, and the process of creating it has been followed by ITV’s cameras for almost three years. The clips will be accompanied by discussion between the sculptor Martin Jennings, film director Jamie Muir and executive producer Ed Taylor. Martin Jennings Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica where she learnt to care for the sick and infirm from her doctress mother. She married Lord Nelson’s godson, Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole, who died eight years later. At 50 years of age she sought and was refused permission to join Florence Nightingale to help with the treatment of injured soldiers. Mary Seacole defied the racial prejudice she had encountered, and made her own way to the battlefields to care for the sick and wounded. The documentary sees presenter David Harewood follow sculptor Martin Jennings as he produces his sculpture of Seacole. Discussions at this event will centre on the making of the film and the controversy that the statue has generated amongst the academic and nursing communities. Jamie Muir Jennings is a well-known sculptor whose works include the Betjeman statue at St Pancras Station. Taylor is an executive producer at Potato (part of ITV Studios) and former head of development at the BBC whose credits include How to Read a Church, Britain’s Secret Treasures and Perspectives: Len Goodman on Fred Astaire. Maquette of the Mary Seacole statue Muir was part of the original South Bank Show team at ITV. He has directed episodes of Simon Schama’s A History of Britain, Neil Macgregor’s Making Masterpieces, and Russia - A Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby. Discussions will be chaired by writer and journalist Paul Blezard. In association with the ITV network

Ed Taylor

SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Karl Jenkins talks to Gwenan Edwards Still With the Music 6pm / St Mary Magdalene Church / £12 Leading contemporary composer and musician Sir Karl Jenkins talks about his life and the creative process that has given him a huge international following. He is one of the world’s most-performed living composers. Jenkins studied at the Royal Academy of Music before becoming known as a jazz musician and then going on to join the legendary progressive rock band Soft Machine in the 1970s. He achieved further fame as composer of music for advertising well- known brands such as Levi and Pepsi in the 1980s, but it was his Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary in 1994 that topped charts across the world and made him an international star. Other well-known works Karl Jenkins include The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and Requiem. Still with Music is Jenkins’ new autobiography. He was born and brought up in Wales and his early music education came from his father, a teacher and chapel organist and choirmaster. Here he talks to television journalist and presenter Gwenan Edwards, whose credits include the BBC Proms Wales at Six on ITV, Newsroom South East on the BBC and Watchdog on BBC1. In association with the Woodstock Music Society.

Gwenan Edwards Sponsored by Woodstock

44 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER

Literary Salon and Dinner

La Galleria / 7.30pm / £100 / Dress – casual An evening of relaxed diverting conversation and wonderful Sardinian food and wine at our traditional literary salon. Join a distinguished range of authors and writers appearing at the festival over the weekend – with no table plans – to talk informally and enjoy a traditional Sardinian supper cooked by Lucio and his chefs at La Galleria restaurant. The price of the event includes full Sardinian menu and wine, featuring anti pasti, main course, dessert and coffee.

Woodstock Photo: courtesy of Wake up to Woodstock

Lucio, our host for the Salon Dinner

Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

Performance Research Group Sonia Purnell Women in Society Jonathan Bate Two Earnest: A Reworking of Oscar Wilde First Lady: The Life and Wars of Festival service

10am / Blenheim Palace: Orangery / £12 Clementine Churchill 11am / St Mary Magdalene Church / Free Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of 10.30am / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 Shakespeare scholar Professor SirJonathan Bate will Being Earnest, is forcibly rewired for one table, two Biographer Sonia Purnell explains why Blenheim preach at the festival service in St Mary Magdalene actors, and three hats, in a gender-flexing assault on Palace-born Sir Winston Churchill said his leadership Church. Victorian family values. Cutting through swathes of in World War II would have been impossible without Bate is well known as a biographer, critic, epigrams in cut-glass accents and half-cut song-and- his wife Clementine beside him. broadcaster and scholar with interests in dance routines, this Performance Research Group Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature, staging is both totally Wilde, and in deadly Earnest. Purnell had access to rarely seen archives, letters and diaries in the UK and US and collected new Romanticism, biography and life-writing, Wilde’s satire on Victorian values was first published in testimony from members of the Churchill and ecocriticism, contemporary poetry and theatre 1895 and its high farce and comedy were welcomed Roosevelt families and from surviving members of history. He is a governor of the Royal Shakespeare by reviewers, although many remarked on the lack of the Churchills’ staff for her new biography of Company, broadcasts regularly for the BBC, and a social message. Its first run came to an abrupt end, Clementine Churchill. She sheds new light on a writes for The Guardian, The Times, The Times however, as revelations about Wilde’s double life as a complex woman who was trying to maintain her Literary Supplement and The Sunday Telegraph. His homosexual eventually led to him being imprisoned. identity while serving as conscience and adviser to latest works include Being Shakespeare, a one-man Today, The Importance of Being Earnest stands as Britain’s great war leader. And she explains how play for Simon Callow. Wilde’s most popular and enduring play. Clementine was involved in some of the war’s most Bate is Provost of Worcester College, Oxford. Performance Research Group is returning to crucial decisions and how she charmed both No ticket is required for the service, which is free Blenheim for the fourth year following its hugely Britain’s allies and those working on the home front. and open to all. successful productions of Shakespeare for Breakfast Purnell has worked as a Whitehall correspondent (2014), A Midsummer Night’s and editor on both the Daily Telegraph and Daily Dream (2013), and Macbeth Mail. Her first book, (2012). It is a practitioners’ Just Boris: A Tale of collective of theatre Blond Ambition, a professionals and actors in portrait of London training, operating under the Mayor Boris Johnson auspices of the Guildford School was longlisted for the of Acting (GSA). The production Orwell Prize. is directed by PRG’s artistic director Jaq Bessell. Sponsored by The performance lasts 90 minutes with no interval.

School presence supported by Owen Mumford. Sonia Purnell Jonathan Bate Woodstock

49 SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Bel Mooney talks to Ernie Rea Women in Society Max Mosley Bel Mooney’s Lifelines: Words to Help You Through Formula One and Beyond

12 noon / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 12.30pm / Blenheim Palace: Orangery / £12 One of Britain’s best-known writers, Bel Mooney offers some advice on getting One of the most influential figures in Formula One history and a formidable through the tough times we all face at some point in our lives. campaigner for the right to privacy Max Mosley talks about his compelling and controversial new memoir. Mooney has been a journalist and broadcaster for more than 40 years. For the last ten years, she has been writing a column (first for The Times and now for Mosley talks about a life that has seen him constantly in the public eye since he the Saturday edition of the Daily Mail) advising readers on relationship and was a few weeks old when his parents, Diana and Oswald, were interned during emotional issues. Her valuable insights into marital breakup, grief and family the Second World War for their political beliefs. A promising career as a lawyer problems are complemented each week by a short opinion column in which she was cut short when he took up motor racing as a driver and then team owner. In shares a wide range of personal thoughts on the human condition. Her new partnership with Bernie Ecclestone, he became one of the most influential people book is an uplifting anthology that draws on the column, incorporating some of in Formula One. He famously took on the might of the News of the World for her columns, answers to specific problems and inspiring quotations from the invading his privacy and won his court case. He has since become a formidable page. The extracts are prefixed by a long, wide-ranging essay reflecting on what campaigner on privacy and pursued further privacy cases. being an advice columnist has taught her – and how we all need to accept Mosely was president of FIA, the governing body of motor sport, between 1993 change in our lives. As wise as it is honest, Bel Mooney’s Lifelines shares some and 2009 during which time he championed greater safety and green of the life experiences that have taught the author about the workings of the technologies. Prior to that he led the March Formula One team. After he decided human heart. to take the News of the World to court, a friend of Rupert Murdoch asked Bernie Mooney has written for many Ecclestone: “Does Max know what he’s publications including the Daily Mirror, taking on?” Ecclestone replied that he The Sunday Times, The Times and did, but he was not sure about Murdoch. Daily Mail. She has also written 25 With News UK back in the spotlight, books including six novels and many Mosley will undoubtedly have views on books for children including the ‘Kitty the return of Rebekah Brooks. and Friends’ and ‘Bonnie the dog’ series. Here she talks to radio presenter Ernie Rea, who presents BBC Radio 4’s faith discussion programme, Beyond Belief, and is a frequent presenter on Pick of the Week. Sponsored by Supported by Ian and Bel Mooney Max Mosley Carol Sellars

50 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

Shaun Evans, Russell Lewis and Dan McCulloch ITV Preview Screening: Endeavour – Raising the Bar on the Murder Mystery Genre

2pm / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 Endeavour star Shaun Evans joins writer Russell Lewis and producer Dan McCulloch to introduce some preview clips of the third series of the Morse prequel drama and discuss its phenomenal success. The three will discuss how they have gone about raising the bar for the television murder mystery genre in this new series of Endeavour and how you keep pushing the envelope to keep the viewer engaged. Endeavour follows the early career of the younger Morse in Oxford in the 1960s. The series began with a feature length film to mark the 25th anniversary of Morse. Its success led to two series of the drama. The second attracted a peak audience of seven million and was one of the best performing dramas on the channel. The climax of series two found Morse in prison and framed for the murder of Chief Constable Rupert Standish after unearthing corruption at the heart of the city’s police. His boss, DI Fred Thursday was hanging on to life after being shot in the chest. The new series has been written by Lewis and Endeavour creator and Inspector Morse writer Russell Lewis. Author of the Morse novels Colin Dexter has again acted as consultant. It stars Evans as Endeavour and features four episodes set in 1967. The big theme is change in the world and change for Endeavour and those most dear to him. In association with the ITV network.

51 SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

Madeleine Shaw Michael Billington talks to Paul Blezard Andrew Gant talks to Adrian Daffern – The University of Worcester Lecture Get the Glow: Recipes to Nourish you O Sing Unto the Lord: A History of English from the Inside Out The 101 Greatest Plays: From Antiquity to Church Music the Present 2pm / Blenheim Palace: Indian Room / £12 3pm / St Mary Magdalene Church / £12 2pm / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 Nutritional health coach Madeleine Shaw shows how Composer, choirmaster, teacher and writer Andrew

eating well can become a way of life and make you Photo: Natasha Billington Renowned theatre critic Gant talks to Canon Adrian Daffern about his new healthier and happier. Michael Billington account of English church music from its Anglo Saxon explains to author and Saxonorigins originsto the presentto the present day. Woodstock day. The ChoirChamber of Jesus Choir Shaw says that eating foods that don’t contain journalist Paul Blezard College,will sing Oxford,to illustrate will discussionsing to illustrate points. discussion refined sugar combined with thinking positively can how he chose the 101 points. help to heal gut issues and increase vitality. Her Gant explains how people made and listened to greatest plays written recipe book Get the Glow features 100 wheat-free Gantchurch explains music howand peoplethe role made it played and in listened their lives, to from the time of the and sugar-free recipes that are easy to make and churchdemonstrating music andhow the it reflected role it played historical in their and lives, cultural Greeks to the present day feature ingredients from local supermarkets. demonstratingchange from the how mysteries it reflected of Mass historical to the and Reformation cultural and why they made his changeanthem, from Puritanism, the mysteries Victorian of Massbombast to the and the There was a time when Shaw used to wake up Michael Billington finalfinal list.list. Reformationfractured world anthem, of the Puritanism,20th century. Victorian He considers bombast why feeling bloated and unhealthy because of a diet she Billington has been theatre critic of the Guardian andchurch the musicfractured remains world so of popularthe 20th today. century. He was brought up on of rice cakes and fruit. However, since 1971 and of Country Life since 1986. His considers why church music remains so popular a spell helping to run a health café on Bondi Beach Gant has directed leading choirs including The choices are sure to provoke debate. He puts them today. in Sidney, Australia, was a revelation. She began to Guards’ Chapel, Worcester College Oxford, and Her into context with extended essays on their eat meat and good fats and within a week or two her GantMajesty’s has directedChapel Royal. leading He choirs led the including Chapel TheRoyal at significance and performance history. And he vitality and health returned. She is now a trained Guards’the funeral Chapel, of Queen Worcester Elizabeth College the QueenOxford, Mother and Her and questions what makes a great play? Do nutritional health coach, food blogger and creative Majesty’sthe marriage Chapel of Prince Royal. William He led andthe KateChapel Middleton Royal at in circumstances and the passage of time change what cook based in the2011. funeral He lectures of Queen in Elizabethmusic at Stthe Peter’s Queen College Mother and and

makes a great play? Are there common factors Photo: Katie Vandyck London. Her healthy theSt Edmund marriage Hall of Princein Oxford, William and through the centuries? Michael Simkins, who played recipes include easy- andis author Kate ofMiddleton Christmas in Carols:2011. Dr Lionel Mead in the television series Doctors, and to-prepare dishes HeFrom lectures Village in Green music to at Church St stage, film and television actress and graduate of such as Thai Coconut Peter’sChoir. College and St Edmund Oxford School of Drama Amy Enticknap will read Prawn Soup With Hall in Oxford, and is author of excerpts from selected plays. Daffern is team rector of the Courgetti and Raw Christmas Carols: From Village benefice of Blenheim. He was Chocolate Peanut Billington is Britain’s longest-serving theatre critic. He Green to Church Choir. canon residentiary at Coventry Butter Brownie Cake. has written biographies of Harold Pinter and Peggy DaffernCathedral is forteam seven rector years. of the Andrew Gant Ashcroft, critical studies of Tom Stoppard and Alan benefice of Blenheim. He was Ayckbourn, and a survey of post-war British drama. In association with the canon residentiary at Coventry Woodstock Music Society. Cathedral for seven years. The Woodstock Madeleine Shaw Chapel Choir of Jesus College

52 Box Office 01993 812291 • www.blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

Daphne Selfe talks to Lucia van der Post Women in Society Douglas Hurd Women in Society The Way We Wore: A Life in Clothes Queen Elizabeth II: The Steadfast

4pm / Blenheim Palace: Marlborough Room / £12 4pm / Blenheim Palace: Gallery / £12 Britain’s oldest supermodel Daphne Selfe talks about her extraordinary life from Former Foreign Secretary Lord Douglas Hurd being a young model in post-war Britain to still being in demand today in her late looks at the life and role of Britain’s reigning eighties. monarch Queen Elizabeth II and the way she has adapted to changing times over her 60- Selfe’s memoir, The Way We Wore, is the story of a lifelong affair with clothes and year reign. fashion that stretches from the party frocks of her 1930s childhood to the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair. She has been photographed by Mario The Queen becomes Britain’s longest-serving Testino, Nick Knight and David Bailey and has modelled for high fashion and for monarch in September 2015 and Hurd the high street. What is so remarkable is that she is still in high demand today. shows how she has stood as a lasting symbol Her recent fashion campaigns have included ones for footwear maker Vans and of stability, continuity and public service the store & Other Stories and for the Trafford Centre in Manchester. through a period of vast change. Hurd has seen the Queen at close quarters, most Selfe grew up in the Home Counties before being sent to boarding school during notably as Home Secretary and then on the Second World War. She won a local magazine cover girl competition at the age overseas tours as Foreign Secretary. He also of 21 before training to be a model at the Gaby Young Agency in London. brings a historian’s perspective to his new Photo: Alistair Guy book Queen Elizabeth II: Penguin Monarchs: Douglas Hurd The Steadfast Queen. In it, he portrays a woman who is deeply conservative by nature but with an acceptance of modern life and an awareness that things must change for things to stay the same. Hurd was MP for mid-Oxfordshire and then Witney between 1974 and 1997. In a distinguished parliamentary career he held many cabinet roles including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is also an author of political thrillers and non-fiction including biographies of Robert Peel and Disraeli.