Unfortunately this event has had to be cancelled

On Wednesday November 23rd at 7pm

Martin Hackett will be talking about his book

‘Lost Battlefields of Britain’

at Warwick Library. This event has been arranged by

Warwick Books in conjunction with Warwick Library.

The British Isles have witnessed hundreds of battles in 2000 years of history. Some are well known, due to their far-reaching consequences, sheer scale, or the involvement of famous protagonists. Others, however, have never been properly investigated. In his book, Martin Hackett examines ten forgotten battles, covering the length and breadth of Britain and ten centuries of warfare. At Buttington in the Severn Valley, for instance, the author has identified the site of a long-lost Dark Age battlefield between Danish Vikings and their English and Welsh opponents in 893. He also reveals the secrets of St Albans, which witnessed the first battle of the Wars of the Roses, and the site of Goudhurst in Kent, where in 1747 the last battle on English soil was fought, a band of villagers against a gang of ruthless smugglers.

Martin’s talk is sure to be a fascinating one, and not to be missed by anyone with an interest in History.

Susan Hill talked about her sixth Serailler novel to an enthusiastic audience of 100 people.

Simon Serrailler is faced with that most complicated of investigations – a cold case. Freak weather and flash floods all over southern England. Half of Lafferton is afloat.

A landslip on the Moor has closed the bypass and, as the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave – and a skeleton – are exposed. It doesn’t take long to identify the remains as those of the missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, last seen carrying a tennis racket while waiting for a bus. But that was sixteen years ago.

How long will it take to trawl through the old, stale evidence and assess it anew? The Lafferton force is struggling with staff shortages and economies, and Simon has to do a lot of the legwork on his own. Meanwhile, his sister, Dr Cat Deerbon, is fighting for extra funding for the hospice which is threatened with cuts and closures. All the Simon Serrailler novels offer more than merely a murder mystery, and “The Betrayal of Trust” is no exception: it takes a brave, truthful look at old age and the associated problems of terminal illness which, in the future, will bring our society to the brink of painful conflicts of conscience.

Susan Hill’s gifts are displayed here to dazzling effect: her empathy and understanding of the human heart, her brilliance when evoking character and her tremendous powers of exciting storytelling.

Chris Pickford will be speaking in the Great Hall of the Lord Leycester Hospital at 19.45 pm on Tuesday 1 November

The Warwickshire volume of the ‘Buildings of England’, with which Alexandra Wedgwood assisted Nikolaus Pevsner, was published in 1966. Both the buildings of the county and understanding of its architectural history have evolved hugely since then. The long process of revising Pevsner has at last reached Warwickshire, and Chris Pickford, formerly the County Archivist of Bedfordshire, has returned to his native county to take on the task. He is in the middle of his research, and the new edition, covering Warwickshire without ‘Greater Birmingham’, is not planned to be published until 2015. He will be able both to tell us about the processes of study and revision, and perhaps bring early news of discoveries about some of the buildings – though Warwick itself has not yet been reached.

This event is part of The Warwick Society’s program, but all customers of our shops are welcome to attend free of charge.

On Wednesday 5th October at 11am Professor David Canter will talk about his book ‘Forensic Psychology’

Lie detection, offender profiling, jury selection, insanity in the law, predicting the risk of re-offending , the minds of serial killers and many other topics that fill news and fiction are all aspects of the rapidly developing area of scientific psychology broadly known as Forensic Psychology. ‘Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction’ discusses all the aspects of psychology that are relevant to the legal and criminal process as a whole. It includes explanations of criminal behaviour and criminality, including the role of mental disorder in crime, and discusses how forensic psychology contributes to helping investigate the crime and catching the perpetrators. It also explains how psychologists provide guidance to all those involved in civil and criminal court proceedings, including both the police and the accused, and what expert testimony can be provided by a psychologist about the offender at the trial. Finally, David Canter examines how forensic psychology is used, particularly in prisons, to help in the management, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders, once they have been convicted.

Professor David Canter, the internationally renowned applied social researcher and world-leading crime psychologist, is perhaps most widely known as one of the pioneers of “Offender Profiling” being the first to introduce its use to the UK. Professor Canterâ’s conviction that any contributions made by psychologists and other social scientists to the police investigation or the legal process must have an empirical, scientific basis has led him to create the discipline of Investigative Psychology.

Over the last 20 years Professor Canter has been prolific in mapping out Investigative Psychology (selected works), opening up thinking on the psychology of criminal actions and the ways in which this can inform police investigations and the courts.

Professor Canter is frequently asked to contribute to strategic policing issues at national and international levels. He has provided expert evidence in diverse legal cases of international significance. (Applications of IP; Expert Evidence to the Courts)

David’s award winning (US Anthony Award; Crime Writer’s Association Golden Dagger Award) account of the development of the science behind “offender profiling” and key cases using “geographical offender profiling” can be found in his popular books Criminal Shadows as well as Mapping Murder.

David Canter’s commitment to the systematic, scientific analysis of human behaviour (which recently earned him one of only 26 prestigious BPS Honorary Fellowships ever awarded from across the discipline) emerged out of his work on how people act in disasters and emergency situations from the Kings Cross fire to the Bradford City football ground disaster to the evacuation of the World Trade Centre on 9/11.

Tickets will be available from Warwick Books, Kenilworth Books and Warwick Words Box Office. This talk is arranged by Warwick Books for Warwick Words Xtra. We are delighted that David’s publisher OUP have supported us in putting on this event.

On Sunday 9th October  7.30pm at The Bridge House Theatre, Stuart Maconie will talk about his new book  ‘Hope and Glory: In Search of the Days That Made Modern Britain’

‘These were the days that made us, and these are the day trips to find them. Should we do a flask? And are you sure you’ll be warm enough in that coat?’ In “Hope and Glory” Stuart Maconie goes in search of the places, people and events that have shaped modern Britain. Starting with the death of Queen Victoria, to the Battle of the Somme and the General Strike, and on to the docking of the Empire Windrush and Bobby Moore raising the Jules Rimet trophy, he chooses a defining moment in our nation’s story from each decade of the last century and explores its legacy today.

Some were glorious days, some were tragic, or even shameful, but each has played its part in making us who we are as a nation. From pop stars to politicians, Suffragettes to punks, this is a journey around Britain in search of who we are.

Stuart Maconie is a TV and radio presenter, journalist, columnist and author. He is one of the UK’s best-selling travel writers. His book ‘Adventures on the High Teas’ was the top selling travel book of 2009 and ‘Pies and Prejudice’ was one of 2008’s top selling paperbacks. His work has been compared with Bill Bryson, Alan Bennett and John Peel and described by The Times as a ‘National Treasure’. He co-hosts the Radcliffe and Maconie Show on BBC Radio 2 (soon to move to 6Music), as well as The Freak Zone and The Freakier Zone on 6Music, and has written and presents dozens of other shows on BBC Radio. His TV work includes presenting the BBC’s On Trial shows, Pop on Trial and Style on Trial, as well as Stuart Maconie’s TV Towns, a popular gazeteer of major British cities and their roles in modern cultural life for ITV 4 and The Cinema Show/The DVD Collection on BBC 4. His other books include Adventures on the High Teas and the acclaimed official biographies of both Blur and James. He can name GQ Man of the Year and Sony Awards Radio Broadcaster of the Year amongst his accolades. He lives in Birmingham and is happiest when fell-walking with his dog, Muffin.”

Tickets will be available from Warwick Books, Kenilworth Books and The Bridge House Theatre (01926 776438). This talk is arranged by Warwick Books for Warwick Words Xtra. We are delighted that Stuart’s publisher Ebury have supported us in putting on this event.