Lord Leycester’s Hospital

Harriett Castor will be talking about our ‘Book Of The Year’ for 2011 ‘VIII’

and Nicola Shulman will be talking about her book on Sir Thomas Wyatt

We are delighted to welcome to Warwick two wonderful Tudor authors. Harriett Castor’s ‘VIII’ is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who believes he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is plagued by the ghosts of his family’s violent past and, once he rises to power, he himself turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is…….. Henry VIII. The Tudors have always captured the popular imagination, but in ‘VIII’, Henry is presented in a totally different light. It is Henry’s story as told by himself. It’s a wonderful, wonderful novel based on the meticulous research of a genuine Historian, written for teenagers but definitely for adults too. Here is Frances’ review……”I have never really been a huge fan of historical fiction. Although a lot of it, surprisingly, is written by real historians, it tends not to be very convincing. This however is different. Harriett is a first-class historian (her sister Helen is too) and the amount of research she did for the novel really shines through. Not just along historical lines either…she consulted psychoanalysts and in particular the Jungian analyst Matthew Harwood, as well as clothing experts, martial arts gurus,experts on the Italian Wars and anything else you can think of. So the first criterion for an historical novel – that it is believable – is met in spades.
But it is, as other reviwers have said, a real page turner. You just don’t want to put it down. The unique view point from which it is written, inside Henry’s own head, helps it enormously and gives an immediacy which is brilliant. Breathtaking. And it really does give us an opportunity to re-assess what we think of Henry, and take a different view on him than that provided by the portraits with which we are so familiar…the ogre who thinks nothing of executing wives or friends, or the gross, obese tyrant totally self-centred, vain and dictatorial.
It is without doubt the best book I have read this year, the most exciting, the most thoughtful, and one I would recommend without resrvation to teens or adults. Do read it.”

H. M. Castor has been obsessed with the Tudors since primary school. She studied Tudor History at Cambridge University, and despite spending time after that doing a variety of jobs – including teaching English in Prague, the Tudors have never lost their hold on her. In particular she has been fascinated by the story of Henry VIII. I’ve read a great deal about his life, she says, but still a huge question has remained: just how does this extraordinary boy become one of the most villainous kings in British history? He is hugely talented, has astonishing warrior skills, and is said to be a model of virtue. So what turns him into a monster? In writing’ VIII’ I’ve set out to answer that question.

Nicola Shulman is herself a modern Marchioness, although she’s certainly not one to play up that aspect of her life. However it does perhaps resonate in her writing and in ‘Graven With Diamonds’ a book both intriguing and amusing  she tells the story of Henry VIII, – his court, his victims and his Queens – from the perspective of a powerful but little-discussed influence in the lives of those involved: poetry. Learned divines despised it, sober heads ignored it, but for Henry, the beau ideal of chivalry, poetry made things happen. It affected his wars, his diplomacy and his many marriages.

It was at the root of his fatal attraction to Anne Boleyn, the source of her power and it was the means of her destruction. In this witty and accessible account, Nicola Shulman interweaves the bloody events of Henry’s reign with the story of English love poetry and the life of its first master, Henry’s most glamorous and enigmatic subject: Sir Thomas Wyatt. Courtier, spy, wit, diplomat, assassin, lover of Anne Boleyn, and favourite both of Henry and his sinister minister Thomas Cromwell, the brilliant Wyatt was admired and envied in equal measure.

His love poetry began as an elite and risque entertainment for the group of ambitious men and women at the slippery top of the court. But when the axe began to fall among this group, and Henry’s laws made his subjects fall silent in terror, Wyatt’s poetic skills became a way to survive. He saw that a love poem was a place where secrets could hide.

From its first appearance Nicola’s book has received rave reviews

“This glitteringly brilliant book… dazzles in its scope, its scholarship and its originality… As a biography it is exceptionally accomplished, as an illumination of the function of literature under tyranny it is extraordinarily modern. Everyone who cares anything for poetry should read this vivid, dynamic and exhilarating account of how and why words matter”. –Times Literary Supplement, Book of the Year

“Masterly… the best work of history this year” –AN Wilson, Book of the Year – Evening Standard

The book we were discussing at this meeting is “The Book of Human Skin” which definitely divided the group into two clear camps. Some people found the subject matter and the main character so repulsive that they felt they could not carry on reading. Those who finished the book found it fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed it. Quite a few of the group had not quite finished the book, but the period is fascinating, characters cleverly drawn, with the main, evil character being about the most repulsive person imaginable, and there is also a touch of humour to lighten even the most grotesque passages

“The Book of Human Skin” is a large volume with many pages of villainy writ upon it. There are people who are a disease, you know. 13 May, 1784, Venice: Minguillo Fasan, heir to the decaying, gothic Palazzo Espagnol, is born. Yet Minguillo is no ordinary child: he is strange, devious and all those who come near him are fearful. Twelve years later Minguillo is faced with an unexpected threat to his inheritance: a newborn sister, Marcella. His untempered jealousy will condemn his sister to a series of fates as a cripple, a madwoman and a nun. But in his insatiable quest to destroy her, he may have underestimated his sister’s ferocious determination, and her unlikely allies who will go to extraordinary lengths to save her…”

Despite the divisions, most of the group would recommend this book to a friend…..

There will be no meeting in December, so the next meeting is on Wednesday 18^th January at 6.00pm at the Puchbowl Inn in Warwick. We will be discussing a recommendation by Maureen: “The Missing” by Tim Gautreaux isbn 9780340977958. Set in Louisiana and featuring a slow trip up the Mississippi, this is the story of a kidnapped child and the man trying to find her. ‘Gautreaux writes with sustained grace and creates memorable characters . . . What really sets ‘The Missing’ apart, though, is his remarkable ability to realise the period . . . a rare and rather uncanny achievement: a novel about the South in the early Twenties that reads as though it was actually written there and then’ (John Dugdale, Literary Review )

‘Full of vivid evocations of the sights, sounds and smells of the South. As Simoneaux pursues his morally driven detective mission the scent of the steaming mud of the cypress swamps and the sound of 1920s New Orleans jazz rise off the page’ (Claire Prentice, Scotsman )

A series of four one-day workshops

31 March, 28 April, 26 May, 30 June (10am – 4pm)

The Friends’ Meeting House, 39 High Street, Warwick, CV34 1AX

Radio Drama is the biggest commercial market for dramatists in the world. For many years the preserve of the BBC, audio plays are now cropping up on websites, as podcasts and via other digital outlets. So what makes a good radio/audio play? How is a radio script different from a screenplay or a theatre script? How do you begin to write a radio play?

These four entertaining and informative workshops will help the participants to analyse in depth what makes a good radio play, using examples from recently broadcast dramas. We will look closely at existing scripts and examine what makes them work in terms of audio production. Above all, we will look at how to translate a good idea into a workable, engaging and marketable radio drama script.

Participants will have the chance to develop their own scripts, and will be challenged to come up with a workable radio drama.

Over the four weeks there will be opportunities for participants to hear their work read aloud, and for members to exchange feedback with fellow course members and the Course Leader.

As well as looking at BBC Radio Dramas, we will also be examining the expanding market for audio drama on the internet, and seeking strategies for marketing plays beyond the obvious and traditional routes.

This is a hands-on series of workshops, aimed at writers of all levels who are serious about developing their skills in writing drama for radio.

Peter Leslie Wild is a freelance audio and theatre director, producer and script editor. He was Senior Producer for BBC Radio Drama for 16 years, and his work includes five series of Lindsey Davis’s Falco, plays by Stephen Poliakoff, Steve Waters and David Edgar, the Classic Serial version of Robinson Crusoe (all BBC Radio 4), three sci-fi series and several episodes of The Man in Black for BBC Radio 4 Extra. He has also directed many episodes of The Archers. Peter’s work has twice won the prestigious Prix Marulic.

Peter has recently written and produced a creative audio tour of the birthplace of Thomas Andrews, the designer of the Titanic, as part of the centenary commemorations in Northern Ireland. He has also recently run workshops in Nairobi for the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, for Birmingham University, Aberystwyth University and de Montfort University at undergraduate and post-graduate level. His podcasts for Monty Funk Productions are available online. In the theatre he recently directed The Wicked Lady for Birmingham University, and is Artistic Director of the 2013 Chester Mystery Cycle in Chester Cathedral.

To book/for further details contact jeanette-sheppard@ntlworld.com

Total price for the course is £160 and is payable at the time of booking. Please note it is not possible to book the days separately. Lunch is not included. There are only 10 places available.

This is a second edition of a book written for adults with dyslexic difficulties and those around them and has just been published by local author Vicki Goodwin.
It is a practical guide to the world of study and work for anyone with dyslexia – or for those around them who want to support them.

 ”I will be there to answer any questions or queries you may have about dyslexia and the book. The book offers chapters on the nature of dyslexia, reading and writing, self-esteem and motivation, numbers, memory and organisation. It concentrates on developing strategies for every-day life, work and study. I work as a dyslexia consultant mainly with adults and older students since taking early retirement from the Open University. You can contact me on  v.goodwin1@yahoo.co.uk“

On Wednesday December 7th at 7pm

Miles McNair will be talking about his new book

‘Olive, Princess of Cumberland’

at Warwick Library. This event has been re-arranged for this date by

Warwick Books in conjunction with Warwick Library.

Olive Wilmot was brought up to believe she was the daughter of a Warwickshire artist and his wife, and the niece of a mysterious clergyman, Dr. James Wilmot, who was said to be in the ‘special confidence’ of King George III. At the age of 23, she was introduced to George Augustus, the dashing Prince of Wales, and their brief affair in 1805 resulted in the birth of a daughter, Caroline, who was immediately whisked away for adoption by ‘Special Agents’ from Windsor. This was just the first of a series of scandals that Olive became involved in, scandals that included an enigmatic relationship with the Earl of Warwick, an intimate association with Edward Duke of Kent, later to be the father of Queen Victoria, and even darker secrets involving the love life of young George III before he became King.

Olive was attractive, audacious, extremely sexy and highly intelligent; she was also extraordinarily well educated for a woman of her age. She was a talented artist in her own right and became a prolific author and journalist, but who was she really? After the death of her two mentors, she had to spend the rest of her life trying to solve the riddle of her true parentage, a journey that would involve numerous court cases, charges of fraud and forgery, and cover-ups and corruption in high places.

Based largely on previously unpublished sources, this book sets out to find solutions to the mysteries surrounding Olive’s scandalous life, while the final chapter reveals answers that have eluded all previous writers on this period of political unrest and uncertainties over the Royal succession.

‘What a riveting story you have uncovered, my eyes were out on stalks! I think you have a best-seller on your hands.’ Victoria Glendinning

This is an epic novel set in 18th and 19th century Venice. It features a strange young man, Minguilo Fasan, who’s determined to destroy his younger sister.

 ’This book is fabulous – funny, horrific and subversive’   Joanne Harris

(paperback edition £7.99 with 15% discount to book group members).

If you fancy coming along to our friendly group please don’t hesitate. You’ll be more than welcome.

1.2 million people watched the first series of Downton Abbey.  A new eight-part series started in October to be followed by a Christmas special on Boxing Day.   Downton Abbey is filmed at Highclere Castle, one of England’s most exquisite Victorian castles and the home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.

 Lady Fiona Carnarvon – the 8^th Countess, told an audience of just under 100 people  the remarkable story behind the real Downton Abbey. It is a story that is even more fascinating than the fiction.

In 1894, Lady Almina, the nineteen year old illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon, Alfred de Rothschild, married into the Carnarvon family bringing an enormous fortune with her.  Lonely and miserable at first, she gradually won over society and her husband with her wit, brave spirit and fabulous dresses. She presided over a staff of over 90 people at Highclere.  When the First World War came, life at Highclere changed forever and they lost many of the men whose families had worked there for generations. (The current Head Gamekeeper’s great great-grandfather was the Head Gamekeeper in Almina’s day). Lady Almina persuaded her husband to allow her to turn Highclere into a hospital for wounded soldiers and personally saw that they received the highest standard of care. She also funded and supported her husband, the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon’s expeditions to Egypt.  In 1922 he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen.

 The book  spans the time period covered by the first two series of Downton Abbey. The second series which begins in October will focus on the Great War.

Beautifully illustrated with original photographs, recipes, seating plans and instructions to the servants, Lady Carnarvon provides a rich and fascinating insight into what life was really like at Highclere, both upstairs and downstairs.

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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.

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.