“Henry the Eighth to six spouses was wedded: one died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.” When the subject of Henry VIII’s many marital adventures is discussed, Henry’s wives are spoken of as one entity, with no existence outside their lives with Henry. In Dixie Atkins’ four volume novel, ‘A Golden Sorrow’, she sets out to give the reader a comprehensive account of each Queen, from birth to death, based on meticulous research. Each wife tells her own story: Katherine of Aragon, the Spanish princess; Anne Boleyn, brought up at the French court; Jane Seymour, living in the shadow of her ambitious brothers; Anne of Cleves, who became Henry’s ‘honorary sister’; Katherine Howard, the promiscuous teenager; Katherine Parr, who sacrificed happiness to care for an ailing king.
All paid dearly for wearing ‘A Golden Sorrow’. Do come and talk to Dixie about her books, her research, and her methods of writing……

We are now finalising the programme for Kenilworth Festival for this year, and have some great events lined up. A star turn will be Lucy Worsley 

… by day, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity looking after The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace State Apartments, the Banqueting House in Whitehall, and Kew Palace in Kew Gardens.

… by night, a writer and presenter, most recently author of ‘Courtiers’, ‘The Secret History of Kensington Palace’ and ‘Cavalier’ which was described by the Mail on Sunday as ‘ an astonishing achievement by an immensely talented and innovative historian’.

Lucy will be talking about her new book ‘If Walls Could Talk’ …………

Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two ‘dirty centuries’? Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit? All these questions will be answered in this juicy, smelly and truly intimate history of home life. Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, covering the architectural history of each room, but concentrating on what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove. From sauce-stirring to breast-feeding, teeth-cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, Lucy Worsley will make you see your home with new eyes.

We are also planning events with……..

 Andrea di Robilant who was born in Rome in 1957 and was educated at Columbia University, where he studied history and international politics. He has worked as a journalist all his life, in Europe, the United States and Latin America. His previous books, ‘A Venetian Affair’ and ‘Lucia in the Age of Napoleon’, were published to great acclaim. He lives in Rome with his wife and two sons. He will be here to talk about his new book ‘Venetian Navigators : The Voyages of the Zen Brothers to the Far North’….In the 14th century, Nicolo and Antonio Zen journeyed from Venice up the North Atlantic, encountering warrior princes, fighting savage natives and, just possibly, reaching the New World a full century before Columbus. Following in their footsteps, Andrea’s quest to solve one of Venice’s most intriguing mysteries takes him on a fascinating journey of his own, from the crumbling Palazzo Zen in Venice to the Orkney Islands, Shetland, the Faroes, Iceland and even as far as an isolated monastery in Greenland. Part history, part travelogue, “Venetian Navigators” is a charming tale of great journeys, fine detective work and faith against the odds. LATEST…publication of Andrea’s book has been put back, so we will organise an event later in the year…..

Peter Baxter who first worked on Test Match Special in 1966, and was the producer of the programme from 1973-2007. He co-ordinated the BBC’s cricket coverage from every one of the Test-playing nations, and has also been part of the commentary team himself. He will be talking about his new book ‘The Best Views from the Boundary:Test Match Special’s Greatest Interviews’ covering some of the really great moments in Test Match Special talking to the likes of John Cleese, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Gary Lineker, David Essex, John Major, Peter O’Toole, Brian Johnston, John Paul Getty Jr., Dennis Skinner, Stephen Fry, Nigel Havers, Elton John, Boris Johnson, Piers Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, David Cameron, Lily Allen, Bill Wyman and more.

Kathryn Swift whose ‘Morville Hours’ was our ‘Book of the Year’ when published. she will be talking about her new book ‘The Morvile Year’. Kathryn, one of the most-admired gardening writers of her generation, returns to describe a year in the life of the garden in The Morville Year. From the new beginnings and green shoots of March as the weather teeters back and forth between Winter and Spring as if trying to make up its mind, through the intoxicating simple pleasures of the first smell of freshly-mown grass and May flower festivals, all the way through the year in her wonderful garden, she will take us on a journey that will appeal to gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

Niki Segnit  who was inspired to write ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’ when she noticed how dependent she was on recipes.  As she says:  “Following the instructions in a recipe is like parroting pre-formed sentences from a phrasebook.  Forming an understanding of how flavours work together, on the other hand, is like learning the language; it allows you to express yourself freely, to improvise, to find appropriate substitutions for ingredients, to cook a dish the way you fancy cooking it.”  
The result is a compendium of flavour pairings which offers endless diversion and inspiration.  In this lively, easy to follow and exceptionally enjoyable book, Niki Segnit takes 99 popular ingredients and explores the ways they might be combined in the kitchen.
Niki’s book has had exceptional reviews
‘An original and inspiring resource’ Heston Blumenthal
‘Intriguing, surprising and remarkably useful’ Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalland has been the talk of the food industry.

Also…………………..watch this space!

The next meeting will take place at Warwick Books on Monday 24th January at 4.30pm when the group will be discussing ‘HIVE’. All welcome……..

Book group meeting Wednesday January 18^th.

We met, as usual, at “The Old Punchbowl” in Warwick. We had read “The Missing” by Tim Gautreaux, an American author from Louisiana who writes about this part of the USA.

Sam, nicknamed Lucky, is a floor walker in a New Orleans department store when a young girl is abducted while her parents are busy shopping. By not ensuring all exits to the store are closed, Sam is held responsible for the disappearance of Lily by the store owners and temporarily fired until he finds her and returns her to her parents.

Lily, although only three years old, is a talented singer, accompanying her musical family on the steamboats as they cruise the Mississippi.

Set in post First World War America, this book gives a wonderful evocation of the cruises during prohibition and the Jazz age. Some of the tourists on the boat would not take kindly to a black band, so there are two bands, one white & one black, the black music being much more exciting and groundbreaking, the white music being more acceptable to the daytime cruisers.

The musicians on board have to double up as a waitress, a stoker, a bouncer and they all have to help with painting, stripping and maintaining the boat. The small towns along the Mississippi vary in character and the Ship’s Captain knows each stop, and as they approach, warns the crew about confiscating knives and other weapons, having them on hand to break up fights, or allowing them to relax with well behaved groups who are on board just for the music, booze and illicit gambling.

About half way through the book, the child is discovered, alive and well, but the story is much more than just the search for a missing girl. Sam has a history of losing people – his own family was murdered when he was only a toddler & his baby son died through sickness. He was forced to abandon a little French girl when was clearing ordnance just after the War. These losses shape his character and influence the choices (good and bad) that he makes during this novel. The effect of the abduction on all members of the family involved, Lily’s parents, her brother, Lily herself and her abductors are all part of the story.

The group as a whole liked the book. It is unusual, with a very atmospheric setting, it gives the reader some ideas to ponder, and the characters are well drawn, and even the grumpy ones are likeable. It is by no means a perfect book, but definitely one to recommend.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 22nd February at 6.00pm at the “Old Punchbowl”. Again, thanks to Angie and her team for making us feel so welcome. This month we are reading two books. Frances wanted to read Danny Dorling’s “ So You think You Know About Britain”. Subtitled, “Why we don’t live in the country we thought we lived in any more” Sociologist Danny Dorling dissects the nation and reveals among other things, why more divorced people live by the sea than anywhere else, how the decline in speed-dating uncovers the truth of where all the good men have gone & why the North-South divide has just moved South. As the author is coming to Warwick at the end of February, it is a particularly relevant book to read at the moment. However, some of the group wanted to stay with fiction, so we are also reading, “Winter Ghosts” by Kate Mosse, a haunting tale set in the same time frame as “The Missing”, but this time in Southern France.

 We are a friendly and informal group, meeting at the Virgin and Castle Pub, High Street, Kenilworth, usually on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 7.30 p.m. till about 9.30 p.m.

 We select two books for each month so that readers have a choice – it is not necessary to read both titles, though some do! We have linked some of our book choices for the next few months to author talks and film screenings taking place locally (see below for details).

 Book Choices

 22nd February:         Room by Emma Donoghue                                                                Snow by Orhan Pamuk

 29th March:    Brighton Rock by Graham Greene                                                         Saturday by Ian McEwan

                             NB: date change

19th April:      The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift                             Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

 New members are very welcome. For more information, please ring Kenilworth Books on 01926 855784 or go to www.warwickbooks.net or Ring Victoria Lee on 0790 8899250.

Emma Donoghue talks about Room at Warwick Library on 15th February at 7pm (Check www.warwickbooks.net for details). The film Brighton Rock is showing at Warwick Arts Centre 18th-24th February (please see their website for details). Katherine Swift is talking about her new book on 8th April at 7.30 pm at Kenilworth Castle (Check www.warwickbooks.net for details). The film of Never Let Me Go is showing at the Leamington Spa Centre on 12th-17th March (please see their website for details).