Inhabiting a dark and dangerous world of sex, violence and religion, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio still managed to create some of the greatest paintings in the history of art – despite himself and his circumstances. Art critic, historian, award-winning broadcaster, author and expert on Caravaggio, Andrew Graham-Dixon tells us a part of the artist’s tempestuous tale [...]

Witty and entertaining speaker Guy Fraser-Sampson is the author of three Mapp and Lucia novels, all of which were optioned by the BBC. He will be talking about the Cotswolds’ origins of the original stories and of the crazily eccentric loves and lives of their creator, E.F. Benson and his amazing family. Join us in [...]

We are thrilled to welcome New York Times best-seller and award-winning author Donna M. Lucey to this year’s festival to talk about her seductive, multi-layered, new book Sargent’s Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas. In what the New York Times describes as a “rollicking snow globe version of an almost unimaginable world of wealth” Lucey [...]

We are so sorry to inform you that John Julius Norwich has unfortunately had to cancel his talk about The History of France at the festival on the evening of June 12th due to ill health. All those who booked tickets have been refunded in full to their credit card. We are sorry for any [...]

At a time of great change at the V&A we look forward to a lively discussion between former director Sir Roy Strong and current Director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt. Sir Roy Strong CH FRSL, former director of the National Portrait Gallery until 1973, director of the V&A until 1987 and patron of the Broadway [...]