London History Festival
18 to 28 November 2013
Kensington Central Library and Waterstones Kensington
Kensington Central Library and Waterstones Kensington will be hosting the fifth London History Festival this autumn.
Sir Max Hastings will be talking about his new history of the First World War. We are also pleased to welcome for the first time Lady Antonia Fraser on the Great Reform Bill, Artemis Cooper on Patrick Leigh Fermor and Charles Moore on Lady Margaret Thatcher.
There are also events on medieval warfare, the British soldier and in our fringe events Bohemian Soho, the Suffragette movement and the history of the Arab peoples. The Festival is bigger and better than ever.
I will blog about the London History Festival events in more detail soon – in the meantime you can collect a programme from your local Kensington and Chelsea Library or check out the London History Festival events page on our website.
The London History Festival 2013 – fringe events
John McHugo: A Concise History of the Arabs
Tuesday 15 October, 6.30 to 8pm
Kensington Central Library
Join John McHugo who will talk about his recently published work A Concise History of the Arabs which deals with the political, social and intellectual history of the Arabs from the Roman Empire right up to the present day. He will cover the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, the expansion of Islam, medieval and modern conflicts, the interaction with Western ideas, the struggle to escape foreign domination, the rise of Islamism, and the end of the era of dictators. The book reveals how the Arab world came to have its present form, why change was inevitable and what choices lie ahead following the Arab Spring. This will be followed by a Q and A session.
This event will be hosted by Kensington and Chelsea libraries in partnership with Al Saqi Books and is part of the Nour Festival. Tickets for this event are £5 (£3 concessions) and are on sale at all Kensington and Chelsea libraries and via Librariesline on 020 7361 3010.
Sophie Parkin: The Colony Room: a history of Bohemian Soho 1948 – 2008
Thursday 17 October, 6.30 to 8pm
Kensington Central Library
Sophie Parkin tells the story of the Colony Room which opened in Dean Street in 1948. For sixty years it became a meeting place for some of the most creative minds of modern times in music, theatre, art, literature, comedy and espionage. Sophie has collected tales of high jinks and low tragedy over 50 interviews with the members of one of London’s unique institutions.
Tickets for this event are £5 (£3 concessions) and are on sale at all Kensington and Chelsea libraries and via Librariesline on 020 7361 3010.
Lucinda Hawksley: March, Women, March
Tuesday 29 October, 6.30 to 8pm
Kensington Central Library
Lucinda Hawksley will be talking about her new book, March, Women, March, which traces the voices of the women’s movement in Britain, from Mary Wollstonecraft in the 18th century through to the “Flapper Election” of 1929, when all adult women were finally permitted to vote. As well as the famous names March, Women, March also recalls the many brilliant campaigners whose names have been forgotten over the years. Come and hear the witty, inspirational and shocking stories of how the vote was won.
Tickets for this event are £5 (£3 concessions) and are on sale at all Kensington and Chelsea libraries and via Librariesline on 020 7361 3010.
Dave Walker
Local Studies Librarian, Kensington Central Library
rbkc libraries blog 