York Literature Festival 2024

Caroline Quentin: Drawn to the Garden

Caroline took us on a journey through her love of gardening, beginning with growing flowers in primary school to caring for her 40-acre garden. She described how the hobby allows her an escape from her sociable career and gives her a sense of agency which she does not have when acting as a character. Elly Fiorentini, BBC Radio York Presenter, described how Caroline’s personal character comes out in the narrative of the book. This was shown when Caroline read an extract about growing courgettes, and also through the various illustrations in the book which are done by Caroline herself.

The talk was personal, as Caroline shares the story, outline in the preface, of why gardening is so important to her. She discussed how growing up around someone who is unwell is difficult, and that gardening provided a parallel universe for her to connect with the earth and be alone with her thoughts. Caroline looks forward to writing more about gardening, specifically how to adapt gardening as we age and potentially on beekeeping…

Find Caroline’s book, featured in The Sunday Times’ Bestseller List, here.

Iain Dale: Kings and Queens

Iain Dale’s book “Kings and Queens” charts the history of England’s monarchy, and includes 64 essays by journalists, historians and politicians detailing every individual to have sat on the throne, as well as some who didn’t quite make it. As part of the York Literature Festival on Friday 1^st March, Iain and his panel of two contributors to the book considered the success and failure of different monarchs, what they tell us about British history and why our monarchy has endured.

His panel included multi award winning author Justin Hill and author, presenter & regular on History Hack Charlotte White – both of whom have contributed to Iain’s book. Iain spoke about what inspired him to write and collate the book, and each guest then shared their section of the book and their favourite or well less known monarchs with an engaged audience, with a book signing and sale afterwards.

Chris Mullin: Didn't You Use To Be Chris Mullin?

The celebrated diarist and former MP brought his trademark wit and keen eye for the absurd to the politics of the last turbulent decade. His new book, Didn't You Use To Be Chris Mullin, includes St Peter's School in the index, after having visited the school for another public lecture previously. Our Head of Politics, Ben Fuller, discussed this book with Chris, and his newest, Error of Judgement.

After retiring from politics in 2010, Chris has gone from being referred to as the "most odious politician" and "crackpot Chris" by The Sun to halfway being a national treasure. His diaries since his retirement recounts events from the fall of New Labour to the death of the Queen, offering his take on the goings-on in politics. 

Rafael Behr: A Survivor's Guide To Politics

The award-winning political journalist, Rafael Behr, sat down with Chris Mullin to discuss his personal journey from despair to hope that there is a better way for our politics. Admitting his generation was 'lucky' to come of age when they did, Behr gives his account of studying French and Russian at Oxford University (just one year above Liz Truss, though not in the same circle) and his work as a political correspondent abroad. He has since worked for The New Statesman, The Observer and The Guardian.

Chris Mullin describes Behr's book as thoughtful, honest and unapologetic, as they discussed key politics in recent years, such as the Blair government. 

Natalie Haynes: Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth

On the final night of the York Literature Festival Events hosted at St Peter's, we welcomed the hilarious Natalie Haynes to talk about her passion of Greek mythology. As an author with a degree in classical literature and stand up comedian, Natalie delivered an incredibly engaging talk that had the audience in stitches whilst showcasing her in depth knowledge of the twists and turns of the myths and legends that fascinate so many of us thousands of years later. 

Before the lecture, Natalie spoke to a group of classics students from St Peter's and other schools as part of the ISSP programme. They were able to ask her questions such as "Do you feel like you have to stand up for classics?", for which she gave witty answers, but also spoke to the students about how lucky they were to have the opportunity to study it at school. 

Later, she joined us for the evening talk which was open to the public as well as the St Peter's community, and which was a completely sold out event. She spoke about some of the Greek goddesses explored in her book, where she brings the divine women of Olympia kicking and screaming into the modern age.

Finally, she joined us afterwards for a book signing, for which the queue snaked all the way through the dining room and out the door!

Have a look through all of our photos below: