Anton Du Beke
Sunday 20th October, 7.30pm
Prepare to be swept off your feet! From the beloved Strictly star comes Moonlight over Mayfair, a gorgeous inter-war drama set in the glamorous ballrooms of London’s stunning Buckingham Hotel. Sunday Times bestselling author Anton Du Beke, Mr Debonair, needs absolutely no further introduction to his more than 200,000 followers on Twitter, and with Christmas just […] See more »
Brett Anderson of Suede
Tuesday 22nd October, 7.30pm
The trajectory of Suede – hailed in infancy as ‘The Best New Band in Britain’ – is recalled with moving candour by its frontman Brett Anderson, whose vivid memoir swings seamlessly between the tender, witty, turbulent, euphoric and bittersweet. Suede began by treading the familiar jobbing route of London’s emerging new 1990s indie bands – gigs […] See more »
Charles Moore
Wednesday 23rd October, 7.30pm
How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs? The seasoned editor of The Spectator, Sunday Telegraph and […] See more »
An Evening with Gyles Brandreth
Thursday 24th October, 7.30pm
Gyles has been a theatre producer, politician, journalist, author and publisher as well as TV presenter and radio star in a career which has spanned five decades. He is known equally for his record number of appearances on TV’s Countdown, for his improvising wit on Radio’s Just a Minute and his love of jumpers and […] See more »
Heather Morris
Saturday 26th October, 4pm
1942. Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Every day is a battle for existence for the sixteen-year-old prisoner Cilka Klein but, under unimaginable conditions, she discovers inner resources that offer courage, even love. Cilka’s Journey is the breathtaking sequel to the bestselling The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The book offers powerful testament to the triumph of the human will […] See more »
The Hairy Bikers
Monday 28th October, 7.30pm
They’re back, and with their most wonderful collection yet! With chapters on breakfasts and brunches, soups and salads, satisfying stews, stovetop suppers, pies and pot roasts, and puds and cakes – this collection is a cracker! With their unique blend of tasty recipes and cheeky humour, the Hairy Bikers have become Britain’s favourite food heroes. […] See more »
Shaun Bythell
Tuesday 29th October, 7.30pm
Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop, Wigtown – Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover’s paradise? Well, almost… In The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun charmed even […] See more »
Thomas Penn
Wednesday 30th October, 7.30pm
A gripping new history by the author of the acclaimed bestseller Winter King It is 1461 and England is crippled by civil war. One freezing morning, a teenage boy wins a battle in the Welsh marches, and claims the crown. He is Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York. Thomas Penn’s remarkable […] See more »
Joanna Cannon
Thursday 31st October, 7.30pm
In this powerful memoir, Joanna Cannon tells her story as a junior doctor in visceral, heart-rending snapshots. We walk with her through the wards, facing extraordinary and daunting moments: from attending her first post-mortem, sitting with a patient through their final moments, to learning the power of a well- or badly chosen word. These moments, […] See more »
Simon Heffer
Tuesday 12th November, 7.30pm
In his searing new volume one of Britain’s foremost modern historians is our guide to the preparations for trench warfare here at home and how they led to change on an almost revolutionary scale. The infighting that saw parliament lock horns with the generals in no way diminished four years of domestic struggle as our […] See more »
James Morton
Thursday 14th November, 7.30pm
James Morton charmed us on Bake-Off a while back with his imaginative show-stoppers combined with a scientific approach to baking. Since then he has amassed a large following on social media, founded a popular baking blog, and written four books – all while practising full-time as a doctor! His latest book Super Sourdough introduces us […] See more »
Afternoon Tea & Cake with Pam Ayres
Friday 15th November, 3pm
One of Toppings’ most popular visitors, and always a favourite with our audiences, is back in Ely with her latest and possibly most memorable collection to date. With the same magic that has enchanted her fans for four decades Pam Ayres’ new book of poetry is by turns side-splittingly funny, at others so reflective and […] See more »
David Mitchell
Tuesday 26th November, 7.30pm
David Mitchell’s bestselling book Dishonesty is the Second‑Best Policy is a funny, provocative and refreshing celebration (and commiseration) of the state of things in our – not entirely glorious – modern world. There are many aspects of modern life that trouble award-winning comedian David Mitchell: from the UKIP surge to Brexit shambles, digging up Richard […] See more »
William Dalrymple
Monday 2nd December, 7.30pm
In his most ambitious and riveting book to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power. The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came […] See more »