Cliveden's Literary Allure

First festival has a stellar list of authors discussing everything from scandal and fame to war, power and even Brexit

GLAMOUR, intrigue and names now woven into the country’s history – perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the first ever Cliveden Literary Festival in October has nothing short of a show-stopping ‘cast list’ of authors.

There’s an extraordinary line-up for an inaugural event and it’s hard to know where to start. Make a list and you have to leave some out, but how do you pick from the likes of historians Lady Antonia Fraser, Simon Sebag Montifiore, Bettany Hughes, novelists Sebastian Faulks, Robert Harris, Ian McEwan and Howard Jacobson and author Frances Osborne. Also appearing are Nick Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery and Hannah Rothschild, Chair at the National Gallery, politicians Michael Gove and Kwasi Kwarteng, as well as Anne Applebaum, Geordie Greig, Tina Brown, Sir Harry Evans and Simon Schama.

The boutique festival’s president, Professor Andrew Roberts, is naturally delighted that an event uniquely focussing on politics and history has the apt and exquisite surroundings of the Italianate, Grade I listed Cliveden House and its beautiful gardens as its setting, over one weekend, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October.