It was supposed to be “the war that will end war” – according to the misplaced optimism of British author H.G. Wells, and countless others like him who cheerfully expected “our boys” to be home by Christmas 1914.   Involving all the world’s great powers, more than 70 million combatants, and ...read more →

You’ll recognize him as one of Britain’s leading thriller writers, author of the multi-million seller A Quiet Belief In Angels and ten other award-winner novels.  But you may not know much about the extraordinary personal story of tonight’s guest R.J. Ellory – a life that is just as thrilling and ...read more →

Join us for our biggest, wildest, craziest and funniest virtual office party ever… featuring the prodigious talents of Professor Elemental and Brian Clegg, together with Ian Winn, Ali Gardner & the combined talents of the chatroom, Dave Bartram, and ringmaster Peter Cox. “What I don’t like about office Christmas parties”, ...read more →

Once every generation or two, a book comes along that incarnates our collective experience of war.  Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front was one such: Heller’s Catch-22 was another, and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five was one more.  To this distinguished list must be added Ben Fountain‘s first novel, Billy Lynn’s Long ...read more →

His origins were humble; a working-class boy from a small military town in northern Sweden, not far from the Arctic Circle.  Today, he is one of the most influential figures in the world of literature, because  Peter Englund is Permanent Secretary to the Swedish Academy, the body that awards the ...read more →

Tonight’s show is a real-life thriller: featuring espionage, double-dealing, murder and even a dash of Hollywood.  And a British ambassador who sees things he shouldn’t – and decides to tell the world. Sounds like the plot of a movie?  Craig Murray‘s amazing story has already been optioned by producers – ...read more →

Evie Blake is the name, Valentina is her scorching new mega-erotic novel – eat your heart out E.L. James, this is an author who can write! Based on the iconic character created by the Italian artist Guido Crepax, Valentina takes a male-created fantasy figure and gives her a real woman’s ...read more →