There is an awesome start to autumn coming up at our local indie Hungerford Bookshop. Pointless host and Classic FM presenter Alexander Armstrong will be signing copies of his debut children’s novel Evenfall: The Golden Linnet on Friday, September 13 at 4pm, It’s a modern classic for readers aged around 9-12, bursting with ancient magic, secret societies and fearsome foes. For fans of Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials, Skandar, Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.
12-year-old Sam’s world is blown apart when he discovers that his family was once at the heart of a secret society – The Order of the Evening – that had long protected the world. Now a powerful enemy is closing in, destroying all in its path to find the Order’s hidden palace and the source of its powerful magic. Only Sam can stop them.
But first, he must bring the Order together again. ”A Da Vinci Code for kids” said fellow writer Richard Osman. Ticket numbers are restricted and tickets are available now from Eventbrite or from the bookshop.
The ticket price is for one adult and two children and is redeemable against the price of the book. And there are plenty of books for the grown-ups too, so get your diaries out now! Tickets for all events are available through Eventbrite or directly from The Hungerford Bookshop: Tickets are selling fast for international bestselling Kintbury author Robert Harris, 7pm at Hungerford Town Hall on Thursday, August 29. In his thrilling new novel, Precipice, he seamlessly weaves fact and fiction like no other writer.
Set in the summer of 1914 when the world is on the brink of catastrophe, in London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, HH Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.
Harris' cleverness, judgment and eye for detail are second to none' Sunday Times The Hungerford Bookshop has partnered with local wine grower and ex-bookshop owner Christopher Cooke to promote his memoir Ancient Land, Pastures New, about the creation of his beautiful vineyard, Winding Wood just outside Hungerford. His book offers a monthly account of the trials and tribulations he and his partner experience planting a boutique vineyard from scratch on ancient pasture; the ups and downs of nurturing its development over ten years; the descriptions of the passing seasons in the vineyard as they grapple with a chaotic climate; and the huge pleasures provided by the helpers, friends and charming visitors who come to visit or lend a hand. And, not forgetting, of course, the joys of producing English sparkling wine in a cool climate.
Come to Winding Wood at 7pm on September 6 and hear Christopher’s story, explore the vineyard and taste his spectacular sparkling wine. If you loved Clare Chambers’ award-winning bestseller novel Small Pleasures, you will be thrilled to know she is talking about her new book, Shy Creatures at 7pm at Hungerford Town Hall on Tuesday, September 10. Shy Creatures is a life-affirming novel about all the different ways we can be confined, how ordinary lives are built of delicate layers of experience, the joy of freedom and the transformative power of kindness.
Helen Hansford is in her 30s and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with Gil: a charismatic, married doctor. One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance from a derelict house not far from Helen's home. A thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, with a beard down to his waist, has been discovered along with his elderly aunt.
It is clear he has been shut up in the house for decades, but when it emerges that William is a talented artist, Helen is determined to discover his story. “I was worried this wouldn't be as good as the brilliant Small Pleasures, but it might be even better. Clare Chambers is a genius,” said journalist and author India Knight History fans and Churchill afficionados will love Sonia Purnell’s new book Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman’s astonishing life of seduction, intrigue and power.
On Wednesday, September 18, Sonia Purnell will be at The Croft Hall, Hungerford at 7pm talking about one of the 20th century’s greatest unsung power players. ‘Fascinating and revelatory, written with great aplomb, insight and shrewd analysis. A triumph' William Boyd.
' For information and tickets for all these events, search by individual event or ‘The Hungerford Bookshop’ on Eventbrite or pop into their shop on the High Street in Hungerford and chat to one of their friendly booksellers. There are lots more book events coming through the rest of the year in Hungerford shop and in their sister shop in Wantage, so watch this space or sign up to hungerfordbookshop.co.
uk for the bookshop’s newsletter..
