In his memoir debut, acclaimed novelist and broadcaster Lord Melvyn Bragg looks back to his Cumbrian roots
Monday, 3 October, 18.30 London
The next event in The Beaumont's series of popular literary evenings, bringing together the best and brightest British non-fiction writers, will be on Monday 3 October with a reading of Back in the Day (Hodder & Stoughton) by writer and broadcaster Lord Melvyn Bragg.
In this captivating memoir, Lord Bragg revisits and reflects on his life from childhood to adulthood in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from the early years alone with his mother while his father fought in the war to the moment he left the town.
Prior to each reading and discussion, guests are invited to enjoy a drinks reception with canapés in the Lotos Room. Each guest will also receive a copy of Back in the Day as part of their ticket, with an opportunity for signing after the talk.
Event
Ticket Price: £40, including a hardback copy of the book
Time: 18.30pm - drinks reception with canapés | 19.15pm - reading, discussion and Q&A
Location: The Lotos Room at The Beaumont
The Author
Lord Melvyn Bragg is a writer and broadcaster whose first novel, For Want of a Nail, was published in 1965. His novels since include The Maid of Buttermere, The Soldier's Return, A Son of War, Credo and Now is the Time, which won the Parliamentary Book Award for fiction in 2016. His books have also been awarded the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the WHSmith Literary Award, and have been longlisted three times for the Booker Prize (including the Lost Man Booker Prize).
He has also written several works of non-fiction, including The Adventure of English and The Book of Books about the King James Bible. He lives in London and Cumbria.
The Book
In this captivating memoir, Lord Bragg revisits and reflects on his life from childhood to adulthood in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from the early years alone with his mother while his father fought in the war to the moment he left the town.
The book evokes such enduring rituals as the horse fair, hound-trailing, potato-picking week, carnival, school dances and teen skiffle groups, in a compelling and poignant recreation of a vanished era. This is a memoir which explores and embraces all the many crossroads and choices of childhood, as adolescence takes hold. Bragg's love letter to his home town and the people who shaped him is imbued with all the luminous wonder of those indelible early memories which nurtured his future life as a writer, broadcaster, and champion of the arts.