What’s on in York: Unfortunate Princes

Sep _27Princes

Fairfax House :

Thu 27 Sep :

7.00pm – 8.30pm :

£14.00 (Members: £12.00, Students: £8.00)

By 1745, the son of the deposed James II & VII, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, had been living in exile for over 55 years, firstly in France – ‘the support and shelter of unfortunate princes’ – and then Rome. This lecture will discuss the background and progress of the most famous attempt to restore the senior and Catholic branch of the Stuart Dynasty by the Old Pretender’s son Charles Edward Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie – during the turbulent years of 1745-6.

Dr Jacqueline Riding is an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London and alumna of the University of York (PhD). She is the author of the award-winning Jacobites: A New History of the ’45 Rebellion (Bloomsbury 2016), trustee of the Jacobite Studies Trust and senior editor of Jacobite Studies (Manchester University Press).

Jaqueline Riding: http://www.jacquelineriding.com/

Twitter @jaqriding

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: The Gothic Home and Family

Sep _26Gothic

York Explore Library :

Wed 26 Sep :

6.30pm – 7.30pm :

£5

An introduction to the origins of the literary Gothic in eighteenth-century Britain, discussing how three particular novels helped to define the terms in which the home and family have subsequently been represented in Gothic literature, art and film.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve and A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe demonstrate that the Gothic is nothing if not a self-referential mode, and this talk will be illustrated with literary and visual examples of its strange and (sometimes) funny as well as frightening metamorphoses over the past 250 years. Along the way it will ask what we mean when we refer to a cultural artefact as ‘Gothic’.

Author’s Biography:
Jim Watt teaches in the Department of English and Related Literature and the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York. He is the author of Contesting the Gothic: Fiction, Genre and Cultural Conflict, 1764-1832 (Cambridge UP, 1999) and of essays and articles on the Gothic and other topics. His latest book British Orientalisms, 1759-1835 is forthcoming with Cambridge UP.

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Waterstones Presents – An Evening with Sir Max Hastings

Sep _24Max

York Explore Library :

Mon 24 Sep :

6.30pm – 8.00pm :

£5

Waterstones York are delighted to present author, journalist and broadcaster, Sir Max Hastings.

Sir Max will discuss his new book, Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975, a masterful chronicle of one of the most devastating international conflicts of the 20th century and how its people were affected.

No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings’ readers know so well. The author suggests that neither side deserved to win this struggle with so many lessons for the 21st century about the misuse of military might to confront intractable political and cultural challenges. He marshals testimony from warlords and peasants, statesmen and soldiers, to create an extraordinary record.

Tickets available from Waterstones York

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Meet Matt Haig – 2018 Big City Read author

BCR

York Explore Library :

Thu 20 Sep :

6.00pm – 7.30pm :

£5

Join us as we launch the Big City Read 2018 and hear Matt Haig discuss writing The Radleys and Reasons to Stay Alive. Matt will be in conversation with Rob O’Connor.

Matt Haig is a best-selling author who has written fiction for both children and adults and non-fiction for adults. His adult work focuses on the human condition in general and his own experience of dealing with mental health issues. Far from being bleak or depressing, his books are both witty and life-affirming and he is a strong advocate of the power of reading which makes him a perfect author for our Big City read. Matt’s most recent novel is the best-selling How to Stop Time and his new non-fiction work, Notes from a Nervous Planet, was published in July.

Matt lives in Brighton with his partner writer Andrea Semple and their children Lucas and Pearl.

YLFRob O’Connor is a board member for the York Literature Festival and was the festival director from 2016 – 2018. He also teaches literature and creative writing at York St John University and the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of York. His areas of research interest focuses on genre theories, science fiction and fantasy, contemporary fiction, and creative writing

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Michael Arditti – Of Men and Angels

Sep 13_Michael

York Explore Library :

Thu 13th Sep :

6.30pm – 7.45pm :

£5

God’s vengeance on the wicked city of Sodom is a perennial source of fascination and horror.  Michael Arditti’s passionate and enthralling new novel explores the enduring power of the myth in five momentous epochs.   A young Judean exile transcribes the Acts of Abraham and Lot in ancient Babylon; the Guild of Salters presents a mystery play of Lot’s Wife in medieval York;   Botticelli paints the Destruction of Sodom for a court in Renaissance Florence;  a bereaved rector searches for the Cities of the Plain in nineteenth century Palestine;  a closeted gay movie star portrays Lot in a controversial biblical epic in 1980s Hollywood.

Author’s Biography:
Michael Arditti is the prize-winning author of ten works of fiction. Easter won the Waterstones Award and was longlisted for the Costa Award. Unity was shortlisted for the Wingate Award and Pagan and her Parents was shortlisted for the Lambda Award in the US. Widows and Orphans, Arditti’s last novel, was published to great critical acclaim in 2014.

He is currently the theatre critic for the Sunday Express. He lives in North London.

This event will take place in the Marriott Room.

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Waterstones Presents An Evening with Kate Atkinson

Sep _14Kate

York Explore Library :

Fri 14 Sep :

6.30pm  – 8.00pm :

£6

Waterstones York present Kate Atkinson, who will be returning to her original home city to celebrate the release of her new novel, Transcription. Kate will discuss this, and her other work, in conversation at York Explore library.

One of our finest novelists, Kate won the Whitbread Book of the Year Prize for her debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Her four bestselling novels featuring Jackson Brodie became the BBC television series Case Histories. Her most recent novels, Life After Life and A God In Ruins, both won the Costa Novel Award and were critically acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tickets are available  from Waterstones York at £6 each, or £22 to include a copy of Transcription which you can have signed and dedicated on the evening.

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Keeping your family archives

Jun _2Archive

York Explore Library

Sat 28 Jul

10.30am – 12.30pm

£40

Do you have family papers and photographs hidden away in your loft or cupboards and are unsure what to do with them?

Join Laura Yeoman, Explore’s Archivist (Access and Engagement) for this hands-on introductory session about how best to care for your archives at home. Find out where and how to store them, how to package them and the best course of action in emergencies.

This session includes a free take-home pack of archival-quality materials to get you started. There will also be time towards the end of the session to get your burning questions answered!

To book tickets please click here.

What’s on in York: Finding the Words with poets Deborah Alma, Nancy Campbell, Robert Powell and Regina Weinert

JUL Findingthe Words

York Explore Library :

Thu 26 Jul : 

6.45pm – 8.00pm :

£3 (or £2 with a York Card)

Finding the Words is a regular poetry evening every month at York Explore Library. Each evening brings together three poets and we aim to include both published writers and those working towards a collection. We’ll have a bar available and readings last around an hour. The evening is also a chance to share and chat, so please feel free to bring any news or information about poetry local, regional or national.
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