Profile Books

For a woman to succeed as a writer 200 years ago she had to be tenacious, brave and exceptional. Both Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein were written then and their authors are the subjects of Emily Brontë Reappraised by Brontë specialist Claire O'Callaghan and In Search of Mary Shelley by award-winning poet and writer, Fiona Sampson. Each offers a revealing account of these vital literary figures. Chaired by Lennie Goodings.

Writer and slow adventurer Jasper Winn spent a year exploring Britain's waterways on foot, by bike, in a kayak and on narrowboats. Along a thousand miles of 'wet roads and water streets' he discovered a world of wildlife corridors, underground adventures, the hardware of heritage and history, new boating communities, endurance kayak races and remote towpaths. He shared journeys with some of the last working boat people and met the anglers, walkers, boaters, activists, volunteers and eccentrics who have made the waterways their home. In Britain most of us live within five miles of a canal, and reading this book we will see them in an entirely new light.

IS IT THE END OF THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY? Late 20th century thinking was defined by freedom of movement and the removal of borders. Now, fences, tariffs and fear are beginning to dominate our cultural, economic and political conversations. Join our panel as they explore why the barriers are going up around the world and ask: Is the end of the global community? Our panel includes leading journalist Tim Marshall, the author of Divided: Why We Are Living In An Age Of Walls and investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, who has written about Trumpism, inequality and the super-rich in Moneyland.