The Abbotsford Literary Sessions - 2019
29 Nov - 1 Dec 2019 : Abbotsford, Scottish Borders
The Abbotsford Literary Sessions, in association with Baillie Gifford brings today’s finest writers and thinkers for intimate events in a unique and historical setting.
FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER
Paul Murton
6.00pm
The presenter of BBC Television’s Grand Tours has written a beautiful and very personal book. In The Viking Isles: Travels in Orkney & Shetland, he explores not only these most Nordic parts of Scotland but also weaves in family connections with Norway and his own travels in Scandinavia as a child and young man. The legacy of the Vikings can be found everywhere in the Northern Isles: in archaeological remains, place names, local tradition and folklore. From a sing along with the Shanty Yell Boys to fishing off Muckle Flugga, from sword-dancing with the men of Papa Stour to a Norwegian pub crawl in Lerwick, Paul paints a vivid picture of these islands and their people as he explores their heritage – and his own.
With more than 150 stunning colour photographs and a rich tale to tell, this is a beautiful book.
James Naughtie
8.00pm
In the swirling maelstrom of British politics, when a month’s news is often packed into a day, James Naughtie has an unrivalled ability to offer incisive analysis, perspective and balance. As uncertainty after uncertainty spools out over our screens and pages, it is impossible to predict precisely what Jim will talk about, but what is certain is that he will offer explanation in place of bewilderment, analysis instead of headlines.
SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER
Vanessa Collingridge
Captain Cook, Fake News and the Making of an 18th Century Hero
3.00pm
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s exploration of the Pacific Ocean in HMB Endeavour. This was the first of three epic voyages of discovery, which not only transformed our geographical knowledge of the world, but also fundamentally changed how we saw other cultures – and ourselves. Arguably the world’s greatest explorer, Cook charted the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic, putting a third of our planet on the map and covering a distance equivalent to sailing to the moon. Historian, author and broadcaster Dr Vanessa Collingridge explores the legacy of Cook’s incredible voyages, showing how his story intersects with the evolution of 18th century press, its developing love affair with “celebrity” culture and how the problem of “Fake News” is nothing new…
Mairi Kidd
Warriors & Witches & Damn Rebel Bitches
5.00pm
Warriors & Witches & Damn Rebel Bitches is a spectacular treasury which celebrates determined, brilliant and spirited women in Scotland’s history. Many are writers. Some are rulers. Others are mathematicians, suffragists, astronomers, artists and martyrs. All have been selected for their wit, wisdom and wickedness, and serve as an inspiration for a modern woman - whether young, old or in between. Join author, Gaelic broadcaster and Creative Scotland Head of Literature Mairi Kidd as she shares their remarkable stories.
Ann Cleeves
7.00pm
The creator of both Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez has published an eagerly awaited new novel. The Long Call is the first captivating episode in a series which introduces Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. The first in what Ann has called the Two Rivers series, this story is set in her childhood home of the North Devon coast and it is vintage stuff with evocative settings, a wonderfully rich ensemble of characters and a community where murder and intrigue bubble just below the surface.
Ann is one of Britain’s most successful writers of crime fiction. With millions of copies sold worldwide, her bestsellers are much loved in print and on screen: both the Vera and Shetland series are now major TV adaptations. Curl up in an armchair with The Long Call and take the first step on a journey with Matthew Venn, a wonderful new character created by a wonderful writer.
SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER
Peter Fiennes
Footnotes: A Journey Round Britain in the Company of Great Writers
1.00pm
This is not only a brilliant idea, it is magically written. By turns touching and hilarious, magisterial and chatty, Peter Fiennes has made several versions of Britain come alive. In the company of Enid Blyton, Wilkie Collins, Beryl Bainbridge, J.B. Priestley, Charles Dickens and others, we travel from Land’s End to Loch Ness. We see Britain through the eyes of these writers but also through Peter Fiennes’ acute observations. This a travelogue like no other.
Peter Fiennes is the author of the superb Oak and Ash and Thorn, a Guardian Best Nature Book of the Year. Footnotes is even better. The Observer loved it too. “I didn’t really know that I’d been waiting for a more literary and stylish Bill Bryson to update Notes from a Small Island, but that’s just what Footnotes is, and I loved it.”
And so did The Financial Times; “Marvellously quotable...It’s not the place, but the mind and spirit of the author that makes a guidebook special…Fiennes’ literary journey makes for a provocative and engaging book.”
Sue Lawrence
3.00pm
Sue Lawrence, one of the UK’s leading cookery writers has been on a personal odyssey – a trip round some of Scotland’s many islands, gathering a mouth-watering collection of traditional and contemporary recipes for her stunning new book, A Taste of Scotland’s Islands. With more than 60 recipes and photos of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, this celebration of the islands’ best cooking offers a whole new world of delicious and easy to prepare dishes, presented with Sue’s trademark straightforwardness and warmth.
Alistair Moffat
To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne
5.00pm
This is a story of pilgrimage. Award-winning writer and historian Alistair Moffat walked from Old Melrose to Lindisfarne in the shadow of St Cuthbert to discover more about our greatest native saint, the man on whose bones Durham Cathedral was built, the Bishop of Lindisfarne. It also turned to be a personal journey as Moffat came to terms with the vicissitudes of his own, far from pious, life.
This book has attracted stellar reviews. The Herald hailed it as ‘Extraordinary… a triumph… This book is an intriguing account of St Cuthbert and his times, a lyrical testimony to the wonder of nature and a beguiling account of the power of place in all lives. But…it becomes something more, something sublime in the realm of memoir…There is a powerful, natural beauty in Moffat's writing.”
The Times said "[To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape…compelling and revealing.”
And The Scotsman reviewer wrote that it was “Written with both wisdom and love…This is a wonderfully rich and consoling book…and it is very good indeed."
The Abbotsford Literary Sessions, in association with Baillie Gifford brings today’s finest writers and thinkers for intimate events in a unique and historical setting.
FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER
Paul Murton
6.00pm
The presenter of BBC Television’s Grand Tours has written a beautiful and very personal book. In The Viking Isles: Travels in Orkney & Shetland, he explores not only these most Nordic parts of Scotland but also weaves in family connections with Norway and his own travels in Scandinavia as a child and young man. The legacy of the Vikings can be found everywhere in the Northern Isles: in archaeological remains, place names, local tradition and folklore. From a sing along with the Shanty Yell Boys to fishing off Muckle Flugga, from sword-dancing with the men of Papa Stour to a Norwegian pub crawl in Lerwick, Paul paints a vivid picture of these islands and their people as he explores their heritage – and his own.
With more than 150 stunning colour photographs and a rich tale to tell, this is a beautiful book.
James Naughtie
8.00pm
In the swirling maelstrom of British politics, when a month’s news is often packed into a day, James Naughtie has an unrivalled ability to offer incisive analysis, perspective and balance. As uncertainty after uncertainty spools out over our screens and pages, it is impossible to predict precisely what Jim will talk about, but what is certain is that he will offer explanation in place of bewilderment, analysis instead of headlines.
SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER
Vanessa Collingridge
Captain Cook, Fake News and the Making of an 18th Century Hero
3.00pm
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s exploration of the Pacific Ocean in HMB Endeavour. This was the first of three epic voyages of discovery, which not only transformed our geographical knowledge of the world, but also fundamentally changed how we saw other cultures – and ourselves. Arguably the world’s greatest explorer, Cook charted the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic, putting a third of our planet on the map and covering a distance equivalent to sailing to the moon. Historian, author and broadcaster Dr Vanessa Collingridge explores the legacy of Cook’s incredible voyages, showing how his story intersects with the evolution of 18th century press, its developing love affair with “celebrity” culture and how the problem of “Fake News” is nothing new…
Mairi Kidd
Warriors & Witches & Damn Rebel Bitches
5.00pm
Warriors & Witches & Damn Rebel Bitches is a spectacular treasury which celebrates determined, brilliant and spirited women in Scotland’s history. Many are writers. Some are rulers. Others are mathematicians, suffragists, astronomers, artists and martyrs. All have been selected for their wit, wisdom and wickedness, and serve as an inspiration for a modern woman - whether young, old or in between. Join author, Gaelic broadcaster and Creative Scotland Head of Literature Mairi Kidd as she shares their remarkable stories.
Ann Cleeves
7.00pm
The creator of both Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez has published an eagerly awaited new novel. The Long Call is the first captivating episode in a series which introduces Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. The first in what Ann has called the Two Rivers series, this story is set in her childhood home of the North Devon coast and it is vintage stuff with evocative settings, a wonderfully rich ensemble of characters and a community where murder and intrigue bubble just below the surface.
Ann is one of Britain’s most successful writers of crime fiction. With millions of copies sold worldwide, her bestsellers are much loved in print and on screen: both the Vera and Shetland series are now major TV adaptations. Curl up in an armchair with The Long Call and take the first step on a journey with Matthew Venn, a wonderful new character created by a wonderful writer.
SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER
Peter Fiennes
Footnotes: A Journey Round Britain in the Company of Great Writers
1.00pm
This is not only a brilliant idea, it is magically written. By turns touching and hilarious, magisterial and chatty, Peter Fiennes has made several versions of Britain come alive. In the company of Enid Blyton, Wilkie Collins, Beryl Bainbridge, J.B. Priestley, Charles Dickens and others, we travel from Land’s End to Loch Ness. We see Britain through the eyes of these writers but also through Peter Fiennes’ acute observations. This a travelogue like no other.
Peter Fiennes is the author of the superb Oak and Ash and Thorn, a Guardian Best Nature Book of the Year. Footnotes is even better. The Observer loved it too. “I didn’t really know that I’d been waiting for a more literary and stylish Bill Bryson to update Notes from a Small Island, but that’s just what Footnotes is, and I loved it.”
And so did The Financial Times; “Marvellously quotable...It’s not the place, but the mind and spirit of the author that makes a guidebook special…Fiennes’ literary journey makes for a provocative and engaging book.”
Sue Lawrence
3.00pm
Sue Lawrence, one of the UK’s leading cookery writers has been on a personal odyssey – a trip round some of Scotland’s many islands, gathering a mouth-watering collection of traditional and contemporary recipes for her stunning new book, A Taste of Scotland’s Islands. With more than 60 recipes and photos of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, this celebration of the islands’ best cooking offers a whole new world of delicious and easy to prepare dishes, presented with Sue’s trademark straightforwardness and warmth.
Alistair Moffat
To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne
5.00pm
This is a story of pilgrimage. Award-winning writer and historian Alistair Moffat walked from Old Melrose to Lindisfarne in the shadow of St Cuthbert to discover more about our greatest native saint, the man on whose bones Durham Cathedral was built, the Bishop of Lindisfarne. It also turned to be a personal journey as Moffat came to terms with the vicissitudes of his own, far from pious, life.
This book has attracted stellar reviews. The Herald hailed it as ‘Extraordinary… a triumph… This book is an intriguing account of St Cuthbert and his times, a lyrical testimony to the wonder of nature and a beguiling account of the power of place in all lives. But…it becomes something more, something sublime in the realm of memoir…There is a powerful, natural beauty in Moffat's writing.”
The Times said "[To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape…compelling and revealing.”
And The Scotsman reviewer wrote that it was “Written with both wisdom and love…This is a wonderfully rich and consoling book…and it is very good indeed."