Neil Oliver at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

With Britain considering its future, who better to turn to for historical perspective than Neil Oliver. His latest book is part history lesson, part travel guide and part love letter to the British Isles. From ancient woodlands to blood-soaked battlefields, prehistoric coastlines to the Millennium Dome, the engaging historian, archaeologist and broadcaster explores the nation’s fascinating, turbulent past in this event filmed live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Book Festival News

Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024 Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024
Sunday 14 April

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Nadifa Mohamed: For Whom is Justice Served? Nadifa Mohamed: For Whom is Justice Served? Can the truth save those who have been condemned for something other than a crime? Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021, The Fortune Men takes us to Cardiff ’s multicultural Tiger Bay in 1952, where Mahmood Mattan is accused of murder. He feels secu… Audrey Magee: Still Waters Run Deep Audrey Magee: Still Waters Run Deep Two men arrive on an island, one to paint it, the other to record its speech. Amid their rivalry, the islanders discover their own relationship with the place they call home. Audrey Magee’s second novel, The Colony, tackles questions of identity, art an… Tessa Hadley & Charlotte Mendelson: The Process of Revealing Tessa Hadley & Charlotte Mendelson: The Process of Revealing In Tessa Hadley’s Free Love, homemaker Phyllis is about to have her neat suburban world blown apart by kissing the son of a friend. In The Exhibitionist, Charlotte Mendelson introduces a family whose patriarch artist prepares for a new exhibition – bu… Aleksandar Hemon & Elif Shafak (2015 Event) Aleksandar Hemon & Elif Shafak (2015 Event) As a multilingual writer, does the language you choose to write in matter? Does it change who you are and who you are writing for? Does the omnipotence of global English dominate regardless? Elif Shafak is an acclaimed author who writes in both Turkish an… Mike Berners-Lee talks to Tanya Steele at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Mike Berners-Lee talks to Tanya Steele at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Warnings of looming environmental catastrophe rain down on us with increasing frequency, and only the most ardent climate change sceptics deny we live at a crucial point for the Earth's future. For this event, filmed live at the 2019 Edinburgh Internation… Innu Poetry from the Canadian Tundra (2015 Event) Innu Poetry from the Canadian Tundra (2015 Event) When the Book Festival invited three writers from the First Nation Innu people of Northern Canada to present their work in Edinburgh, three Scotland-based poets were invited to work with them. In this collaboration, which will also result in Anna Crowe, R… Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal With Val McDermid’s iconic detective soon set to hit our screens, it couldn’t be a more perfect time to revisit Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit and the savvy, no-nonsense DCI Karen Pirie. A thrilling new head-scratcher from the undisputed â€â€¦ Tracey Thorn at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Tracey Thorn at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Returning to our roots can be tough, revealing and, as Tracey Thorn discovers in her book Another Planet, also inspiring. The singer-songwriter behind Everything But The Girl follows up her bestselling Bedsit Disco Queen with a wonderfully witty walk thro… Jeremy Atherton Lin: Coming Out, Going Out Jeremy Atherton Lin: Coming Out, Going Out For the past generation it has been possible for LGBTQIA+ people in most of Britain and the USA to go out in an open display of solidarity and sexual freedom that was long denied to those who came before them. The culture of the Gay Bar is the subject of … Interview - Omid Djalili (2014) Interview - Omid Djalili (2014) Acclaimed comedian and actor Omid Djalili talks about his joyously funny memoir about growing up as an Iranian in London in this interview at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival. You can also watch his sold-out Book Festival event, filmed l…