Simon Jenkins: Who Exactly Are the Celts?

Captioned

Since Scotland’s independence referendum and Brexit, the United Kingdom has felt far from united. Into this context, former editor of the Times Sir Simon Jenkins offers a timely analysis of Celtic identity, from its mysterious origins to its re-emergence today in the countries surrounding England. The Celts: A Sceptical History is a cogent, no-holds-barred analysis of Anglo-Celtic relations, past, present and future. Today, he speaks to Sheena McDonald.

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

Salman Rushdie talks to James Naughtie at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Salman Rushdie talks to James Naughtie at the Edinburgh International Book Festival One of the most significant writers of our age, Salman Rushdie joined the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival for the worldwide launch of his epic novel Quichotte. The book has since been hailed as the author 'at his best' by countless critics; it … Philippe Sands: Towards a Less Brutal World Philippe Sands: Towards a Less Brutal World How does the United Nations use the law to hold governments to account? In The Last Colony Philippe Sands QC highlights the case of the Chagos Archipelago. In the 1960s, Britain forcibly removed the inhabitants of the island. Join Sands today in conversat… Ann Cleeves at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Ann Cleeves at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Having already made waves with her crime investigators, Shetland's Jimmy Perez and Tyneside's Vera Stanhope, much-loved author Ann Cleeves introduces us to a new detective in the shape of Devon’s Matthew Venn. She again proves herself to be a master of … Arundhati Roy: Portal to a New World Arundhati Roy: Portal to a New World We are thrilled to welcome back one of the world’s best-respected authors to discuss her new book of essays, Azadi. The slogan of the struggle in Kashmir for what Kashmiris regard as the Indian occupation, ‘Azadi!’ is the Urdu for ‘Freedom!â€â€¦ Rutger Bregman: There is Hope for the Human Race Rutger Bregman: There is Hope for the Human Race ‘Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.’ So said Abraham Lincoln in one of his rousing speeches… Graeme Armstrong, Jenni Fagan & Caleb Femi: Take Your Place  Graeme Armstrong, Jenni Fagan & Caleb Femi: Take Your Place  Since early 2020 our sense of home and our relationship to place has changed dramatically. Recurring lockdowns and ‘stay at home’ orders have seen people confined to their houses, flats and immediate local area. For some, discoveries of outdoor hidden… Simon Callow (2017 Event) Simon Callow (2017 Event) As an actor, he’s played Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill and Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral. As an author, he’s written compellingly about Oscar Wilde, Peggy Ramsay and about Being an Actor. But that’s not the half of what Simon Callow has… Sam Baker & Carol Birch (2016 Event) Sam Baker & Carol Birch (2016 Event) Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Carol Birch presents her new book Orphans of the Carnival, which features powerful female characters separated by centuries and continents. Meanwhile, former editor of RED magazine and co-founder of The Pool, Sam Bake… David Diop & Anna Moschovakis: Winners of the 2021 International Booker Prize David Diop & Anna Moschovakis: Winners of the 2021 International Booker Prize French-Senegalese author David Diop, whose At Night All Blood Is Black has won this year’s International Booker Prize, joins us with translator Anna Moschovakis to discuss their unforgettable short novel. In a story set in the French trenches of the Fir… Fernanda Melchor: Think Twice Fernanda Melchor: Think Twice While Fernanda Melchor was completing her International Booker Prize shortlisted Hurricane Season, she came across the story of a town whose residents were removed from their land so that a luxury gated community could be built. The idea that violence cou…