Past Events
Watch Again
Author of The Po
Tobias Jones is making a much -anticipated return to Goldster to talk about his latest book, a gorgeous journey along the River Po in Italy. The Po is the longest river in Italy, travelling for 652 kilometres from one end of the country to the other. It flows next to many of Italy’s most exquisite cities – Ferrara, Mantova, Parma, Cremona, Pavia and Torino – and the river is a part of the national psyche, as iconic to Italy as the Thames is to England or the Mississippi to the USA.
For millennia, the Po was a vital trading route and a valuable source of tax revenue, fiercely fought over by rival powers. It was also moat protecting Italy from invaders from the north, from Hannibal to Holy Roman Emperors. It breached its banks so frequently that its floodplain swamps were homes to outlaws and itinerants, to eccentrics and experimental communities. But as humans radically altered the river’s hydrology, those floodplains became important places of major industries and agricultures, the source of bricks, timber, silk, hemp, cement, caviar, mint, flour and risotto rice.
Tobias Jones travels the length of the river against the current, gathering stories of battles, writers, cuisines, entertainers, religious minorities and music. Both an ecological lament and a celebration of the resourcefulness and resilience of the people of the Po, the book opens a window onto a stunning, but now neglected, part of Italy.
Join Lucinda Hawksley and Tobias on 26 January.
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Author of The Mystery of Four
Sam Blake has been writing fiction since her husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks, and she had an idea for a book. Originally from St. Albans, she now lives in Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow mountains. Her debut novel Little Bones launched the bestselling Cat Connolly trilogy.
Moving away from police procedurals to write psychological thrillers, Sam’s focus is on strong female characters. She has had a series of No. 1 bestsellers and has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times. Her latest book The Mystery of Four has been described by Alex Marwood as ‘Witty, twisty and featuring my favourite antiheroine in a long time’.
Inspired by Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy it’s set in a restored country house in the Wicklow mountains where Tess is preparing to open to the public with a weekend of activities including a modern version of Dr Faustus. But as final rehearsals begin, things start to go wrong.
Sam lives in a 200-year-old, old Post Office with several cats, including Merlin who features in The Mystery of Four, and an occasional poltergeist. Join her and Lucinda Hawksley for the Inside Story at 12pm on 13 January.
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Author of Piccadilly
There’s nowhere quite like Piccadilly Circus. From the moment they emerge, blinking from the underground station, visitors to Piccadilly Circus face a sensory onslaught. Its streets and alleyways merge into an intoxicating thoroughfare, with the power to propel an individual onwards to adventure, romance, or something more sinister. Ever since its iconic Eros statue appeared in 1893, the junction has been a vibrant meeting place, attracting visitors and pleasure-seekers from all walks of life: political plans and theatrical careers were hatched at its restaurant and café tables, lovers met below the statue of Eros, and to this day tourists pour out of its historic Tube to experience the bright lights of London’s nightlife.
Piccadilly explores how the area has been shaped by social and historical events – from female suffrage to world wars to technological advancements – and by its colourful cast of characters – from flower girls, shop assistants and sex workers, to film stars, Bright Young Things and conmen (and women).
For many, the Circus has represented both a home from home and a brave new world, as campaigners, revellers, opportunists and romantics have all been drawn to Piccadilly’s bright lights. Join Lucinda Hawksley on 12 January, as she chats to fellow author Midge Gillies about why the story of why Piccadilly Circus continues to mean so much to so many.