April 4 | Oxford Literary Festival

Robert Gildea

Empires of the Mind: The Colonial Past and the Politics of the Present SOLD OUT
St Cross College 10:00am Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Tim Radford

The Consolations of Physics: Why the Wonders of the Universe can make you Happy
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Yossef Rapoport and Emilie Savage-Smith

Lost Maps of the Caliphs
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Claudia Gold Interviewed by Paula Byrne

King of the North Wind: The Life of Henry II in Five Acts
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Ruth Hogan and Hannah Beckerman Chaired by Lucy Atkins

Families and Secrets: Two Novels
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Guy Leschziner Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

The Nocturnal Brain: Tales of Nightmares and Neuroscience SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Boyd Tonkin and Elena Lappin

Crossing Borders in Literature and Language
St Cross College 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Rachel Botsman Introduced by Peter Tufano

Who Can You Trust?: How Technology Brought Us Together – and Why It Could Drive Us Apart CANCELLED
Said Business School 12:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Rob Iliffe

Newton: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Alastair Lack

The Oxford of Morse, Lewis and Endeavour SOLD OUT
Meet outside St John’s College Lodge (main entrance), St Giles 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Kate Diston and Zoë Simmons

Rare & Wonderful: Treasures from Oxford University Museum of Natural History SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Michael Rosen

Socialist Tales: Workers’ Tales and Reading and Rebellion SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Jacqueline Rose Interviewed by Claire Armitstead

Mothers: An Essay on Love and Cruelty
St Cross College 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Tim Waterstone Interviewed by Nick Higham

The Face pressed Against a Window
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Alba Arikha Interviewed by Suzi Feay

Where to Find Me
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Andrew Copson and Andrew Grey Chaired by Stephen Law

The Oxford Debates. Assisted Dying and Euthanasia: Is it Morally acceptable?
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
John Lanchester Interviewed by Hannah Beckerman

The Wall
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Linda Yueh

The Great Economists
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Onora O’Neill Interviewed by Jonathan Derbyshire

Judgement in Ethics and Politics CANCELLED
St Cross College 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Violet Moller

The Map of Knowledge: How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Andrew Briggs

It Keeps Me Seeking: The Invitation from Science, Philosophy and Religion
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Old School Tour: 60 Minutes SOLD OUT
5:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Michael Dunn

Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 5:15pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Angela Gallop

When the Dogs Don’t Bark: A Forensic Scientist’s Search for the Truth SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Robert Harris Interviewed by Chris Patten

Chancellor’s Lecture: Life and Work
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Felipe Fernández-Armesto

The Oxford Illustrated History of the World
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Colin Mayer Interviewed by Andrew Hill

Prosperity and the Future of the Corporation
St Cross College 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Sophie Hannah

How to Hold a Grudge: The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Old School Tour: 30 Minutes SOLD OUT
6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Ian Goldin

Clarity from Chaos: Making Sense of Our Confusing Times
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Old School Tour: 60 Minutes SOLD OUT
7:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event

Festival information:

I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors (I’ve rarely seen so many concentrated in one place) but by challenging ideas and questions.

The Oxford festival is the most elegant and atmospheric of literary festivals. It’s a pleasure to both attend and perform there.

Often as an author, I only occasionally get to meet the public who buy and read my books. The Oxford Literary Festival was a special opportunity for me and certainly one of the highlights of my career – it was an honour I will never forget.

The Oxford Literary Festival has in my mind become the leading literary festival of the year. The organisation, the roster of speakers, the ambience and the sheer quality of it all is superb. May it now go from strength to strength each year stretching its ambition more and more. I believe it will.

I loved the whole atmosphere of the Oxford Literary Festival. From breakfast, alongside some of the attendees, who were talking books with each other a mile a minute, to the public event at The Sheldonian where everyone was lively and engaged – I felt I had arrived in a kind of literary heaven.

It was a privilege for me to visit the festival to receive the Bodley Medal. As an incidental blessing I saw Oxford at its most mysterious and atmospheric. It was a day of piercing cold and as I walked through the twilight from the Sheldonian to Christ Church, the streets were empty and the whole city was shutting itself away. Christ Church was silent except for the footfall of unseen persons around corners and the sounds of evensong creeping from behind closed doors. For the first time I understood thoroughly the power of college ghost stories.

The night in Oxford was the most beautiful event I have ever done. Not just the spectacular setting (of the Sheldonian), but an unforgettable evening.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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