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It’s the summer of 1939 and London is on the brink of a catastrophic war. Iris Hawkins, an ambitious young woman in the stuffy world of City finance, has a chance encounter with Geoff, a technical whizz at the BBC’s nascent television unit. What was supposed to be one night of abandon draws her instead into an adventure of otherworldly pursuit – into a reality where time bends, spirits can be summoned, and history hangs by a thread. Soon there are Nazi planes overhead. But Iris has more to contend with than the terrors of the Blitz. Over the rooftops of burning London, in the twisted passages between past and present, a fascist fanatic is travelling with a gun in her hand. And only Iris can stop her from altering the course of history forever… Francis Spufford is the author of three novels and five highly-praised works of non-fiction which are most frequently described by reviewers as either ‘bizarre’ or ‘brilliant’, and usually as both. His debut work of fiction was the historical novel Golden Hill, which won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and was shortlisted for four others. His second novel, Light Perpetual, was awarded the Encore Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize. His third novel, the alternative history Cahokia Jazz, was recognised by the Science Fiction community when it was awarded the Sidewise Award in 2023. He teaches writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and lives in Essex. Francis will be discussing Nonesuch with journalist Alex Peake-Tomkinson. Tickets: Book & ticket: £30 (includes a copy of Nonesuch, book RRP £20) Standard ticket: £12 Concession ticket (under 18): £10 Book tickets HERE A Village Books event in association with James Allen’s Girls’ School.

From the bestselling author of Miss Dior and Coco Chanel, a compelling history of the Crown told through the lens of royal fashion, sharing the secrets that lie beneath its sumptuous surface. From the birth of the house of Windsor in 1917, its leading women – Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor and Queen Elizabeth II – faced the perils of abdication and assassination, revolution and the rise of fascism, the threat of invasion and all-out war. Their sartorial decisions, alongside those of their royal husbands, projected power and perpetuity, diplomacy and defiance. In Fashioning the Crown Justine Picardie draws on original research in the Royal Archives and her own experiences at Balmoral, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace to reveal the undercover lives of the creators behind the facade – and traces the ways in which visual iconography safeguarded the monarchy, even when their reign seemed to be hanging by a thread. Published ahead of the centenary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, and featuring more than 100 beautiful images, this book reveals the reinvention of British monarchy, as it fought to survive a tumultuous era of two world wars. Justine Picardie is the author of seven books, including the international bestsellers Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture and Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life. Previously the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, she was an investigative journalist for the Sunday Times, columnist for the Telegraph, editor of the Observer Magazine and features director of Vogue. Tickets: Standard ticket: £12 Book & ticket: £35 (includes a copy of Fashioning the Crown, book RRP £25) Concession ticket (under 18s): £10 Book tickets HERE A Village Books event in association with James Allen's Girls' School.