Building on the success of the past two years, the festival will make its debut at the historic city of York for three days of events, Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September. The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, one of the most important buildings in medieval York and still in the heart of the city, will play host to 15 speakers over three days, including: Dr Bettany Hughes, discussing the three minds who shaped the world; Dan Jones reflects on Britain’s greatest medieval dynasty, the Plantagenets; and Tracy Borman explores the man behind the myth with Thomas Cromwell: Hero or Villain?
BBC History Magazine’s History Weekend then returns to the ancient hilltop town of Malmesbury – the burial place of Æthelstan, grandson of King Alfred the Great, and first king of all England – for the magazine’s biggest festival yet. This year, over four days – Thursday 15 October to Sunday 18 October - almost 40 leading historians and authors will share their passion for the past with fellow history lovers in Malmesbury Abbey, Malmesbury Town Hall and the Old Bell Hotel.
The Malmesbury line-up includes: Lord Melvyn Bragg on the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; Max Hastings discussing Espionage and Intelligence in WWII; Kate Williams’ reappraisal of the 1920’s – Roaring or Tame; and Dan Snow exploring the multitude of significant anniversaries this year – from the Magna Carta and VE Day to Gallipoli and Waterloo.
A number of the guests will be appearing across both weekends, including: Britain’s best-selling female historian Alison Weir on The Lost Tudor Princess; renowned English historian and broadcaster, Michael Wood discusses The Story of England; Ian Kershaw explores the 1930s, Europe’s Decade of Dictators; and historian, broadcaster and academic Suzannah Lipscomb unravels the mystery of Henry VIII’s last will and testament. Both festivals will also host a fully-stocked bookshop, catering and speaker book signings.
Dave Musgrove, Publisher of BBC History Magazine, says: “I am very excited that we’ve been able to extend our events programme to York this year, as well as expanding and improving on our Malmesbury weekend. We’ve got a fantastic range of speakers at both weekends and it promises to be a brilliant few weeks of history.”
In addition to the main programmed events, the BBC History Magazine’s History Weekend in Malmesbury features special fringe events, including the Historian’s Debate, in which top historians will challenge each other over which is most interesting period of history; The History Quiz, in association with H for History, where attendees can test their historical knowledge against each other; and Sam Willis will be In Conversation with eminent guests for a series of one on one conversations to discover what pushes their historical buttons.
