By Caroline Knox
Each year, as I begin to start programming the Boswell Book Festival, I find myself wondering why biographies are relevant. As the world’s only festival dedicated to this genre and personal memoir I obviously read many books and to me they are fascinating.
It is impossible not to be gripped by Gulbahar Haitiwaji’s How I Survived A Chinese Re-education Camp, to wonder how she lived through such appalling treatment; and to revisit lives we think we know well such as Mary Queen of Scots who in the hands of Clare Hunter’s wonderful new book Embroidering Her Truth and Denise Mina’s thrilling Rizzio throw a whole new light on our thinking.
The festival is in honour of James Boswell, whose family seat is Auchinleck House in Ayrshire. Our first few festivals were held there, but it quickly outgrew the available space and we moved to Dumfries House nearby.
For three days people flock to our event to listen and learn about the lives of people from around the world – this year for instance we are working with the Dutch Foundation for Literature and for anyone interested in how life really is in Russia day by day then the Dutch novelist, Pieter Waterdrinker’s account of his life there The Long Song of Tchaikovsky Street is compelling.
There are tales of heroic deeds and royal romances, of those who may not have held high office but kept diaries and wrote letters that not only boil down to darn good read, but offer an insight into a society about which we may know little. This was the case with Henry ‘Chips’ Channon whose diaries were edited by Simon Heffer who appeared at last year’s online festival and also Lady Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who is visiting us in person this year.
Indeed biographies can change how some figures are perceived. Our current queen’s grandfather George V was written off as the dullest of kings. However, Jane Ridley (who teaches a Masters course in biography at Buckingham University) has found otherwise through exploring previously inaccessible archives. She will be putting the record straight by talking about what has been described as “the best royal biography I’ve read in decades” by A.N.Wilson who came to Dumfries House to talk about his biography of Queen Victoria
Another example was Miranda Seymour’s book on Annabella Milbanke and her daughter Ada Lovelace which she would have brought to the sadly cancelled festival of 2020. Married to Lord Byron, Milbanke was seen as a prudish wife and cruelly controlling mother. But Seymour’s book, In Byron’s Wake, her hidden devotion to Byron and her tender ambitions for his mercurial, brilliant daughter reveal a deeply complex but unsuspectedly sympathetic personality.
If we weren’t interested in other people’s lives why would celebrity news website receive 73million visitors in March this year, why would newsagents’ stalls be filled with magazines running interviews and why on earth would the Kardashians be one of the most famous families in the world?
James Boswell is credited as the inventor of the modern biography with his Life of Johnson – you could also call him the first celebrity interviewer as he spilled his life into his famous diaries. He has upheld his reputation as one of the most innovative writers of the Enlightenment. Published 223 years ago this month the Johnson biography has never been out of print and there cannot be many other authors whose work has had such longevity.
Oddly enough, it was our online festival last year that cemented my belief that biographies remain relevant. Producing an online event was one that filled us with trepidation – we had no idea if anyone would tune in and take part. However, we were bowled over by the response from around the world. There were people in the audiences who will never make it over to East Ayrshire and the response was wonderful. And for that reason we shall continue to stream most of our events so anyone interested both near and far can join our festival.
TOP EVENTS AT THIS YEAR’S BOSWELL BOOK FESTIVAL
The Lion House – Christopher de Bellaigue A bestselling biography, acclaimed as ‘every bit as gripping as Wolf Hall’, of Suleyman the Magnificent the vastly rich Ottoman Sultan. In the middle of the 16th century he had mastery over millions of people from Baghdad to the walls of Vienna. It is a journey built on brutal choices and intimate relationships and consolidates the author’s magic talent for conjuring up the world of the Ottoman Empire. Saturday
The Japanese: A History In Twenty Lives – Christopher Harding. The popular broadcaster and lecturer at Edinburgh University tells the story of Japan, distilled into vivid and entertaining portraits of twenty remarkable individuals. From shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. Saturday
Mary Churchill’s War – Winston Churchill’s grand-daughter, Emma Soames, has edited her mother’s diaries, most of which have never been seen before. Mary Churchill was 17 when WW2 broke out and she was uniquely placed to observe this historic moment to which she had a front row view. Saturday
Louis X1V:King Of The World – Drawing on the latest research in France, Britain and America Philip Mansel explores Louis’ relationship with Scotland from the Garde Ecossaise, personal bodyguards to the French royalty to his defence of the interests of the Stuarts who were allied to him by ties of blood. Saturday
The Accidental Footballer – Despite his 20 year career and 28 caps for Scotland, Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer. Raised in Glasgow’s East End he loved the game, but he also loved Joy Division, indie fashion and going on marches. His story is based in the 80s and 90s with vivid descriptions of playing for Chelsea and Everton with colourful diversions to John Peel, Morrissey and nights at the Hacienda. Friday
Boswell Book Festival at Dumfries House from 13-15 May www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here