The Conversation ~ Coming Together To Talk About The World

 

 

ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS PRESENTS

“THE CONVERSATION” 

COMING TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT THE WORLD

The Conversation 2026 Dates: 21^st April – 28^th July

 

16 June – Jonathan Sumption

23 June – Oliver Bullough

30 June – Ali Smith

7 July – Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane

14 July – Janina Ramirez

28 July – Andrea Wulf

 

The 2026 Conversation Spring Series explores the themes of social justice and how we write about the world with curiosity and rigour and a sense of wonder. We can have faith in humane intelligence that looks for knowledge and wisdom rather than news and information and values a storyteller’s insight and understanding and a form of activism that breaks beyond algorithms and orthodoxies.

 

Running from 27^th January to 28^th July 2026, the winter-spring season of The Conversation 2026  will explore climate change and the state of the nation withnovelist Ian McEwan, invisible women in history with Hallie Rubenhold, faith, religion and what it means to be human withKate Bowler, race and social justice in the USA and UK with Gary Younge, the battle for modern America with historian Sarah Churchwell, how to care for your health with world-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis and fighting for the environment with “Birdgirl” Mya-Rose Craig. 

 

The summer season will tackle topics including the LGBTQ+ culture of San Francisco as we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of  author Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, what Shakespeare’s women really were thinking with Harriet Walter, why conversations on our planet’s future must focus on those most affected with Selina Nwulu, the battle for modern America with historian Sarah Churchwell, what the limits and breaking points of democracy in the modern world are with Jonathan Sumption, how money laundry and the dirty economy works with Oliver Bullough, exploring contemporary life and language with Ali Smith, how the lives of birds intersect with our own with Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane, who the real women were behind historical legends with Janina Ramirez and the life of explorer George Forster with Andrea Wulf.

 

The Conversation is programmed by Peter Florence and takes place at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday nights with tickets from £10. The Conversation invites members of the audience to carry on the conversation and engage directly with the speaker following each event. The talks are also available to be live streamed and watched from anywhere in the world.

Full information on The Conversation is available here: stmartin-in-the-fields.org/the-conversation/

 

Ticket Info:

Location: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ.

Dates: 27^th January – 28^th  July

Time: Tuesdays from 7pm – 8.30pm 

Price: £10 for in person tickets. £10 for online tickets 

Ticket Link: https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/the-conversation/

Box Office: 020 7766 1100 BoxOffice@smitf.org

16th June: Jonathan Sumption, historian and lawyer who served as a Supreme Court Justice for six years, interrogates the limits and breaking points of established democracy in the modern world in The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law. He examines Trump’s disregard for the checks and balances of the US Constitution, the criminal implications of Israel’s actions in Palestine, the exercise of sovereignty in the Brexit vote, the contrary meanings of Freedom of Speech, and the overreach of the ECHR and under-reach of the ICC. He asks how did we get to this and where do we go from here?

23rd June: Investigative journalist and multi-award-winning author, Oliver Bullogh, exposes the dark secrets at the heart of the world economy and London’s role. Oliver explains how few crimes of acquisition would be worthwhile without money laundering in Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won, and how South American drug cartels, Nigerian kleptocrats, Afghan terrorists, American tax evaders and human and animal traffickers across the globe would not be able to operate without it.

30th June: Ali Smith, Orwell Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction winner, is in conversation about her two latest novels Gliff and Glyph, that continue her extraordinary sequence of books exploring contemporary life and language.

7th July: Following their international success with The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane reunite to bring us The Book of Birds – Words and Painting, a dazzling celebration of the splendours of birdlife, and an impassioned call to halt the loss of birds from land, sea and sky. Robert and Jackie will celebrate the ‘Seven Wonders’ that together make up the everyday miracle of ‘Bird’: Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight, and Migration. Jackie will paint live and Robert will evoke the habits and habitats of Britain’s birds.

14th July: Broadcaster, cultural historian and author of Femina, Dr Janina Ramirez, peels back the layers of time to reveal how the identities of women have been co-opted by those intent on crafting national identities in Legenda. Questioning established narratives and searching for the real women behind the legends, join Janina in conversation as she interrogates what defines a nation and who gets to build it, shining a light on how history is so often hijacked to serve the ideological and political interests of the present.

28th July: Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World (winner of fifteen international awards including the 2015 Costa Biography Award and the 2016 Royal Society Science Book Prize) spreads out before us the life and times of George Forster, who journeyed to the far reaches of the known world in her newest release, The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity, alongside James Cook.

📖Book Review ~ Rescued by the Rakish Lord by Sarah Mallory

Harlequin Historical
May 2026

My thanks to the author for a copy of this book

A forced proximity, high society romance set in the late Georgian era

A man of such dubious reputation…that he was called Devil Blackbourne!

When Lord Deveril Blackbourne meets Selina Wynter, he is intrigued. For she has all the accomplishments of a lady, but the fiery temper and spirit of a tavern maid! Then she is abducted by a dastardly suitor, and Deveril—for all his roguish reputation—can't stand idly by…

Lord Deveril is Selina’s least likely rescuer, but when they’re stranded together in a snowstorm and her reputation is at risk, he surprises her with a gallant proposal! Deveril’s no honorable suitor, yet his actions say otherwise… Just who is the real Devil Blackbourne? Selina’s determined to find out!

📖My Review..

Selina Wynter’s ordered life is held to account when she encounters the enigmatic Lord Deveril Blackbourne who is staying near to her country home. Determined to keep her independence, Selina has rejected the idea of marriage but when a dastardly suitor attempts to abduct her it brings her into close contact, once again, with Blackbourne, with interesting repercussions.

I raced through the book in one sitting, comfortable with the plot as it took me from the relative safety of Selina’s sheltered home, to snow stranded days, and nights, in a country inn with roaring fires and hearty country meals. The simmering passion between Selina and Deveril is captured well and in the end I wanted a happy ending for them however, as we soon discover, true love never runs exactly to plan.

Once again, I have been transported back to the late Georgian era when women’s place in society was measured by their marriageable status. Selina is a feisty heroine, with a fiercely independent streak, and the handsome and charismatic Lord Deveril certainly meets his match in this passionate Regency romance which has all the hallmarks of this talented author’s fine writing.

About the Author

Sarah Mallory was born in the West Country and grew up with a love of books and history. She has had over 40 historical novels published and won the Rona Rose Award from the Romantic Novelists Association in 2012 and 2013.

Website

Twitter @SarahMRomance

BlueSky @sarahmallory.bsky.social

📖 Book Review ~ The Repentants by Kate Foster

Pan MacMillan 
Mantle
28 May 2026

My thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book 

St Monans, Fife, Scotland 1790. 

Two women are forced to publicly repent in church, one for adultery the other for breaching the sabbath. Wealthy housewife, Florrie, and salt serf, Eliza, form a quick and unusual bond over their mutual humiliation. So when Florrie's husband decides she must accompany him on a trade venture to Iceland, she insists Eliza comes as her maid.

Far from home, isolated and fearful, the two women grow ever closer. Then Florrie's husband reveals his sinister plan: he will leave her in Iceland, banished for the shame she has cast upon him. Florrie must escape, but when she turns to Eliza for help she realizes nothing is quite as it seems.

📖 My Review..

Twenty year old Florrie Aitken  yearns for passion in her marriage but sadly her husband is not the man to provide it as Jonny is too self absorbed and far too preoccupied with his own sense of importance. After a disastrous encounter, with a man who is not her husband, Florrie is made to repent in public alongside another young woman who is being punished for a different transgression. Unlikely though it seems, Florrie and Eliza share a common bond and it is this connection which will ultimately be the saving of them.

Well written, with impeccable research, and a real sense of time and place, The Repentants is a compelling story about how women were regarded, not just by men but also by other women and of their survival when the odds were stacked against them. From the cloistered atmosphere of an insular Scottish coastal town, to the bleakness of an Icelandic seascape, the raw, and often brutal, treatment of women is highlighted. The late eighteenth century world and women’s place in it, regardless of circumstances, comes alive. Throughout the story there is a real sense of injustice, and as each of the female characters start to assert themselves so the balance of power starts to subtly shift away from the men who would do them harm.

About the Author

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children.

X @MantleBooks #TheRepentants #KateFoster

📖 Book Review ~ The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan
7 October 2025

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book 

For the first time since the beloved Shetland series, Detective Jimmy Perez is back. He's traded the stark beauty of Shetland for the wild isolation of Orkney, but the darkness of human nature follows him everywhere.

When a ferocious storm rages across the islands, it leaves behind more than just damage: it uncovers the body of Archie Stout, a popular, larger-than-life member of the community.

The murder weapon? A Neolithic stone, bearing cryptic, ancient inscriptions.

Now living in Orkney with his partner, Willow, and their young son, Perez is drawn into a case that is chillingly personal – Archie was a friend from his own childhood. And the island is full of familiar faces, all of whom are potential suspects in the killing.

Perez must immerse himself in the lives of the islanders, separating truth from local legend before a desperate killer can strike again . . . and threaten the new life he's desperately trying to build.

📖My Review..

Having been a huge fan of the TV Shetland series when Detective Jimmy Perez was in charge I was excited to have the chance to read something new about him, catching up with him on Orkney, where he now makes his home, with his partner (and boss) Willow Reeves and their growing family.

The story hits the ground running with the discovery of body, which is made even more confusing as Archie Stout is a popular islander, with no known enemies. Brought into the case Perez finds that his loyalty is tested as Archie was a close childhood friend and the emotional stakes run high. However, in order to uncover the truth about the murder Perez must ask some difficult questions of the islanders which is difficult for all those who knew and liked Archie.

I enjoyed the story, it was good to be back in Perez’s company and the dynamics work well between him and Willow. There are enough twists and turns to keep the momentum going and I enjoyed trying to work out who did what, and when. There is a real a sense of atmosphere and the whole Orkney experience is done well, bringing place and people alive. I could sense the notion of a storm brewing and the complexity of the investigation all adds effect to what is another good crime /thriller from this established author.

About the Author

Ann Cleeves is the author of forty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.

📖 Book Review ~ The Boleyn Secret by Alison Weir

Headline Review
May 21 2016

My thanks to the publisher for the invitation to review this book

A Boleyn woman is no stranger to secrets...

At twelve years old, Kate Carey attends her aunt, Queen Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold. Horrified by what she witnesses, Kate is convinced that King Henry VIII has sent an innocent woman to a terrible death.

As the Boleyns fall from favour, Kate serves her now motherless cousin, the young Lady Elizabeth. Bound by Boleyn blood, the two girls are like sisters, until Kate marries for love - and leaves a jealous Elizabeth behind.

At court, Kate cannot ignore the sly looks thrown her way, nor the whispers behind her back. Only when her mother, Mary, lies dying, does she learn the life-shattering truth that the Boleyns have been hiding for years.

It is a secret that will haunt Kate throughout her life, as her family flee into exile, only returning home when Elizabeth becomes queen. But the bond between the Boleyn cousins will never be the same again..

📖 My Review..

I have been privileged to read several new Tudor inspired novels this month and I am pleased to say that whilst the Tudor period in English history has been covered extensively in fiction, there is always something new to enjoy. 

This latest novel by Alison Weir gives us the story of Katherine Carey who, after Anne Boleyn’s tragic death, was placed into the household of the Princess Elizabeth. Katherine Carey grows up in the shadow of the Tudor crown, her mother, Mary Boleyn, lives her later life in relative obscurity however, Katherine starts to move in court circles when she is placed as Lady-in-Waiting to Henry’s new wife, Anne of Cleves. It is Katherine’s proximity to the Tudor monarchs and her role within it, both as a young woman and later as a wife and mother, which forms the premise of the story over a long timeframe.

As always, with this historian’s fiction work there is fine attention to historical detail, the place and people are well described alongside what it might have been like living through such a turbulent time in history. My only criticism is that the book felt over long, granted there is a lot of information packed within the story, especially about Katherine’s eventful personal life as the mother of sixteen children and wife to Sir Francis Knollys who was a respected Tudor courtier. The Boleyn secret at the heart of the novel is one which has long been speculated over and whilst I knew what the secret would reveal it didn’t stop me enjoying the novel as an interesting look at yet another side of the Tudor court particularly as we go through the years of Tudor rule and Katherine’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth I.

About the Author

Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide. Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history’s most iconic family – the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers. Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.

X @AlisonWeirBooks

X @headlinepg

📖 Favourite Read of the Month ~ The Secret Thread by Eve Chase

Penguin Michael Joseph 
28 May 2026

My thanks to the publishers for the invitation to read this book

Even the darkest secrets unravel in time . . .

Mimi Mott, celebrated designer and famously private style icon, is auctioning off her legendary estate, intent on telling the true story of her life in objects. 

In London, her new assistant, Jo O’Mara, is determined to win Mimi’s trust. But Jo carries a secret of her own, and time is running out to unpick the past before the auctioneer’s hammer falls. 

Who is Mimi, really? A woman who rose from humble beginnings to build an interiors empire – but at what cost? What happened in that remote Wiltshire manor house where Mimi and her family worked during the summer of 1969? Who died the night of the glittering party that stole the headlines?

As the auction countdown begins, Jo is drawn into an intoxicating world of obsession, sisters and secrets – and must risk everything to unravel the truth, one thread at a time.

📖 My Review

 

Jo O’Mara is given the task of cataloguing a series of very personal items which the celebrated designer, Mimi Mott feels encapsulates her eventful life. As Jo becomes immersed in Mimi’s story, she begins to learn more about her childhood, growing up at Rushwood, a remote Wiltshire estate, where Mimi’s parents worked as gardeners. The story works really well and as we move back towards Mimi’s time spent at  Rushwood we start to learn about hidden family secrets, of Mimi’s difficult relationship with her parents and siblings, and of her dangerous connection to the wealthy family who call Rushwood home.

The story flows beautifully, with a cast of characters who quickly make their mark on the story. I was equally at home in the past with Mimi as she grows from feisty teenager into the style icon who becomes Mimi Mott. Jo’s own personal story is just as compelling and the hidden secret which she is keeping from Mimi is explored well and adds a different dimension to this cleverly plotted family drama. Reminiscent of time and place, the latter years of the 1960s come vibrantly to life and sit very comfortably alongside Mimi’s story in the subsequent years of her life. 

Fast becoming one of my favourite authors this latest novel from this talented writer captured my interest right from the start, the pages practically turning themselves as I raced through the story eager to learn more. The Secret Thread is a beautifully written family drama which moves effortlessly between past and present and which captures the essence of sibling rivalry and some deeply buried secrets. This is such a lovely read I am delighted to make to make The Secret Thread my Favourite Read of the Month for May.

About the Author

Eve Chase writes bestselling, page-turning mysteries. Her novels include The Midnight Hour, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and Amazon no.1; The Glass House, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and Sunday Times bestseller; The Birdcage, The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde and Black Rabbit Hall. A winner of the Saint-Maur en Poche prize in Paris for Best Foreign Fiction and longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award, her work has been translated into twenty languages. She lives in Oxford.

📖 Book Review ~ The Serial Killer Gene by Alice Hunter

Avon Books UK
7 May 2026

My thanks to the publisher for the copy of this book 

I should never have taken that DNA test. Then maybe things wouldn't have gone so wrong…

Lily thought she was an ordinary woman with an ordinary life. But when a DNA test seems to reveal she carries the 'serial killer gene', she is terrified by the thought of passing it onto her future children. She decides to break off her engagement and move back in with her devoted mother, Eva — until unexpected sparks fly with a charismatic journalist, and Lily finds herself diving into a wild, intoxicating new relationship.

Their obsession soon turns toxic, and as they spiral out of control Lily’s traumatic past resurfaces, leaving her questioning everything she thought she knew. Could she be the monster she fears she is?

Confronted with a sudden, horrifying murder, Lily's only choice is to turn to the one person who has always protected her: her mother. But Eva is hiding secrets that could destroy them both…

📖 My Review ..

After a devastating breakup with her boyfriend and hampered by the knowledge that a recent DNA analysis has thrown up the possibility of her carrying a serial killer gene, Lily return to her mother’s house, a place which has always been her refuge when life became complicated. When Lily meets the charismatic Margo she immediately embarks on a passionate and eventful relationship which questions everything that Lily thought she knew about herself, her mother and the secrets at the heart of her family.

Quick paced, filled with several twists and turns and with some genuinely dark moments I didn’t see coming, The Serial Killer Gene is another clever psychological thriller from an author who knows how to crank up the tension in a story which doesn’t take a break in its momentum until the whole fascinating story has been revealed.

About the Author

After completing a psychology degree, Alice Hunter became an interventions facilitator in a prison. There, she was part of a team offering rehabilitation programmes to men serving sentences for a wide range of offences, often working with prisoners who’d committed serious violent crimes. Previously, Alice had been a nurse, working in the NHS. She now puts her experiences to good use in fiction.

Twitter @Alice_Hunter_1 #TheSerialKillerGene