What To Expect At Cliveden Literary Festival 2024
By
2 weeks ago
Plus: a brief history
We love literary festivals of all shapes and sizes, but our favourites are those imbued with a heady historical atmosphere thanks to their setting in gorgeously old country houses like Cliveden. That all said, the first Cliveden Literary Festival took place only a few years ago in 2017, thanks to the committee of writers and historians – Andrew Roberts, Natalie Livingstone, Catherine Ostler and Simon Sebag Montefiore – who joined together to breathe new life into the property’s literary history.
Here’s a brief history of Cliveden Literary Festival, plus what to expect in 2024.
A Guide To Cliveden Literary Festival 2024
The History
Cliveden Literary Festival may only date back to 2017, but the house itself has a much longer history. A mansion has stood on this plot since 1666 (transformed then from two hunting lodges), but the first burned down in 1795 and its replacement not long after in 1849. The third iteration of Cliveden was completed in 1851, and the sandy coloured English Palladian marvel has stood proudly ever since. It sits amid 400 acres of greenery, with gardens leading down to the River Thames.
In all of this time, Cliveden has gathered literary significance. In the 1700s, Alexander Pope described the second Cliveden as ‘the bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love’ – a reference to its conception by the Duke of Buckingham as a love monument to his mistress, the Countess of Shrewsbury. The third iteration of the mansion has hosted artistic premiers, housed Royals (from a grieving Queen Victoria to Meghan the night before she wed Harry), and attracted eminent guests including Charlie Chaplin, the Asquiths, Arthur Balfour, Lawrence of Arabia, the pioneer aviator Amy Johnson, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and FD Roosevelt. Perhaps most significantly, Cliveden set the stage for the infamous Profumo Affair between Christine Keller and John Profumer, which ultimately toppled the government.
As Cliveden Literary Festival’s website suggests, ‘With the Festival, which gathers together writers and intellectuals from around the world for a weekend every year, the spirit of Cliveden is renewed.’
What’s On In 2024
Cliveden Literary Festival’s 2024 line-up is jam packed, with a whole host of big names journeying to the country estate for the weekend. On Saturday, guests will hear from:
- Salman Rushdie
- Ian McEwan
- Tom Holland
- Robert Harris
- Niall Ferguson
- Helen Castor
- Dan Jones
- Alex Younger
- Michael Gove
- Merve Emre
- Nicole Taylor
- Olivette Otele
- Joanne Cash
- Peter Stothard
- Daisy Dunn
- Yana Peel
- James Marriott
- Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Albert Read
- Luke Pepera
- Madhumita Murgia
- Plum Sykes
- Nicky Haslam
- Alexandra Mousavizadeh
- Harry Beaufort
- Larry Kramer
- Nadhim Zahawi
And on Sunday, the following big names will entertain the crowds:
- Rachel Weisz
- William Boyd
- Emily Maitlis
- John Banville
- Neil Jordan
- Patrick Radden Keefe
- Elif Shafak
- Helen Castor
- William Dalrymple
- Alex Younger
- Merve Emre
- David McCloskey
- Robert Hardman
- Camilla Cavendish
- Ronen Bergman
- Jasmine El-Gamal
- Anne Somerset
- Alice Winn
- Louis Sarkozy
- Rachel Eliza Griffiths
- Alice Thomson
- Kate Weinberg
- Rosalind Brown
- Hannah MacInnes
- Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
Food & Drink
Cliveden is home to a bounty of delicious food options for festival goers, including:
- Cliveden Dining Room, with a set lunch in a formal setting
- Astor Grill, with a set lunch in a more informal setting
- Parea Artisan Cafe, offering hot and cold refreshments for breakfast, lunch and tea in the Festival Food Tent
- Rosie the Citroen H-Van, pouring Laurent-Perrier to be enjoyed in deckchairs
- Citroen Brew Box, serving delicious coffees, teas, cold drinks and homemade cakes on the Forecourt
- Coopers Coffee, for more drinks options
- Greeklicious, serving souvlaki
- Scandilicious, for authentic Scandi street food (think subs, bagels, French fries, milkshakes and mulled wine)
When Is The Cliveden Literary Festival 2024?
The 2024 festival will take place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September, the penultimate weekend of the month.
Where Is It?
Cliveden House is a country house hotel located in Berkshire countryside, just outside of London.
Address: Cliveden House, Taplow, Berkshire SL6 0JF
How To Get Tickets
Tickets can be purchased for either Saturday (£120pp), Sunday (£110pp) or the whole weekend (£195pp). The ticket price includes entry into all of the events on the day of entry, though it does not guarantee a seat; you should arrive in good time for any session your heart is set on.
Tickets can be booked at clivedenliteraryfestival.org
