Polly Toynbee: My family and other radicals

While for generations Polly Toynbee’s ancestors have been committed left-wing rabble-rousers railing against injustice, they could never claim to be working class, settling instead for the prosperous life of academia or journalism enjoyed by their own forebears. So where does that leave their ideals of class equality?

Through a colourful, entertaining examination of her own family – which in addition to her writer father Philip and her historian grandfather Arnold contains everyone from Jessica Mitford to Bertrand Russell, and features ancestral home Castle Howard as a backdrop – Toynbee explores the myth of mobility, the guilt of privilege, and asks for a truly honest conversation about class in Britain.

We are pleased to welcome Polly back to Five Leaves. She writes regularly for the Guardian, eviscerating Conservative governments being her speciality.  Her many books have covered similar ground, while she contributed an essay to our own centenary issue of the feminist magazine Time and Tide, which will be given out on the night free of charge.

Note the venue – Squire Arts Centre (next to the Girls’ High School)

Tickets: £6.00 (plus booking fee of £1.06)

The book will be available on the night for just £14 (=rrp = £22.00). Tick the box at checkout if you’d like a copy reserved in your name.

Doors open 1.00pm. Coffee/tea and ice cream available

Accessible Ticket – please note there is a £3 ticket available – Only available for those with a disability who require a carer. Customers will get one ticket free for their essential companion, so cost of each is 50% of full price – they must book two tickets together and they must detail access requirements at checkout.

In association with Atlantic Books