Barnes BookFest 2024

2024 Festival Event

Gill Johnson

Gill Johnson – ‘Love From Venice’

Gill Johnson recaptures the lavish opulence of Venice in the 1950s as she recounts her time there as a young woman teaching English to an aristocratic Italian family. The last hurrah of the European Grand Tour, Venice was the playground of the international jet set. Rebelling against her family and anxious to impress an admirer, Gill’s adventure plunged her into the heady whirl of the super-rich. Now in her nineties, Gill’s book – Love From Venice – is a witty and moving memoir based on her original letters and correspondence, recently rediscovered by her son, the journalist Rory Ross.

Rory Ross is a writer and journalist, and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and Tatler.

Gill Johnson - Love from Venice
Tickets cost £18 or £12. There is a 25% saving on all festival books pre-ordered with event tickets.

Other events on the same day

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The last British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow describes the causes, meaning and human cost of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021.
Expert yachtswoman Tracy Edwards brings together a trio of remarkable woman to discuss their work in music, sport and literature.
Tomiwa Owolade argues that the debate about race and racial injustice is dominated by American viewpoints. Instead, we need a new conversation about race in British life today.
Professor Nigel Biggar’s bestselling analysis of the British Empire provoked extensive debate. In his defence of the empire, he faces challenging questions about colonialism.
Miriam Margolyes discusses her memoir 'Oh Miriam!' with fellow actress Patricia Hodge and shares all sorts of stories – both published and unpublished.
Art critic Laura Cumming discusses her book 'Thunderclap', a memoir about a life in art, a father and daughter and the great artists of the Dutch Golden Age.

2024 Festival Schedule

4pm

4.30pm

6pm

8pm

12n

2pm

4pm

6pm

8pm

10am

12n

2pm

4pm

6pm

8pm

A printed version of this schedule can be found on the back of the programme booklet available at the Barnes Bookshop, 98 Church Road.