An Evening with John Boyne - The Weight of Angels

Bestselling novelist John Boyne talks about his new novel The Weight of Angels and one of the great what-if stories of modern literature
About this Event

Join us for an evening with critically acclaimed and bestselling novelist John Boyne as he talks about his new novel The Weight of Angels and one of the great what-if stories of modern literature.

The life Oscar Wilde never had ― reimagined by John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, in his most ambitious and emotionally powerful novel yet.

'Can one rash decision prove the difference between a life well lived and a life destroyed?'

When the Marquis of Queensbury left his calling card at the Albemarle Club in February 1895, it bore only his name and five words: ‘For Oscar Wilde, posing Somdomite’. The most feted playwright of his day famously sued for libel, which led to his arrest, criminal prosecution and ultimately Pr*son. From then on, his gilded existence spiralled into public disgrace, humiliation and an early death.

But what if he had simply ignored the insult? What direction might his life have taken? This is the premise of John Boyne’s extraordinary new novel, The Weight of Angels.

Rather than dying in penury in Paris at the age of forty-six, what if he had lived to bear witness to the momentous events and cataclysmic changes of the first part of the twentieth century, and even influence some of them? What if the second half of his life were as celebrated, dramatic, tumultuous and exhilarating as the first?

Event Format:

John Boyne 'in conversation' live on stage followed by audience Q&A and book signing

Tickets:

£12 Admits One without book (£8 redeemable against purchase of The Weight of Angels)

£22 Admits One with book (includes a copy of The Weight of Angels)

Venue:

The Grove Performing Arts Centre, Upper Brook Street, Oswestry School

Please let us know if you have an accessibility/mobility requirements.

Refunds:

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Please contact us if you are unable to attend an event: [email protected] for further advice.

In imagining the life that Oscar Wilde never had, John Boyne has written one of the great what-if stories of modern literature, giving the great Anglo-Irish poet and playwright a fresh new voice and the opportunity to take an entirely different path.