Maria Semple GO GENTLE with Viv Groskop

Schedule

Tue May 26 2026 at 05:30 pm to 06:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Blackwell's Bookshop | Oxford, EN

Advertisement
Bestselling Author Maria Semple joins us to discuss her latest novel with Comedian, Broadcaster and Author Viv Groskop
About this Event

Go Gentle

Adora Hazzard has it all figured out.
A Stoic philosopher and contented divorcée, she relishes her teenage daughter, her job as a moral tutor for an old-money family, and the bliss of finally being solo.
She's also quietly assembling a 'coven' of like-minded single women on the sixth floor of the legendary Ansonia building on New York's Upper West Side. Together, they share groceries, dog walkers - and one dirty little secret: despite their age, they're only just getting started.
Adora's life philosophy is simple: want only what you already have. It's her secret to happiness until a chance encounter with a charming stranger stirs long-buried passions.
Soon, her carefully curated life unravels: black-market art, secret rendezvous, international intrigue and a past she's worked hard to forget crash into her present. Suddenly, Adora finds herself wanting more and she's willing to risk everything to get it.
Go Gentle is a thrilling story of one woman's mid-life transformation, a romance with wit, a page-turner of ideas, a globe-trotting mother-daughter story, all wrapped in a mystery with a socko twist.

Maria Semple

Maria Semple is the bestselling author of Today Will Be Different (2016), Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2012) and This One is Mine (2008). Her novels have been translated into over thirty languages. Before writing fiction, Maria wrote for the TV shows Arrested Development, Mad About You, Ellen, 90210 and others. She lives in New York.

Viv Groskop

Viv Groskop is a British award-winning writer, comedian, broadcaster and performance coach. She is the author of the best-selling How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking (Penguin) and Lift As You Climb: Women and the Art of Ambition (Penguin). Her award-nominated podcast How to Own the Room is the biggest public speaking podcast in the world — with over a million downloads — and features interviews with Hillary Clinton, Margaret Atwood, Professor Mary Beard, Julie Andrews, Google CEO Matt Brittin, Succession’s Brian Cox and dozens more talking about public speaking, confidence and managing high-pressure situations.

Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Blackwell's Bookshop, 48-51 Broad Street, Oxford, United Kingdom

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

GBP 6.00 to GBP 20.00

Icon
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Blackwell's, Broad Street Oxford

Host or Publisher Blackwell's, Broad Street Oxford

Ask AI if this event suits you:

Discover More Events in Oxford

Horrible Histories 2, 26-29 May 2026, AGES 8-14 (\u00a3200)
Tue, 26 May at 10:00 am Horrible Histories 2, 26-29 May 2026, AGES 8-14 (£200)

Oxford High Preparatory School

WORKSHOPS HOLIDAY
The Jungle Book, 26-28 May 2026, AGES 5-8 (\u00a3165)
Tue, 26 May at 10:00 am The Jungle Book, 26-28 May 2026, AGES 5-8 (£165)

Oxford High Preparatory School

WORKSHOPS
Tech For All - OX Tech Week - Founder Panels, Exhibition & Networking event
Tue, 26 May at 04:00 pm Tech For All - OX Tech Week - Founder Panels, Exhibition & Networking event

Business and Intellectual Property Centre Oxfordshire (BIPC)

EXHIBITIONS
Skincare & Makeup Masterclass with Trinny London
Tue, 26 May at 05:00 pm Skincare & Makeup Masterclass with Trinny London

John Lewis Oxford

MEETUPS ART
Connecting Creatives in Oxford
Tue, 26 May at 06:00 pm Connecting Creatives in Oxford

Little Clarendon Street

ART ENTERTAINMENT
Kiefer Sutherland Oxford Tickets
Tue, 26 May Kiefer Sutherland Oxford Tickets

O2 Academy Oxford

TRIPS-ADVENTURES
Kiefer Sutherland
Tue, 26 May at 07:00 pm Kiefer Sutherland

O2 Academy Oxford

Sparkle Central: Costume Workshop with Frisky Whispers
Tue, 26 May at 07:00 pm Sparkle Central: Costume Workshop with Frisky Whispers

East Oxford Community Centre

WORKSHOPS SPORTS
Rhymetime at Oxfordshire County Library (Under 5's)
Wed, 28 Dec at 12:00 pm Rhymetime at Oxfordshire County Library (Under 5's)

Oxfordshire County Library

Comic Book Club at Oxford Westgate Library
Sat, 01 Nov at 11:00 am Comic Book Club at Oxford Westgate Library

Oxford Westgate Library

ART FINE-ARTS
Historic Oxford Writers Tour
Fri, 24 Apr at 10:00 am Historic Oxford Writers Tour

University of Oxford

ART LITERARY-ART
Book at Lunchtime: Haji Imdadullah
Wed, 13 May at 12:30 pm Book at Lunchtime: Haji Imdadullah

Seminar Room 63, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

Turi Munthe WHY WE THINK WHAT WE THINK with Nigel Warburton
Wed, 13 May at 05:30 pm Turi Munthe WHY WE THINK WHAT WE THINK with Nigel Warburton

Blackwell's Bookshop

BUSINESS
Ma\u0142gorzata Lebda with Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Mira Rosenthal
Thu, 14 May at 05:00 pm Małgorzata Lebda with Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Mira Rosenthal

St Anne’s College, Seminar Room 10

ART LITERARY-ART
The Beating Heart: The Art & Science of Our Most Vital Organ
Thu, 14 May at 05:30 pm The Beating Heart: The Art & Science of Our Most Vital Organ

Broad Street, OX1 3AZ Oxford, United Kingdom

ART SCIENCE-FAIR
Alison Light RED, RED ROBIN with Lyndal Roper
Fri, 15 May at 05:30 pm Alison Light RED, RED ROBIN with Lyndal Roper

Blackwell's Bookshop

ART LITERARY-ART
PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOOKSHOP with Carissa V\u00e9liz
Sat, 16 May at 11:00 am PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOOKSHOP with Carissa Véliz

Blackwell's Bookshop

NONPROFIT
Care Worker Celebration and Book Launch
Sat, 16 May at 12:00 pm Care Worker Celebration and Book Launch

Oxfordshire County Library

Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms
Mon, 18 May at 02:30 pm Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms

Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

ART NONPROFIT
Sophia Smith Galer HOW TO K*ll A LANGUAGE with Danny Bate
Mon, 18 May at 05:30 pm Sophia Smith Galer HOW TO K*ll A LANGUAGE with Danny Bate

Blackwell's Bookshop

ART LITERARY-ART

What's Happening Next in Oxford?

Discover Oxford Events