Tuesday evening, 7pm (6:30 for tea & cake) - 14 October

Maud Blair will discuss her book, making sense of her mixed identity in the midst of political unrest in 1950's Zimbabwe (Rhodesia).

What does it mean to grow up with an African mother and European father in racially segregated 1950s Rhodesia? For Maud Blair it meant being sent, aged four, to a ‘Coloured’ boarding school run by Christian nuns. It meant being taught in English rather than her native language, which she was encouraged to forget. It meant only seeing her family for two weeks during the school Christmas holiday, where Maud longed for the sense of belonging, she once had.

Labelled as neither African nor European, Maud tries to make sense of her mixed identity in the midst of political unrest and de facto apartheid, taking her to England via South Africa and back to post-independence Zimbabwe. The result is a strikingly original memoir that confronts privilege, prejudice and the place we call home.

Free admission.

Please register for a place on Eventbrite.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library in cooperation with the librarians.

This event will be live-streamed from the Carnegie Library Facebook page where it will also be available to view for a limited period.

13 Park Lane

Tuesday evening, 9 September - 7 pm (6:30 for tea & cake)

At the library (also live-streamed)

On 29 April 1872 a group consisting of a 29-year-old Belgian cook and two English and two French detectives left the train discreetly at Herne Hill station. Marguerite Diblanc, who had been arrested in Paris and extradited, was then taken by cab to police cells in central London. Within weeks she was tried for her life at the Old Bailey. The victim was her employer Madame Riel, a French widow with a shady past, whose actress daughter was the mistress of the Third Earl of Lucan.

The murder had all the elements of a huge scandal, so why did the press fixate instead on the alleged perpetrator's physical appearance?

Historical crime novelist Naomi Clifford digs into theories about criminality and physiognomy and asks whether they played a part in the Diblanc's treatment in the popular press and in the criminal justice system.

13 Park Lane, her novel about the Diblanc case, is published by Bloodhound Books and is available online (multiple platforms) as a paperback, ebook and audiobook and can be ordered from bookshops.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library, working with the Lambeth Library Service

Admission is free, but please register your interest on Eventbrite (this helps with planning).

If you can't make it to the the library, you can watch the livestream on the Carnegie Library Facebook page (no sign in needed). The recording will be available to view for a limited period (usually about 30 days)

Tuesday evening, 12 August - 7 pm (6:30 for tea & cakes)

Published to mark the eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War and spanning 2,000 years of our national history, Lest We Forget tells a monumental British story about the pride, pain and personalities involved in remembering war and peace across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Delving into the individuals and inspirations behind 100 British monuments, acclaimed historian Tessa Dunlop travels the length and breadth of the country to learn more about the people and events which have been memorialised within our local communities.

In doing so, Tessa uncovers a unique story of national warring and national mourning, and reflects on how our memorial-studded country informs the narrative we tell about our history and ourselves.

Featuring powerful testimonies from a cast of military experts and veterans – including Bletchley Park’s Ruth Bourne, Bomber Command’s Colin Bell DFC, and HRH The Duke of Kent – this book serves as a timely reminder of the personal cost of war, the power of remembrance, and that freedom is not free.

ABOUT TESSA DUNLOP

Dr Tessa Dunlop is an award-winning broadcaster, historian, and author. Her previous books include Sunday Times best-selling The Century Girls, The Bletchley Girls, Army Girls and Elizabeth and Philip.

Tessa has featured in numerous historical and royal documentaries on the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and is co-host of the new Global podcast Where Politics meets History.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library in cooperation with the Lambeth Library Service.

Please register your interest at Eventbrite, to help with planning.

This event will be live-streamed from the Carnegie Library Facebook page, where it will also be available for viewing for a limited period (usually at least 30 days).

Tuesday, 8 July 7pm - at the library

* Ultra-Processed

Author Kathryn Bullock will be with us to discuss her book The Ultimate Guide to Food: Why Ultra-Processed Food is Bad for Us

After years of meticulous, in-depth research, Kathryn debunks some of the historic food science. She explains why food matters and what we can do about our global health crisis.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library

In cooperation with the Lambeth Library Service.

This event is free and we invite you to attend in person at the library.

However, it will be live-streamed and this livestream will remain available to view on the Carnegie Library Facebook page for a limited period.

Please register for this event on Eventbrite.

Tuesday, 10 June - 7:00pm (6:30 for tea & cake)

at the Carnegie Library

Meet John Cromer – ‘one of the most original comic creations in recent fiction’ (Guardian) – and discover one of the great overlooked adventures in literature.

‘Thank god for John Cromer and his creator Adam Mars-Jones, one of the funniest, most self-aware characters in English fiction, whose minute observations on everything from constipation to lust are a source of unexpected delight.’ - Linda Grant

Faber

Join author and critic and novelist Adam Mars-Jones and the Friends of Carnegie Library to discuss Adam’s writing, including just published Caret the third-volume in a trilogy (following Pilcrow and Cedilla).

Admission is free

Please reserve a place with Eventbrite (this will assist with planning).

This event will be livestreamed from the Carnegie Library facebook page and will be available to view for about 30 days.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library in cooperation with the Lambeth Library Service.

Tuesday, 13 May - 7 pm

Join Louise to discuss her poetry collection From There to Here, published by indie press Dithering Chaps

Louise Walker taught English for 35 years where she enjoyed sharing her life-long passion for poetry, while snatching moments for her own writing. Over the last few years, her work has been published in many journals and recognised by awards. Born on Merseyside, she is proud to be a Londoner and has lived in Herne Hill for 29 years.

From There to Here is her poetry collection exploring, with painful honesty, how a sibling relationship is shattered when her brother dies suddenly in his twenties but also celebrating unexpected joys in living life after loss.

The Friends of Carnegie Library are delighted to host this evening with Louise Walker, in cooperation with the Lambeth Library Service.

Please register to attend on Eventbrite, to help with planning.

Admission is free.

This event will be livestreamed from the Carnegie Library Facebook Page where it will be available to view for about 30 days