Farnham Literary Festival has drawn to a close for 2024 with one of the many highlights being a sell-out talk by actor and author Hugh Bonneville. In an amusing and fascinating interview conducted by the filmmaker Jack Jewers, Hugh Bonneville shared anecdotes from his career and clips from films in which he has starred. The only disappointment of the evening was when the star quashed rumours by confirming there will be no new series of Downton Abbey! 

Speaking after his talk, Hugh Bonneville said: “I’m delighted to say that I’ve just had a splendid evening here at St Andrew’s Church as part of the Literary Festival. I think this is the third iteration of the festival and it’s going from strength to strength, and I wish it every success for the future.”

As well as events which were for pure entertainment, the festival included many moments of enlightenment. At History Day at Farnham Castle, best-selling author Alison Weir talked about the wives of Henry VIII and shared the surprise fact that the former King of England kept his mistresses at Farnham Castle.

Commenting on modern-day matters, Instagram sensation and local ‘mumfluencer’ Louise Boyce regaled a sell-out audience with her humorous account of raising children through the school years. 

Councillor Kika Mirylees, Lead Member for Community says: “Farnham Literary Festival prides itself on offering something for everyone and this year was no exception. Over ten days, we arranged 40 separate events. The festival was a fantastic success and we’ve received excellent feedback from both authors and people who attended. 

“Thanks to volunteers there were many memorable moments including when ladies from the local WI dressed up in period costume for the conversation with author Jessica Bull about her novel, Miss Austin Investigates. Thanks must also go to our sponsors the Bush Hotel for supporting a talk about the untold story of parliament’s working women and Moonflower publishers for sponsoring the closing event which was a panel discussion about Gothic fiction.”

Anybody who missed out on the Ghosts at Farnham Castle event will be pleased to know that the self-guided audio story walk has been added to the Discover Farnham app so it can be enjoyed at any time.

Plans will soon be underway for the 2025 Farnham Literary Festival so if you have any comments, feedback or ideas, please do email events@farnham.gov.uk.