Author Erik Larson is Coming to The Music Hall as Part of the WRITERS ON A NEW ENGLAND STAGE Series

By: Feb. 24, 2020
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Author Erik Larson is Coming to The Music Hall as Part of the WRITERS ON A NEW ENGLAND STAGE Series

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Erik Larson comes to The Music Hall as part of the Writers on a New England Stage series on Thursday, March 26. He will discuss his highly anticipated new book, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE, a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during The Blitz. Larson takes readers back to a time when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill's eloquence, courage, leadership, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.

The 7pm event includes an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with Peter Biello, host of New Hampshire Public Radio's broadcast of All Things Considered and The Bookshelf from NHPR, an ongoing segment featuring authors from around New Hampshire and the region.

"Erik Larson is a master at bringing history back to life through the pages of his books," says Biello. "He has captivated millions of readers around the world with his work, and I'm looking forward to diving into his newest work of narrative nonfiction."

Erik Larson's latest book, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE, shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home about 40 miles northwest of central London, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports-some released only recently-Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill's "Secret Circle," to whom he turns in the hardest moments.

Erik Larson is the author of five national bestsellers: Dead Wake, In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil in the White City, and Isaac's Storm, which have collectively sold more than nine million copies. His books have been published in nearly twenty countries. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Russian history, language, and culture; he received a master's in journalism from Columbia University. After a brief stint at the Bucks County Courier Times, Erik became a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, and later a contributing writer for Time Magazine. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, and other publications. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, Dr. Christine Gleason, a neonatologist and the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home.

Tickets for Writers on a New England Stage: Erik Larson with THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE on Thursday, March 26, at 7pm are $13.75. For each 1-2 tickets sold, the purchase of a book voucher (THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE, $32 hardcover) is required. Vouchers can be redeemed on the event night for signed copies of THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE. Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.



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