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Proms Literary Festival

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The Proms Literary Festival - where writers, poets and public figures explore the cultural themes behind this year's Proms concerts.

Tuesday 21 July 4.45pm (before Prom 7)
Historian Alison Weir and critic John Carey explore the myth and reality of Elizabeth I, the monarch who inspired Spenser's The Faerie Queene; Rana Mitter presents.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Sunday 26 July 5.15pm (before Prom 14)
Sir Christopher Frayling, Rector of the Royal College of Art, and novelist D. J. Taylor join Rana Mitter to discuss the key cultural events of 1934, the year in which Delius, Elgar and Holst died.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Friday 31 July 5.45pm (before Prom 20)
Victorian Season: Matthew Sweet introduces dramatic readings, celebrating the infamous villains from Victorian fiction, joined by award-winning biographer Michael Holroyd and writer Elaine Showalter.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Sunday 2 August 5.45pm (before Prom 24)
Victorian Season: Andrew Motion (Poet Laureate, 1999-2009) introduces his choice of Tennyson poems, 200 years after the great poet's birth in 1809. With readings performed by Fiona Shaw.
Watch the webcast

Tuesday 4 August 4.45pm (before Prom 26)
Victorian Season: Roy Hattersley and Professor Valentine Cunningham speak out in defence of the Victorian novel. Are these books still pinnacles of English literature? Matthew Sweet chairs.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Wednesday 5 August 5.45pm (before Prom 28)
Writer and film-maker Dennis Marks and Professor of Modern German Literature Karen Leeder explore the literary legacy of fin-de-siècle Vienna - the world that surrounded Gustav Mahler. Presented by Susan Hitch.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Tuesday 11 August 5.45pm (before Prom 35)
Victorian Season: Ian McMillan explores the power of the partnership between Gilbert and Sullivan, with writer Ian Bradley, author of a complete annotated version of their works.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Wednesday 12 August 5.15pm (before Prom 36)
Journalist Matthew Parris and Professor Lynda Mugglestone join Ian McMillan to celebrate the life and literary legacy of Handel's great contemporary Samuel Johnson, 300 years after his birth.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Saturday 15 August 5.45pm (before Prom 40)
Philip Pullman, author of the award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials, talks to Susan Hitch about the powerful myth of Orpheus.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.
Watch the webcast

Sunday 16 August 5.45pm (before Prom 42)
Prize-winning author Jamila Gavin and 'Binglish' theatre director Jatinder Verma join Rana Mitter to explore great Bollywood stories.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Friday 21 August 5.15pm (before Prom 48)
Edward Stourton talks to Rana Mitter about how the literature of the Middle East has informed his understanding of the region - and selects his personal choice of readings.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during the interval of Prom 50

Sunday 23 August 4.45pm (before Prom 51)
Broadcaster and chaplain Revd Richard Coles, and novelist Janice Galloway, talk to Susan Hitch about the diaries, poetry and letters of composers who also had a literary gift.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Thursday 27 August 5.45pm (before Prom 56)
Stephen Venables, the first Briton to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen, and Chris Smith, former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and mountaineering enthusiast, talk to Ian McMillan about their favourite mountain writing.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Friday 4 September 5.15pm (before Prom 65)
Philosophers A. C. Grayling and Roger Scruton discuss how fin-de-siècle Viennese musicians such as Mahler were influenced by their philosopher contemporaries - and what we today owe to these Viennese thinkers. Susan Hitch hosts.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

Monday 7 September 5.45pm (before Prom 69)
Victorian Season: A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians, and Steven Moffat, co-creator and Executive Producer of the forthcoming BBC drama Sherlock, talk to Matthew Sweet about the enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes and his special love of Mendelssohn.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.
Watch the webcast

Friday 11 September 4.45pm (before Prom 74)
Ian McMillan talks to critic John Mullan about the influential legacy of the novel Don Quixote, while actor Andrew Sachs brings to life the words of Cervantes's hero.
Edited version broadcast on Radio 3 during tonight's interval.

All Proms Plus events are free of charge.
Venue: Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall of the Royal College of Music.
Capacity is limited: we advise arriving early for the more popular events.
To get your copy of the Proms Plus booklet, email proms@bbc.co.uk