Coffee, Cake & Classics

Join us at Brompton Library every 3rd Wednesday of the month for coffee (or tea), some delicious cake and a chat about books.

We have chosen some of our favourite classics to discuss, please see below for the list:

2025

• November 2025 - Spies by Michael Frayn
• October 2025 - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• September 2025 - The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell
• August 2025 - 1984 by George Orwell
• July 2025 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• June 2025 - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

• May 2025 - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

• April 2025 - Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• March 2025 - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

• February 2025 - A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

• January 2025 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Join us in April for Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.

Much Ado about Nothing is famous Shakespeare’s comedy about love and lovers; those who pretend to hate each other, like Beatrice and Benedick, and those whose love and future wedding was almost ruined by jealousy and nasty gossips (Hero and Claudio).

"I can see he's not in your good books", said the messenger.
"No, and if he were I would burn my library.”
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.”
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

“I wish my horse had the speed of your tongue.”
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

In May, we are talking about Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Crime and Punishment is a timeless psychological masterpiece by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The novel is not only a gripping crime thriller but also a deep examination of morality, guilt, compassion, reconciliation, possibilities of redemption and the salvation of the human soul. Dostoevsky’s main character, Raskolnikov, believes he has the right to commit murder for the greater good. The gruesome murder is planned and done. What the reader is left with is a fascinating study of the human conscience, Raskolnikov’s internal conflict, his mental descent into madness, self-doubt and guilt.

Our choice for June is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

When handsome young Dorian Gray sees a painter's portrait of him, he is transfixed by its reflection of his own beauty. He is troubled by the knowledge that the painting will remain forever youthful and handsome while he himself grows older. Dorian lives a life of hedonistic indulgence, knowing that only the painting will show his moral corruption.

2024

• December 2024 - BYOB - Bring Your Own Book
• November 2024 - Atonement by Ian McEwan
• October 2024 - Small Island by Andrea Levy
• September 2024 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• August 2024 - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
• July 2024 - Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
• June 2024 - Tea, Madeleine and Proust
• May 2024 - The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and other Sci-Fi classics
• April 2024 – Romeo and Juliet by W. Shakespeare, and other famous literary lovers
• March 2024 – Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
• February 2024 – How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino

• January 2024 - The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

December

BYOB - Bring Your Own Book

December's book will be your choice! Which books come to mind when you hear 'classics'? Tell us about it in our December session of Coffee, Cake and Classics.

Choices, choices... which one to choose? My favourite book? Books that I LOVE to read again and again?

In search for the answer I contemplated dipping madeleine into a sensuous warm linden tea in my New-Moon-mug. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my tongue, than a shudder ran through me and - I still could not decide.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. I fell asleep thinking about families, how all families are alike; whereas each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Books about families, love, marriage, friendship... We all know the truth, the one which is universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Even Edward wants to marry Bella, since no measure of time with her would be long enough, only 'forever' sounded perfect.

Someone wisely said, long time ago, that “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

Tell us about your favourite book/s.

In November we will be disccusing Atonement by Ian McEwan.

“This is a book about how a single event ripples through time. But more importantly it is about perspective and how that same event can differ wildly.”

Book review by Christopher Hook

“Ian McEwan's symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative.”

In October, we are celebrating Black History Month. We are disccusing Small Island by Andrea Levy.

British writer Andrea Levy explores her Jamaican roots in her novel Small Island.

“I am English, but all my writing has been trying to understand my Jamaican heritage, family, ancestry. Everything I get excited about is because I have that heritage. “

This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Reclaiming Narratives” and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

In September we are disccussing Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Festival in Bath.

Jane Austen was born in Steventon Hampshire on December 16, 1775.

Next year, 2025, marks 250 years since this remarkable author came into the world. To celebrate this momentous year in Austen history, the Jane Austen Festival will be holding some extra special events throughout the 2025, in addition to the ten days of Jane Austen themed events which make up the September Jane Austen Festival.

The 2025 Jane Austen Festival will take place from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 September 2025.

The Jane Austen Festival

Ten wonderful days of celebrating all things Austen in the beautiful city of Bath.

The Jane Austen Festival in Bath is the largest and longest running Jane Austen Festival in the world. The first Festival in 2001 took place over a single weekend and has since grown into a 10 day programme, drawing over 5000 people from around the world.

The festival begins with our Regency Costumed Promenade, which has been filling the streets of Bath with over 900 people in Regency dress and since 2004 holds the Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costumes’. Full of bonnets, soldiers, and drummers the backdrop of Georgian Bath transports visitors back to the time of Jane Austen.

Join us in August for Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

In an unassuming cafe, there is an urban legend which the strong-willed yet heartbroken Fumiko wants to uncover. She takes us on her own journey, and along the way we meet the other proprietors of the cafe, who share three more heartbreaking yet life-affirming journeys they take to relive the past.

Join us for “Tea, Madeleine and Proust” at Brompton Library, on Wednesday, 19 June.

150 years ago, on 15 April 1874, the first impressionist exhibition opened in Paris.

Remembering her childhood, Lélia Pissarro reaches for Proust’s image of the “petite madeleine”, a cake that opens the floodgates of memory. Monet’s poppy field does that for me because we had an Athena framed print of it in the living room when I was a kid. Looking into it, now as then, I am released from time.

Monet - 'The Poppy Field', 1873

The War of the Worlds is considered a landmark work of science fiction. When H.G. Wells published his novel in 1897, he probably could not imagine the impact of his work.

Science-Fiction turns our dreams of distant worlds, unearthly creatures, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, expendable employees, into fiction. It evokes a sense of wonder and inspires a spirit of questioning what makes us and keeps us human.

Whether you’ve read Wells, Ishiguro, Ursula Le Guin, or enjoyed Edward Ashton’s troubled Mickey7’s adventures, join us for Coffee, Cake & Classics in May.

Come to tell us about your favourite Sci-Fi novel, or film.

2023

• September 2023 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• October 2023 - If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
• November 2023 - The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• December 2023 - The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

In July we discussing Clock Dance by Anne Tyler.

Clock Dance is the story of Willa, someone who has always done something to please others without considering herself.

But, when a stranger asks her to help out another stranger, she says yes and finds her own happiness.