Doors at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start
As the autumn nights draw in, join us for a reading from and discussion of Vikki Heywood's tender and warm-hearted debut novel Miss Veal and Miss Ham!
"A gloriously warm-hearted tribute to the courage of hidden lives" — Francis Spufford
"The moving and surprising story of a discreet love, put to its greatest test amongst the tuppenny-ha’penny stamps and mint imperials of a little English post office at the start of the 1950s" — The Reverend Richard Coles
It is 1951 and behind the counter of a modest post office in a leafy Buckinghamshire village Miss Dora Ham and Miss Beatrix Veal maintain their careful facade as respected local spinsters. Together they have built a life of quiet dignity and service in rural England. Now over the course of one pivotal day their carefully constructed world begins to fracture. Changes that will lead to heart-breaking decisions for Miss Veal and Miss Ham. At the heart of this intimate, moving and witty novel is a story of resilience, the dignity of love that cannot be spoken, and the challenges that come when the future no longer feels safe.
Vikki Heywood was Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2003 until 2012 and before that Joint Chief Executive of the Royal Court Theatre. She has been an executive producer of many West End and Broadway productions, including Matilda the Musical. She was Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts 2012-2018 and in 2020 was awarded a Damehood for services to the Arts. Miss Veal and Miss Ham is her first novel.
