“First Confession – A Sort of Memoir”
Tickets £10 from www.ticketsource.co.uk/stmarybarnes
Most politicians write autobiographies to ‘set the record straight’ and provide retrospective justification for their careers. That is not the case with this book. ‘It occurred to me that to track down myself would enable me to discuss the relationship between politics and identity, the things that had shaped me and whether and how they had come to reflect my life and opinions. As I wrote, the question of identity moved from the wings to centre stage, and roiled politics and nations on both sides of the Atlantic.’
‘Who am I? Who are we?’ Chris Patten’s career has taken him from the outer London suburbs to the House of Commons, a seat in the Cabinet, last Governor of Hong Kong, Chairman of the BBC and Chancellor of Oxford University. About all of these he is enlightening and entertaining. Wise, funny and opinionated, First Confession is a different sort of memoir, a meditation on personal and political identity which, in an age of simplification, reminds us of the complexities of both.
At this launch event, Chris Patten will talk about his new book, respond to questions and sign copies on sale.