‘We’re fascinated by the lives of others – from Boswell to Kardashians’

Caroline Knox on putting together this year’s biography festival

EEACH year, as I begin to start programming the Boswell Book Festival, I find myself wondering why biographies are relevant. As the world’s only festival dedicated to this genre and personal memoir I obviously read many books and to me they are fascinating.

It is impossible not to be gripped by Gulbahar Haitiwaji’s How I Survived A Chinese Re-education Camp, to wonder how she lived through such appalling treatment; and to revisit lives we think we know well such as Mary Queen of Scots who in the hands of Clare Hunter’s wonderful new book Embroidering Her Truth and Denise Mina’s thrilling Rizzio throw a whole new light on our thinking.

The festival is in honour of James Boswell, whose family seat is Auchinleck House in Ayrshire.

Our first few festivals were held there, but it quickly outgrew the available space and we moved to Dumfries House nearby.

For three days people flock to our event to listen and learn about the lives of people from around the world – this year for instance we are working with the Dutch Foundation for Literature and for anyone interested in how life really is in Russia day by day then the Dutch novelist, Pieter Waterdrinker’s account of his life there The Long Song of Tchaikovsky Street is compelling.

There are tales of heroic deeds and royal romances, of those who may not have held high office but kept diaries and wrote letters that not only boil down to darn good read, but offer an insight into a society about which we may know little.

This was the case with Henry ‘Chips’ Channon whose diaries were edited by Simon Heffer who appeared at last year’s online festival and also Lady Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who is visiting us in person this year.

Indeed biographies can change how some figures are perceived. The current queen’s grandfather George V was written off as the dullest of kings.

However, Jane Ridley (who teaches a Masters course in biography at Buckingham University) has found otherwise through exploring previously

inaccessible archives. She will be putting the record straight by talking about what has been described as “the best royal biography I’ve read in decades” by A.N.Wilson who came to Dumfries House to talk about his biography of Queen Victoria

Another example was Miranda Seymour’s book on Annabella Milbanke and her daughter Ada Lovelace which she would have brought to the sadly cancelled festival of 2020. Married to Lord Byron, Milbanke was seen as a prudish wife and cruelly controlling mother.

But Seymour’s book, In Byron’s Wake, her hidden devotion to Byron and her tender ambitions for his mercurial, brilliant daughter reveal a deeply complex but unsuspectedly sympathetic personality.

If we weren’t interested in other people’s lives why would celebrity news website receive 73million visitors in March this year, why would newsagents’ stalls be filled with magazines running interviews and why on earth would the Kardashians be one of the most famous families in the world?

James Boswell is credited as the inventor of the modern biography with his Life of Johnson – you could also call him the first celebrity interviewer as he spilled his life into his famous diaries.

He has upheld his reputation as one of the most innovative writers of the Enlightenment.

Published 223 years ago this month the Johnson biography has never been out of print and there cannot be many other authors whose work has had such longevity.

Oddly enough, it was our online festival last year that cemented my belief that biographies remain relevant. Producing an online event was one that filled us with trepidation – we had no idea if anyone would tune in and take part.

However, we were bowled over by the response from around the world.

There were people in the audiences who will never make it over to East Ayrshire and the response was wonderful.

And for that reason we shall continue to stream most of our events so anyone interested both near and far can join our festival.