THE GREAT DICTATOR A Life of Barbara Cartland

Chaired by Vivian French.

Penniless virgins. Reckless dukes. Flappers. Airmen. Suffragettes. Barbara Cartland made them all fall in love. She wrote 723 books without touching a typewriter: instead she reclined on her sofa with a Pekinese on her lap, and romantic fiction billowed out of her.

Making use of unprecedented access to Cartland’s archives, broadcaster Matthew Sweet’s wickedly funny biography reveals the woman behind the mascara.

After 49 proposals, she chose the wrong man; what followed was a life stranger than any novel, including terrorist plots, seances, plagiarism battles, and even a surprise turn as a campaigner for Romany rights.

Sponsored by Susan Bradbury