Ian Rankin, Salman Rushdie & Richard E Grant Headline Cliveden Literary Festival 2025
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2 weeks ago
Here's everything you need to know about 2025's chicest literary festival
We love literary festivals of all shapes and sizes, but our favourites are those imbued with a heady historical atmosphere thanks to their setting in gorgeously old country estates like Cliveden House. That said, the first Cliveden Literary Festival took place only a few years ago in 2017, thanks to the committee of writers and historians – Andrew Roberts, Natalie Livingstone, Catherine Ostler and Simon Sebag Montefiore – who joined together to breathe new life into the property’s literary history.
Here’s a brief history of Cliveden Literary Festival, plus what to expect in 2025.
Cliveden Literary Festival 2025: A Guide
The History
Cliveden Literary Festival may only date back to 2017, but the house itself has a much longer history. A mansion has stood on this plot since 1666 (transformed then from two hunting lodges), but the first burned down in 1795 and its replacement not long after in 1849. The third iteration of Cliveden was completed in 1851, and the sandy coloured English Palladian marvel has stood proudly ever since. It sits amid 400 acres of greenery, with gardens leading down to the River Thames.
In all of this time, Cliveden has gathered literary significance. In the 1700s, Alexander Pope described the second Cliveden as ‘the bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love’ – a reference to its conception by the Duke of Buckingham as a love monument to his mistress, the Countess of Shrewsbury. The third iteration of the mansion has hosted artistic premiers, housed Royals (from a grieving Queen Victoria to Meghan the night before she wed Harry), and attracted eminent guests including Charlie Chaplin, the Asquiths, Arthur Balfour, Lawrence of Arabia, the pioneer aviator Amy Johnson, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and FD Roosevelt. Perhaps most significantly, Cliveden set the stage for the infamous Profumo Affair between Christine Keller and John Profumer, which ultimately toppled the government.
As Cliveden Literary Festival’s website suggests, ‘With the Festival, which gathers together writers and intellectuals from around the world for a weekend every year, the spirit of Cliveden is renewed.’
What’s On In 2025
The speakers are in: Ian Rankin, Salman Rushdie, Elif Shafak, Richard E Grant, Douglas Murray, Jung Chang, Niall Ferguson, Hallie Rubenhold and Alain de Botton will all speak at the 2025 Cliveden Literary Festival. Elsewhere, Michael Gove and Sarah Vine will tell Andrew Roberts about their marriage and divorce in the political spotlight, and Alex Burghart and Emily Maitlis will tackle the political questions of the day in Cliveden’s very own Question Time.
They will be joined by a whole host of illustrious names, including: Marlon James, Anthony Horowitz, William Boyd, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Joanna Coles, Peter Frankopan, Helen Castor, Tristram Hunt, and plenty more. Find the full line-up here.
Food & Drink
Cliveden is home to a bounty of delicious food options for festival goers, including:
- Cliveden Dining Room, with a set lunch in a formal setting
- Astor Grill, with a set lunch in a more informal setting
- Parea Artisan Cafe, offering hot and cold refreshments for breakfast, lunch and tea in the Festival Food Tent
- Rosie the Citroen H-Van, pouring Laurent-Perrier to be enjoyed in deckchairs
- Citroen Brew Box, serving delicious coffees, teas, cold drinks and homemade cakes on the Forecourt
- Coopers Coffee, for more drinks options
- Greeklicious, serving souvlaki
- Scandilicious, for authentic Scandi street food (think subs, bagels, French fries, milkshakes and mulled wine)
When, Where & How?
The 2025 Cliveden Literary Festival will return to Cliveden House (Taplow, Berkshire SL6 0JF) on the slightly later date of Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October, a few weeks after the usual September date. Cliveden House is a country house located in Berkshire countryside, just outside of London. The gardens are managed by the National Trust, meaning guests are very welcome. The House itself, however, is a luxury hotel; get a taste of what a visit is like here.
Tickets are on sale now, with day tickets priced at £120 (£7.69 booking fee) and weekend tickets £235 (£8.63 booking fee). The ticket price includes entry into all of the events on the day of entry, though it does not guarantee a seat; you should arrive in good time for any session your heart is set on.
