King’s Hall was full to capacity for Sandi Toksvig. Her delivery is remarkable for its speed, concision, clarity and flashes of humour. She and interviewer James Nash covered a huge range of topics, from her Danish/English parentage, via her arrival in England at 16 to the careers of her three children and her latest novel, Valentine Grey. This is the story of a young woman chafing against the restrictions of Victorian society, who impersonates her unsoldierly cousin and goes to fight the Boer. As a woman, Toksvig is far more interested in the personal side of war than in its hardware, and this is a deeply personal story. And one to which we are promised a sequel; Valentine is so young at the end that her creator feels she has far more to say. Toksvig’s play, Bully Boys, currently running in London, also deals with war, from the mental health angle. Pointing out that physically uninjured veterans are far from undamaged (witness the 264 suicides among Falklands survivors – more than the 255 casualties), she pleads a powerful case for greater understanding. Asked which aspect of her work she would choose if she had to, Toksvig had to say broadcasting (Radio 4 alone is worth the BBC licence fee). Let’s hope she never has to choose!

Judith Dunn