For the closing event at a literature festival, John Julius Norwich might seem an odd choice. Indeed, on Sunday, King’s Hall was only about two-thirds full. But, if you didn’t go, you missed a treat. Lord Norwich’s culture and erudition shone as he read a series of extracts from his latest work, The History of England in 100 Places. From Stonehenge (why did they build it so near the road, wonder the American tourists) to the Gherkin (aka Crystal Phallus), he pins on to English landmarks, reflections on history, politics, social change, architecture, military and agricultural developments and, yes, literature.

His audience relished both the detail and the big picture, as was clear from appreciative murmurings throughout. Especially interesting were his comments on Birmingham – the silicone valley of its time – with its own Midlands enlightenment, and whose prime movers felt no need ever to go to London. Then there was Cragside in Northumberland, a hideous house but whose owner, Lord Armstrong, was “England’s Alfred Nobel”; an armaments manufacturer, impartially selling guns to both sides in the American Civil War, yet also a philanthropist, generously endowing institutions in Newcastle. The book is a journey through England’s rich and hybrid history, simultaneously informative and entertaining.

Judith Dunn