The First Wednesday Book Club – Antony Beevor: Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs

The First Wednesday Book Club

A deep dive into great books we really love in conversation with their authors.

For the 2026 National Year of Reading we are delighted to be launching LAR’s First Wednesday Book Club, a conversation on the first Wednesday of each month with a writer about one of their books, sometimes a new publication, and sometimes a classic from their back catalogue. The format is a 45-minute interview followed by a half-hour audience Q&A and a book-signing. All the events are open to everyone. If you’d like to read the books beforehand they can be purchased at a special LAR discount from our partner, Stanton Stephens at Castle Books, and may be borrowed from Ludlow Library.

The series is curated and chaired by Peter Florence, Director of The Conversation at St Martin in the Fields in London and founder of book festivals from Brazil to Bangladesh via London and Hay.

Antony Beevor: Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs

The author of Stalingrad, Russia – Revolution and Civil War, The Battle for Spain and Berlin is, as Dan Snow says “the gold standard of narrative history”.

How did an obscure Siberian peasant come to wield such extraordinary influence at the heart of imperial Russia? Antony Beevor cuts through scandal, myth and rumour to reveal how belief, fear and reputation helped undermine the world’s greatest autocracy. It’s an astonishing tale about one of history’s most charismatic and consequential individuals and offers an invaluable insight into Russian culture and myth.

European Festivals Forest 

We are working to mitigate our event's carbon footprint with simple and transparent climate action. Please help us by planting a tree for just £2 in the European Festivals Forest.  You can opt in at checkout.