Now under way is one of the country's leading literature festivals, the NEC Harlequins-sponsored Book Now! which has attracted some of the great names of modern British literature.

Tonight, the best selling author of Destiny, Sally Beauman, gets the weekend's activities under way as she discusses her new book, Rebecca's Tale, which explores the unsolved and tantalising mysteries surrounding Daphne Du Maurier's classic, Rebecca.

On Sunday, the Orange Tree Theatre hosts the award-winning Jacqueline Wilson, one of the biggest selling children's authors in Britain. She will talk about how she gets her ideas, what she likes most about being a writer and her recent books, including Sleepovers, Dustbin Baby and Vicky Angel.

Monday sees Beryl Bainbridge talking about her latest work, According To Queeney. This factually-based novel evokes the last years of Samuel Johnson in Georgian London.

Times journalist Ben Macintyre has uncovered an extraordinary story of love and betrayal during the Second World War in A Foreign Field, which he will talk about on Tuesday in the Old Town Hall, Richmond.

On Wednesday, actor Nigel Planer will talk about his latest book Faking It, a humourous and incisive analysis of the crisis in modern relationships.

Rounding the week off is broadcaster and archaeologist Julian Richards who will talk about his The Vikings, the subject of his latest series for BBC2, The Blood Of The Vikings.

* For details of these events, see the listings below.

November 12, 2001 13:30