Another chance to catch Suzette Field of Last Tuesday Society fame, speaking about her book, A Curious Invitation.

In literature, the party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. Some depict real events, like the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball in Thackeray's Vanity Fair; others draw on the author's experience, such as Lady Metroland’s party in Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies; yet others come straight from the writer's bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams' flying party in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In this lively talk we gatecrash these parties, spanning most of the history of human civilization. Which is the best ever? You decide. Suzette Field is the Tribune of the Last Tuesday Society, which she helped expand, becoming one of London's premier events promoters. Her book A Curious Invitation, The Forty Greatest Parties in Literature (Picador 2012) will be on sale.