Wiveliscombe Civic and Historical Society Talk by William Sitwell

William Sitwell’s talk, The Sitwells: Behind the Façade, centres on those extraordinary literary talents of the 20th century, Dame Edith, Sir Osbert and Sir Sacheverell Sitwell. Of aristocratic birth, and whose father was the noted eccentric Sir George Sitwell, they rose to become a glittering trio of sibling writers, poets, essayists, columnists, biographers and more. Edith’s collaboration with the composer William Walton to create Façade remains a work of avant-garde brilliance, Osbert’s autobiography, Left Hand Right Hand is regarded as a piece of extraordinary Edwardian history and Sacheverell’s output of over 130 books of everything from art to travel remains an epic feat. 

While they may have come from upper class stock, their lives were by no means easy. Their mother, in one of the great societal scandals of the age, was sent to prison for fraud in 1912 and they faced a constant battle for recognition and frequently crossed swords with their detractors in the British press. 

While they built their own careers, they were also instrumental in helping and promoting the work of young artists and writers, from Picasso to Modigliani to Siegfried Sassoon to TS Eliot. It’s an extraordinary story of dark humour, of literary squabbles, of public scandal, of great art and epic writing. And all told by William Sitwell, great-nephew to Edith and Osbert, grandson to Sacheverell. 

William, who lives near Wiveliscombe, is one of Britain’s leading food writers. He is restaurant critic for The Telegraph as well as a commentator, features and travel writer for that newspaper. He was the multi-award-winning editor of acclaimed magazine Waitrose Food for 16 years. William has authored four internationally successful books: A History of Food in 100 Recipes (translated into nine languages), Eggs or Anarchy; The Remarkable Story of the Man Tasked with the Impossible: to Feed a Nation at War and The Really Quite Good British Cookbook. His latest book The Restaurant; A History of Eating Out, was published by Simon & Schuster in the UK and US (by Diversion) in 2020 and was described by Bloomberg’s Richard Vines as ‘more entertaining than many a restaurant meal’. A frequent presenter, and guest on TV and radio, a popular speaker at festivals and an events host and MC, he is one of the long-standing critics on the hit BBC show MasterChef. He also entertains diners with Sitwell Supper Club, at his family home of Rooks Nest Farm, and Sitwell Safari – food safaris in towns, villages and city boroughs across the UK. He lives locally with his wife Emily and he has four children.