Marlborough LitFest – Celia Imrie, Meet me at Rainbow Corner *SOLD OUT*

Celia Imrie is best known as an award-winning actress, starring in films such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Calendar Girls and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Over the last ten years, however, she has developed an impressive side hustle as a bestselling historical novelist. Her acclaimed Nice trilogy was followed by other hits, including Sail Away and Orphans of the Storm.

Her latest book, Meet Me at Rainbow Corner, recreates the unique wartime atmosphere of The American Red Cross Club for servicemen on Shaftesbury Avenue in London. It’s here that nurse Dot Gallagher, freshly arrived from Liverpool, discovers a haven away from wartime Britain. She discovers love too as she dances the nights away with GIs. There was no rationing in this patch of America in central London – the chewing gum, donuts and cola were free-flowing – and a steady stream of stars performed at the club, including Bette Davis, Fred Astaire and Glenn Miller.

Imrie will be presenting an illustrated talk with her historical researcher, Fidelis Morgan, about the true war-bride stories of courage and camaraderie that lie behind her new novel. “Utterly
charming and engrossing,” says Joanna Lumley. “Hugely enjoyable and meticulously researched…. A must for anyone who likes wartime novels with a difference,” agrees Rosie Goodwin.