Stories From Sweden: Agnes Lidbeck & Nichola Smalley
- €13 Coffee & Chat
- Bantry House – Loggia
- 15/07/2026 - 10:00 am
Agnes Lidbeck’s novel All My Love is a quietly unsettling exploration of class, friendship, and societal and political change. With crisp, observant prose, Agnes exposes the jealousy, power plays, and insecurities lurking beneath the veneer of ordered middle-class life. The book is masterfully translated from Swedish into English by award-winning translator Nichola Smalley.
We are joined by both Agnes and Nichola and they will be in conversation with Sara Baume.
Join us for this morning’s Coffee and Chat in the magnificent setting of Bantry House and Gardens. A complimentary coffee and scone are included in the ticket price.
Petra and Johannes seem made for one another. A lawyer and a doctor. Well brought up, ambitious. Their friends Julia and Axel are different – from them, and from each other. Julia fights for her convictions. Axel manoeuvres his way to political power. Desire moves like an undertow between them all, dangerous and destabilising. Inconvenient truths are buried, but can only stay that way for so long. Meanwhile, the country around them changes. Laws tighten. Freedoms are curtailed. People begin to disappear. The personal and the political collide. It is easier, at first, to look away than to let the facts in. Until they arrive at the door.
This event is supported by the Swedish Arts Council as part of the Stories From Sweden programme. It is also part of Cork County Council’s European Culture programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026.
Our Coffee & Chat series is presented in association with Bantry House
Writers
Writer
Agnes Lidbeck
Writer
Nichola Smalley
Writer
