RMB 65, includes a drink

Adam Williams joins us to talk about his new book, The Book of the Alchemist: Courage and Redemption in War-Torn Spain. This is a book about politics and religion, about tolerance and intolerance, about love across religious and social barriers. About contradiction -- architect who builds a cathedral on top of a hidden mosque -- and full of hidden passages, hidden loves, deception, betrayal, war and redemption.

In a conversation with local Shanghai historian Paul French, Adam will talk about his book and explain the reasons why he has branched into medieval European history to create an epic novel that is full of excitement, colour, adventure and romance, and which at the same time explores dark themes that are relevant to the world today.

Joining them will be Russian businessman, historian and Orientalist, Maxim Moskalev, formerly of the Oriental Studies Institute of Moscow University, where he headed the Komsomol (Communist Youth League) until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation about ideologies and fanaticism and how extremes of religious or political belief can shake the fabric of a tolerant society – in the past as indeed the present.