When:

Sunday October 16, 10.00 am 

Where:

King Edward Hotel, 37 King St E.

Brunch is served in the Vanity Fair Ballroom on the second floor of the King Edward Hotel.

Tickets are $55.00 each (taxes included) and must be purchased in advance.

Tickets are non-refundable.

Please call us at 416.361.0032 with your credit card information to reserve tickets

Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today by Simon Morrison

Knopf Canada

On January 17, 2013, a hooded assailant hurled acid into the face of the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, making international headlines. A lead soloist, enraged by institutional power struggles, later confessed to masterminding the crime. The scandal, though shocking, is not an anomaly in the turbulent and tormented yet magnificent history of the Bolshoi. Renowned music historian Simon Morrison reveals the ballet as a crucible of art and politics, beginning with the disreputable inception of the theatre in 1776 and proceeding through the era of imperial rule, the chaos of revolution, the oppressive Soviet years, and the recent $680 million renovation project. Drawing on exclusive archival research, Morrison creates a richly detailed tableau of the centuries-long war between world-class art and life-threatening politics that has defined this storied institution. As Morrison makes clear, as Russia goes, so goes the Bolshoi Ballet.

Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Viking

A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

Fearless as Possible (Under the Circumstances) by Denise Donlon

Anansi

Feminist. Social Activist. Broadcaster. Corporate leader. One of Canada’s most celebrated and dynamic citizens, Denise Donlon has long been recognized as a trailblazer in the Canadian cultural industries.

In this smart, funny, and inspiring memoir, Donlon chronicles her impressive and storied career, which has put her at the forefront of the massive changes in the music industry and media. From her early days at MuchMusic and the cult show The NewMusic, where she was a host and producer, she quickly moved up the ranks as director of music programming and VP and general manager. Her mandate was relevance, during a time when music videos became a medium that would change pop music and popular culture forever. She became the first female president of Sony Music Canada, where she navigated the biggest crisis in the music industry with the rise of Napster and the new digital revolution. She then joined CBC English Radio as General Manager and Executive Director when the corporation absorbed cutbacks on federal funding, leading to mass layoffs, the closure of stations, and a shadow over the future of Canada’s national public broadcaster.

Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve by Alexandra Shimo

Dundurn

A vivid first-person account of life on a troubled reserve that illuminates a difficult and oft-ignored history.

When freelance journalist Alexandra Shimo arrives in Kashechewan, a fly-in, northern Ontario reserve, to investigate rumours of a fabricated water crisis and document its deplorable living conditions, she finds herself drawn into the troubles of the reserve. Unable to cope with the desperate conditions, she begins to fall apart.

A moving tribute to the power of hope and resilience, Invisible North is an intimate portrait of a place that pushes everyone to their limits. Part memoir, part history of the Canadian reserves, Shimo offers an expansive exploration and unorthodox take on many of the First Nation issues that dominate the news today, including the suicide crises, murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, Treaty rights, Native sovereignty, and deep poverty.