“One of the bravest, strongest, funniest memoirs I’ve ever read.”
– Bonnie Garmus

From Withnail and I to Spice World, the Academy-Award nominated actor tells all in an honest, hilarious memoir reflecting on finding happiness even on the darkest of days.

Since his 1978 silver screen debut, Richard E. Grant has performed a string of unforgettable roles, delivering such iconic lines as, “We want the finest wines available to humanity — we want them here and we want them now.” But perhaps his most treasured role was that of husband to renowned dialect coach Joan Washington, to whom he was married for almost forty years.

When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find a “pocketful of happiness in every day”; his new memoir A Pocketful of Happiness looks back on his marriage, parenthood, and the highs and lows of a Hollywood career, always seeking a silver lining.

Expect a host of hilarious anecdotes and more mindful musings from one of cinema’s greatest treasures in this unmissable evening of conversation about life, loss, and finding joy in unexpected places.

Richard E. Grant came to London in 1982, where he waitered, repped, toured and fringed until getting a role in a television satire about advertising, which led to his being cast in the cult classic Withnail And I. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Supporting Actor in Can You Ever Forgive Me? He has published several books and has written pieces for The Sunday Times, The Observer, Vanity Fair and Premier Magazine.

This event will be chaired by Rick O’Shea, RTE Broadcaster, Irish Independent books columnist and arts event curator and host. He also runs Ireland’s largest book club.