Illustrious guests line up for region's most literary lunch

Her book, Smile Though Your Heart Is Breaking, covers the highs and lows of her marriage to the Hull MP and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

In it, she reveals how she threw him out of their home in a fury after he confessed to an affair with his secretary.

The affair shattered the image of what appeared to be one of the most enduring marriages in politics and led to calls for his resignation.

Mrs Prescott, who was reportedly paid 320,000 for the memoir, said she still cannot forgive him but said their relationship has recovered.

The 70-year-old also writes of fielding telephone calls from Cherie Blair, Alistair Campbell and Harriet Harman, who were concerned about how she would react to the affair becoming public.

Event organisers said: "On their wedding day John promised Pauline that whatever happened she'd never be bored, and with that he was definitely right."

Mrs Prescott also covers the trauma of giving her son Paul up for adoption after becoming pregnant at the age of 16, and their emotional reunion more than 40 years later.

Hull-born entertainer Joe Longthorne will also appear as a guest speaker, and will be giving a preview of his forthcoming autobiography.

The candid account, to be published in April, covers the singer's childhood in Hull's travelling community and his journey to TV stardom.

Mr Longthorne was given poems to turn into songs by the gangster Reggie Kray and moved singer Robin Gibb to tears when he sang for him.

The book was written with journalist and friend Chris Berry and its publication coincides with Mr Longthorne's 150-date world tour.

The lunch is being held on Wednesday, March 24, at Willerby Manor Hotel. Tickets cost 29 and include a glass of wine on arrival, a three-course lunch and a discount for books purchased on the day. They are available from Browns Books in George Street. Call (01482) 325413 for details.

Signed copies of either book can also be ordered for collection from the bookshop.