As programmer Liam Brown puts it, "there's no one Christopher Hitchens won't have a go at".

When Clinton was at the height of his popularity, he slammed the president with a book entitled No-One Left To Lie To.

Mother Theresa he dubbed "The Ghoul Of Calcutta".

Which is why this author, journalist, literary critic and self-confessed contrarian is the perfect choice to deliver the first lecture in an annual series marking a turn in the Brighton Festival's Books And Debates programming towards more provocative debate.

A former Trotskyite and darling of the Left, Hitchens made a noisy departure from socialism when he supported Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq. And when he took on George Galloway in a sell-out Iraq War showdown, it proved a seminal moment in contemporary critical debate.

But Hitchens isn't here to talk about Iraq, though it will no doubt feature prominently in the concluding question and answer session.

His subject is Thomas Paine, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the United States, who spent his formative years in Lewes and, in The Rights Of Man, laid down a cornerstone of political liberalism.

"Brighton audiences are very political and Hitchens is somebody who's got very strong, very provocative views," says Brown.

"But he's also a wonderful, witty speaker and a fantastic writer. What he enjoys best is a stand-up argument so I know he will engage people and probably get people's backs up. There's no way anyone will be sitting there bored."

For review, see Saturday's The Argus
Starts at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £7, call 01273 709709