8 things we learned from Hillary Clinton at the London Literature Festival

Should a politician ever receive a standing ovation, you can pretty much bet it will be at their party conference (see Theresa May post cough-gate). If they get two standing ovations, they've probably just won a general election.

So last night at London's South Bank Centre you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Hillary Rodham Clinton had just announced the reversal of last November's US election results. She received both a rapturous welcome and farewell from the 3,000 people who had paid just to breathe her oxygen.

Alas, the former Democratic candidate was instead in the capital to promote her new memoir, What Happened. Poised in a pantsuit, the 69-year-old nonetheless seemed to wear a look that said "I can't believe he's in the Oval Office, while I'm on a book tour".

During a heavily political interview, with the questions asked by Radio 4 presenter Jim Naughtie, Clinton spoke for more than an hour in an attempt to set out just what did happen.

Here's what I learnt.

1. Hillary is officially 'not angry' about losing the election

For many in the room last night, it seemed that a strained Clinton was laughing tightly through her frustration at how things have turned out. Not so, she claimed: "I'm not angry, I'm just trying to explain what happened."

2. She wrote the legal definition of 'impeachment'

When discussing the downfall of President Nixon in 1974, back when Clinton was a young lawyer on the investigation, she admitted with a knowing look: "I actually wrote the memo about what an impeachable offence was... if you can believe that." Cue disbelieving laughter rippling round the auditorium.

3. She thinks Vladimir Putin is sexist

"He doesn't like women very much - or at least that's my impression," Clinton told us, when asked by Naughtie for the 'truth' about the Russian President. "From the way he behaves around women, the way he talks to women; he is dismissive and condescending."

But she thinks Trump wants to be like him: "Trump is still trying to please Putin," said Clinton. "He likes that whole authoritarian thing - you know, the bare chest. I think that's his aspiration."

4. She believes Donald Trump is a sex offender

When discussing the leaked Access Hollywood tape in which Trump boasted about "grabbing a woman by the p----", Clinton said it was a clear example of "Trump admitting sexual assault". She added: "Women came forward in the days after that with really graphic stories. There's no doubt about it."

5. She thinks the "double standard is alive and well"

"I believe strongly that the way to get sexism out of politics is to get more women into politics," said the former Secretary of State to cheers and whoops. She added that "voters don't have enough experience to know that women come in different sizes, different hairstyles, different races. There's not enough of us [in politics] so people can say 'oh there's more than one way to do this."

6. Trump was "stunned" to win

Speaking about her phone call to concede the election, Clinton said: "It was really terrible. It didn't last long, there wasn't much to say. He was surprised. He sounded stunned but incredibly ecstatic. You could tell he thought he'd never be receiving that call, and I never thought I'd be making it."

7. She helped to lead a revolution

Clinton hit back at the idea that she didn't have a strong enough "story" to be president (citing her own husband's rag-to-riches narrative as an example). "I was part of a revolution for women's rights that's began in the Sixties with real intensity. I became a leader of that movement."

8. She thinks that women deserve more

"It's the unfinished business of the 21st century to free women from constraints and strictures that hold them back, squash their dreams and give every woman, everywhere a chance to live up to her own goddamn potential," Clinton said, raising her voice.

That almost-curse had the Southbank Centre stamping its feet. Yes, Clinton was here primarily to sell books, but there were glimpses of the woman behind the hardback. It was a 90-minute masterclass in picking yourself up and dusting yourself off - though the two standing ovations probably didn't hurt.

The London Literature Festival is on at the South Bank Centre until Nov 1