What’s the first location that springs to mind when thinking of setting up a Charles Dickens festival? It’s unlikely to be a Texan island. But in 1973, Galveston Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, began a small festival dedicated to the English author. During the 19th century, Galveston, Texas, was the US’s second busiest immigration … Read more
On 18 January 2007 a young American woman died in a car crash in Guatemala City; her name was Hanley Denning and she was only 36 years old. The news of her death barely made it to the outside world, but in Guatemala, thousands of people went into mourning. To Guatemalans, Hanley Denning was known … Read more
My grandmother, who lived in London, took my seaside-dwelling sisters and me to the Natural History Museum when I was about five. I have a vivid memory of standing for a very long time, looking up at the vastness that was the blue whale. This magnificent model, with its expressive eyes, was suspended from the … Read more
In the Ashmolean, look out for a reclining woman reading a book. She may be wearing a black dress, but she is surrounded by vivid bursts of colour: a rich green sofa, a yellow-jacketed book, not to mention her warmly coloured lips and copper-coloured hair. It’s a portrait of the Parisian model Madeleine Boisguillaume, painted … Read more
Spirited and lively, Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter is richly packed with arguments, intrigues, scandals, and secrets, and is a vivid portrait of a princess desperate to escape her inheritance. The secrets of Queen Victoria’s sixth child, Princess Louise, may be destined to remain hidden forever. What was so dangerous about this artistic, tempestuous royal that … Read more
I was lucky enough to interview Damian Le Bas, #author of ‘The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain’ for the Goldster ‘Inside Story’. You can watch the interview below: Subscribe to the Goldster YouTube channel for more of mine and my co-presenter, Humphrey Hawksley’s, Book Club videos.
I’m in Dubai for the Emirates Festival of Literature. Tonight (7 February) is the main event for me, ‘Miss Havisham’s Wedding’, a celebration of the women in Charles Dickens’s life and work in celebration of his 210th birthday. https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/emirates-airline-festival-of-literature/
I was very pleased to be invited to be actor Dominic Gerrard’s first guest on his brand new podcast about Charles Dickens. Listen for free and subscribe to the next episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/charles-dickens-a-brain-on-fire/id1599241462
On Tues 14 December at 12pm GMT I’m doing a free online interview with a really amazing woman, the explorer Rosie Stancer. You can register for free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/purpose-passion-grit-talk-with-lucinda-hawksley-and-rosie-stancer-tickets-223226716117