Lucinda Hawksley

I’m very pleased to have been asked to give a fundraising speech for an inspirational new charity, Spark Inside:

http://www.sparkinside.org

The talk will be on Dickens and Prisons and will take place on 3 November. More information to follow.

Off to the Wisbech Festival today to talk about The Mystery of Princess Louise.

http://wisbechartsfestival.org.uk/talks/talk-the-mystery-of-princess-louise/

Come along to the Wisbech Arts Festival next week. I’ll be speaking about Princess Louise’s friendship with Octavia Hill at 2pm on Thurs 15 May. Follow the link and the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice they have spelt my name incorrectly…

http://wisbechartsfestival.org.uk/talks/talk-the-mystery-of-princess-louise/

Tickets are now available from The Ruskin Society for my talk on 12 May on Ruskin, Dickens & the Pre-Raphaelites. It’s at 7pm at the Artworkers’ Guild in Queen Square, London.

http://www.theruskinsociety.com/Events/2014-05-12_Flyer.pdf

I was thrilled to be asked to deliver the inaugural lecture for Chwarae Teg at Cardiff University this week, here are some pictures of what was a great evening: http://www.flickr.com/photos/65772356@N06/sets/72157642335439763/

Thank you to Chwarae Teg and GRO Cardiff for inviting me and to the audience for being so enthusiastic.

My biography of the sculptor Princess Louise is “Book of the Month” in the latest edition of Majesty magazine. It is described as: “Spirited and lively, The Mystery of Princess Louise is richly packed with arguments, intrigues, scandals and secrets, and is a vivid portrait of a princess desperate to escape her inheritance”.

Princess Louise merits eight pages in the latest edition of Royalty magazine! Jonathan Taylor’s great review ends with the words: “With royal biography the reviewer’s task can sometimes be a disappointing one, faced with little more than the updated retelling or, worse still, hagiography. The Mystery of Princess Louise stands out as a bold and insightful portrait of a remarkable woman.”

My talk about the language and images of propaganda in the First World War (delivered for the British Council and the English Speaking Union) is available to watch on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWPq8bgezt22yCpewJYizVHmjbOS46MpC 

Rachel Crossley in The Observer writes of my biography of Princess Louise: “I was … far too caught up with this improbable princess, a beautiful, charming woman who loved to bicycle and to smoke, who was always happy to share her recipe for oyster path and who holidayed, at the end of her life, in Sidmouth, where she enjoyed the table d’hote at the exclusive Fortfield hotel.”

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/29/mystery-of-princess-louise-review

I was thrilled that The Times made The Mystery of Princess Louise their Book of the Week last week and this week she’s their Critic’s Choice. Thank you! Find out more here:
http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/the-mystery-of-princess-louise-queen-victorias-rebellious-daughter/9780701183493

The first newspaper to write about my new book, The Mystery of Princess Louise, was The Daily Mail, under the following headline: “Queen Victoria’s ravishing daughter, a secret love and a sex scandal the Royal Family’s STILL trying to cover up”.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508123/The-Mystery-Princess-Louise-Queen-Victorias-daughter-secret-love-Royal-sex-scandal.html#ixzz2m18FnLlN

I really enjoyed the new play about Lizzie Siddal, by Jeremy Green at the Arcola Theatre, the cast is excellent. If you want to know more, here’s an article from the Daily Express:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/444879/Art-review-Tragic-life-of-the-first-supermodel?

My biography, Lizzie Siddal, The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel, which inspired Jeremy’s play, is now out in paperback.

On Monday morning I was asked onto The Today Programme to talk about why I was denied access to Princess Louise’s files in the Royal Archives while working on my book The Mystery of Princess Louise, you can listen to part of the interview here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25085356

Christopher Hastings from The Daily Mail called to ask me about my opinion of the new Ralph Fiennes film, The Invisible Woman (based on Claire Tomalin’s excellent biography of Ellen Ternan):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2512536/The-truth-Dickenss-young-lover-family-Great-great-great-granddaughter-says-new-film-showing-affair-novelist-young-actress-based-fact.html

An article on my book The Mystery of Princess Louise, in the Daily Telegraph: “Queen Victoria’s rebellious sixth daughter Princess Louise had an illegitimate child with her brother’s tutor, a leading biographer has claimed” by Alice Philipson:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10472477/Queen-Victorias-daughter-Princess-Louise-had-illegitimate-son-with-brothers-tutor.html

The story of Princess Louise’s illegitimate son has made it to the US media, here’s an article from The Daily Beast.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/28/queen-victoria-s-illegitimate-grandchild.html

Don’t miss the Arcola Theatre in London’s production of a new play about Lizzie Siddal (written by Jeremy Green and based on my biography), which runs 20th November-21st December. I will be giving a post-show talk about Lizzie on 17th December.

http://www.arcolatheatre.com/production/arcola/lizzie-siddal

The Mystery of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Rebellious Daughter is being published on Thursday 21 November, you can read all about it in today’s Daily Mail (and order it for a discount price):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508123/Queen-Victorias-ravishing-daughter-secret-love-sex-scandal-Royal-Familys-STILL-trying-cover-up.html

My author photo was taken by the extremely talented photographer John Quintero. As part of the photo session, we decided to emulate John Everett Millais’ painting Portrait of Mrs Perugini (1874-80). The portrait is of the artist Katey Perugini (née Dickens) as a wedding present for her second husband, Carlo Perugini. Katey is the subject of my second biography. To find out more about John Quintero, take a look at his impressive website:

http://blog.johnquintero.com/?p=448

My latest book, The Mystery of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Rebellious Daughter is being published by Chatto on 21 November. It is available for pre-order and I am taking bookings for talks and festivals.

You can see more about the book (and pre-order) here: http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/the-mystery-of-princess-louise-queen-victorias-rebellious-daughter/9780701183493

I’m looking forward to speaking at several festivals this month: I’ll be at the Havant Literary Festival (Sunday 6th October), the Wantage [not Just] Betjeman Festival (Thursday 24th October) and the inaugural Harrogate History Festival (26th October).

I’m looking forward to talking about March, Women, March at Amersham Library at 6.30pm on Saturday 5 October. You can reserve tickets in advance on 0845 230 3232, or if there are any left you can buy one at the door.

My new book, March, Women, March is published today by Andre Deutsch: http://www.prionbooks.co.uk/books/products/March-Women-March

Apologies for any confusion over Amazon and Waterstones showing the incorrect book (with a different title!) on their websites. If you order from them, you will receive the correct book despite the erroneous image.

I will be speaking about my new book, March, Women, March, on Saturday 15 June at 12pm. For more information and to book tickets, please go to the University of Warwick’s festival website:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/ias/bookfestival/authorpage/#LH

I’m really honoured to have been asked by Ruth Richardson (author of the excellent Dickens and the Workhouse) to unveil a new blue plaque to Charles Dickens. The unveiling will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 8 June, more details below:
http://www.dickensfellowship.org/Events/new-blue-plaque-be-unveiled-dickens-london

This summer, the Dickens Museum in Broadstairs is celebrating its 40th birthday. I’ll be speaking on the evening of Sunday 16 June; in the afternoon there will also be a garden party at the museum. It’s all part of the Broadstairs Dickens Festival:

http://www.broadstairsdickensfestival.co.uk

Tickets are now on sale for my event at the Hay Festival at 4pm on Friday 31 May. I will be talking about my new book, March, Women, March: Voices from the Women’s Movement.

My new book, March, Women, March: Voices of the Women’s Movement, is coming out on 9 May. I will be speaking at libraries and literary festivals, including the Hay Festival on 31 May.

On 15 January, at 9pm, “Find My Past” on the Yesterday TV channel is about the Staplehurst Rail crash in 1865. My cousin Ollie Dickens and I are on the programme talking about our ancestor, Charles Dickens, who was one of the people caught up in the disaster.

The spectacular theatrical production of “Great Expectations” is finally coming to the West End stage in London, from 1 February 2013 it will be at the Vaudeville Theatre:

http://www.greatexpectationstheshow.com

You can book tickets online or at the theatre.

I’m really looking forward to the three-part series “Queen Victoria’s Children”, on BBC 2 at 9pm on 1-3 January 2013. My biography of the sculptor Princess Louise (6th child of Victoria and Albert) is being published by Chatto in November 2013. As a result, I am one of the interviewees for the programme, and can be seen in the first two episodes on 1 and 2 January. One of my favourite comments so far about the programme came from the Radio Times, which described the interviewees as “a sort of firing squad of biographers”. What a superb description!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ptvwj

In the summer, I was interviewed for the French radio programme La Fabrique de l’Histoire about the Dickens bicentenary year, you can hear it here. It was aired on Christmas Eve 2012 and will be available to download for a year:

http://www.franceculture.fr/emission-la-fabrique-de-l-histoire-speciale-documentaires-13-2012-12-24

Yesterday I met a remarkable women, her name is Baillie Aaron, a Canadian working in London, who is really helping to turn around the lives of young people in need. The project she has set up is called Spark Inside, please take a look:

http://www.sparkinside.org

You can find out more about Katey, by following this link to hear my interview with Chick History, a project that invites contemporary women to talk about the historic women who have inspired them:

http://herstoryproject.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/herstory-37-katey-perugini-by-lucinda.html

I am very much looking forward to visiting Galveston Island, Texas, again this year, for the Dickens on the Strand festival. It will be even bigger and better this year, to mark Dickens’ bicentenary. If you’re in Texas 30 Nov-2 December, come and say hello.

http://www.galvestonhistory.org/Dickens_Overview.asp

I recently finished updating my biography of Katey Perugini (née Dickens), the artist daughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens. I am so excited about having had the chance to add in all the new information people sent me after reading my first biography of her and realising they owned works by her. Thank you very much to all those people, it is much appreciated. The book is coming out in July 2013 with Globe Pequot press. Watch this space for more info…

Last week I was lucky enough to visit the Tate Britain’s new exhibition. “The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde”. The result was this video:
http://www.artfund.org/what-to-see/exhibitions/2012/09/12/pre-raphaelites-victorian-avant-garde

Another extract from the Warwick University Dickens project, me reading the 1857 preface to Little Dorrit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKohWpBrK8U

My very brief appearance on BBC London News talking about the Tate Britain’s new Pre-Raphaelite exhibition:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19561531

My interview with Zee News (I’m not entirely sure I like being described as “progeny”…):
http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/message-of-a-christmas-carol-was-gandhian_798166.html

Warwick University has worked on a new Dickens project, here is a video from my interview with them about Dickens as a husband and father (very very bad hair day – this should have been a radio interview!).

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/dickens/victorian/husband-and-father/

I was thrilled to find out about a new stage version of Great Expectations (stage play written by the very talented Jo Clifford). The play begins its UK tour on 12 September at Richmond Theatre in Surrey. It will be travelling around the UK visiting theatres in Woking, Malvern, Brighton, Birmingham, Darlington, Southampton, Aylesbury and Aberdeen before starting in the West End in 2013. To find out more visit http://greatexpectationstheplay.com

I’m really looking forward to working with the company, and will be giving talks before some of the performances.

I had an amazing time at the Hay-on-Wye book festival. What a wonderful insitution it has become. Thanks to everyone who helped make my event such a success, I really do appreciate it.

Thanks very much to Steve Wright for mentioning my Charles Dickens book event at Hay-on-Wye lit fest on his Radio 2 afternoon show. You can listen again here (I get a name check about 12 minutes in):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01hzkl7/Steve_Wright_in_the_Afternoon_with_Phil_Tufnell_John_Cooper_Clarke_and_Adrian_Evans/

On 15 May, I shall be giving a talk at SAF restaurant, upstairs at Wholefoods on High Street Kensington (London). The evening starts at 6.45pm. I’ll be talking about Charles Dickens and SAF will be serving delicious food. For more information or to buy tickets, email Francesca on: francesca@bboheme I hope to see you there.

I shall be talking about 200 Years of Charles Dickens at Shepherd’s Bush Library, London W12 on Saturday (28th April) at 3pm. A few people have told me they don’t know where the library is. It is on Wood Lane next to Westfield shopping centre (if you go to the old Shepherd’s Bush library you will encounter the new Bush Theatre, pop in and say hello and have a drink in their cafe, it’s great).

A big thank you to everyone who came along to my World Book Night talk at High Wycombe Library on Monday (and to the lovely woman who gave me a WBN free book) and to those of you who came along to Richmond Library last night (and to the very kind man who brought me a present of his own book). You were two wonderful audiences who made my final week of writing my book on Princess Louise a lot less stressful.

p>If you’re a fan of proper bookshops, then one of the shops you should know about is Bookmark in Spalding, Lincolnshire. I gave a talk there last night and was so impressed by how huge, comprehensive and welcoming the shop is. There’s a lovely cafe too, so it’s worth making a special trip to visit it.

As you may be aware, the controversial decision has been made to close the Charles Dickens Museum in London for most of the Dickens bicentenary year. I have received many queries about this and I would like to clarify that I took no part at all in this ludicrous decision, nor was I told about it until very recently. I have tried to persuade the director and trustees to re-arrange the renovations work for 2013 instead, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

I have not been given a truthful reason for the closure, despite having asked for one several times. I was told that the museum was being “forced” to close by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), I was told the HLF funds would run out at the end of 2012, so there was no chance to delay the building work. Unfortunately, I have since found out that this is completely untrue. The HLF, who have generously agreed to give the museum two very large grants and a loan,  told me that they have never insisted on the closure this year. They also said that they suggested to the museum that 2013 would be a far preferable year in which to close. This has been ignored by the museum and I have not been given any genuine explanation for why the decision to close in 2012 was made. The HLF stated to me uncategorically: “The decision to close in the bicentenary year came from the museum itself, not from us”.

The museum will be closed from 10 April until 1 December (if the building work goes to plan of course. Let’s hope they have booked reliable builders, encounter no structural problems and that we don’t have a wet summer!). I am so very sorry for any Dickens fans who have specially planned to visit London in his bicentenary year. Unfortunately, the museum will be closed all through the Olympics and the International Dickens Fellowship Conference.

I have had several emails from people very upset about the closure as they have donated money to the museum’s renovations fund and now won’t be able to visit the museum during their trip to England in 2012. To those people, I can only apologise and say that I have tried to get the museum’s management to listen to people’s concerns and to postpone the renovations. They refuse to respond. I can do nothing about the donations, sadly, but please feel free to take up your grievance with the museum. Thank you.

I was invited onto the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 to talk about the impending closure of the Charles Dickens Museum, in the year of his bicentenary. You can listen to it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9680000/9680653.stm

Today I was interviewed by the BBC World Service for a special programme on Dickens and India; it will be broadcast in time for his bicentenary. Depending on which region you live in, it will go live on either 6th or 7th Feb.

If you’re studying Dickens with the Open University, new podcasts are soon going to be available to you. I really enjoyed meeting the lovely Eve yesterday, who has been interviewing several Dickens experts and will be getting the podcasts of our interviews ready to download in the next few months.

I was interviewed this week by Robin Gibson from BBC South East. We had a great time in Rochester talking about Charles Dickens. It will be shown on TV during the week of 7th February (the date of Dickens’ 200th birthday).

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Tickets are now on sale for my events at Highgate Cemetery, I’m talking about Lizzie Siddal on 11 February. Booking has to be done in advance by email only:  events@highgate-cemetery.org.

The same email address can be used to book tickets for my talk on the Dickens family at Highgate on 13 February.

I was thrilled to receive the Wilkie Collins Society newsletter which contains a glowing review of my book by none other than BBC Radio 4’s Paul Lewis (of Money Box fame). He describes it as “the most unusual of the bicentenary offerings … a brilliant collection of pictures, play programmes, letters and manuscripts reproduced with great care … bite-sized chapters take you through the events of Dickens’s life in a straightforward and engaging manner written with great style by his great-great-great-granddaughter…. At £30 it is amazing value and worth the price…. Warning – it is a bit big to read on the train!”

p>I shall be one of the guest speakers at the V&A Museum of Childhood’s conference on 18th June 2012, for more information about the day, follow the link:  http://www.le.ac.uk/engassoc/conferences/D2012.html

The Dickens Bicentenary year has begun at last – many years of preparation have gone into organising the celebration and the Dickens 2012 website provides information about events all over the world.

To find out about talks I’ll be giving to commemorate 200 years since Charles Dickens’ birth, click on my Speaking Engagements page.

In February, I shall be marking two very important occasions at Highgate Cemetery, both talks are to raise funds for the cemetery’s upkeep, so please do come along and support them.

On 11 February, it will be exactly 150 years since the death of Lizzie Siddal, who is buried at Highgate, so come along to a talk that evening on the life and death of the original supermodel.

On 13 February, I shall be giving a talk about the Dickens family’s connection to Highgate. Catherine Dickens, wife of the novelist, and their infant daughter Dora are both buried in the cemetery, as are several other Dickens family members. Come along and discover a different side to the Dickens bicentenary year.

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custom writingp>On Sunday 22 January, the British Library in London will be revisiting the historic idea of Penny Readings, where you really can buy tickets for just 1p. I’ll be one of the readers, alongside Anna Maxwell Martin, A S Byatt, Arthur Smith, Louis de Bernieres, Patricia Hammond, Romany and Tweedy the Clown.

I really enjoyed taking part in the BBC programme Mrs Dickens’ Family Christmas, not least because Sue Perkins is even funnier in real life than she is on TV. It’s available to watch on BBC iPlayer for another few days:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b018nt6m/Mrs_Dickens_Family_Christmas/

(Rumour has it that the documentary has also been uploaded to You Tube.)

11 February 2012 will be the 150th anniversary of Lizzie Siddal’s death. I am talking to Highgate Cemetery about marking the occasion and will update my website when I have some news to share.

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November and December are going to be very busy months for book events, both in the UK and overseas. You can find out more on my Speaking Engagements page, but as a taster, I shall be talking about my new book. Charles Dickens (published by Andre Deutsch) in London, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Bristol, Texas, Chicago and New York between now and Christmas.

p>A lovely piece about my book appeared in The Sunday Times’ Culture section. Richard Brooks wrote: “[it] contains fascinating documents and memorabilia, copies of which can be removed from specially designed ‘envelopes’ inside the book. These really bring alive Dickens’ life, and include his handwritten Coutts bank account; previously unseen photos from his daughter Katey’s photo album; and his reading copy, with annotated notes, of Oliver Twist.”

My visit to the Morley Literature Festival marked the beginning of the publicity for Charles Dickens, published by Andre Deutsch. I have a number of talks coming up over the next year, at libraries, bookshops and literary festivals, so if you’re looking for an event near you, please check my speaking engagements page for updates.

p>In August, John Ruskin’s home in Brantwood opened an exhibition of works by artist Hayley Lock, accompanied by text written by me. Hayley and I had great fun working on (Now That Would Be) Telling, which was a project melding fact and fiction. The exhibition is now closed, but my text can still be read online:
http://nowthatwouldbetelling.com/brantwood/

(Now That Would Be) Telling, curated by Catherine Hemelryk, is travelling around the country, with Hayley producing five different collections of works, at five fascinating venues, with five writers (who are equally fascinating!). On 1 October, the London exhibition opened at Dr Johnson’s House, with text by the very talented Hallie Rubenhold.

You can find out more about Hayley’s work on her website: http://hayleylock.com/

I’m “Twitter-friends” with Leeds Book Club and was asked to give an author interview about the book they had most recently read, my Lizzie Siddal, The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel. The interview – in which I do get slight verbal diarrhoea at one point – is now available as a podcast. There’s a little bit of skype-induced white noise in the middle, but it doesn’t last very long. You can listen to it here:
http://www.leedsbookclub.com/2011/10/podcast-interview-with-lucinda-hawksley.html 

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Many people will have seen the article about my new book, Charles Dickens, in The Sunday Times on 2 October. It was great publicity, but rather inaccurate. Not least because, in the interview, I stated at least twice that Catherine Dickens was NOT an alcoholic. I explained that the ridiculous rumours of her alleged “drink problem” were started by supporters of Dickens who were trying to justify his decision to separate from her.

The article also implies that I believe Dickens slept with one or both of his sisters-in-law, in fact I said the opposite, that, yes, there have been rumours, but I don’t believe them. Another inaccuracy to correct is that the wrong publisher was credited; the real publisher of my book is Andre Deutsch (part of Carlton Books). Having said which, the article is great publicity, but anyone buying the book and thinking it’s going to be a sex-scandal-filled exposé is going to be rather disappointed. It’s a great book though!

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I’m very excited to be visiting Texas again this December. I’ve been asked to the 38^th Dickens on the Strand Festival on Galveston Island. The festival is a wonderful opportunity to dress up and enjoy everything Dickensian. I shall be making regular guest appearances, enjoying the events, mingling with carollers, British bobbies and Steampunks, and signing books (I also hope to be able to do some dolphin watching, I was very lucky last year). Find out more and book tickets at: http://www.galvestonhistory.org/Dickens_Overview.asp

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p>The very first talk I give about my new book will be at the Morley Literary Festival near Leeds. The festival takes place on 8-16 October. I will be talking about Charles Dickens at the Literary Lunch on Monday 10^th October. http://www.morleyliteraturefestival.co.uk/portfolio/charles-dickens-–-200-years-on/

On 1 October my new book about Charles Dickens is being published by Andre Deutsch. It was really good to work with Andre Deutsch again, as they did such a great job with my Lizzie Siddal biography. The book is being published to commemorate  the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth (he was born on 7 February 1812). I will be doing a number of speaking engagements to mark the publication of the book, starting in October 2o11 and continuing all through 2012, so please keep checking my Speaking Engagements page.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charles-Dickens-Lucinda-Hawksley/dp/0233003290

p>50 British Artists You Should Know was published by Prestel in April 2011. It’s a look at some of the most important and / or controversial artists in British art history, from Nicholas Hilliard to Banksy and was great fun to write. I loved being able to get some of my favourite artists in there, including William Hogarth, John Everett Millais, L.S.Lowry, Maggie Hambling and Yinka Shonibare. 50 British Artists You Should Know is available at Amazon, at all good bookshops and in all good art gallery bookshops.

http://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/products/reference_books/p_1032464

The BAFTA-award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes revealed in an interview for The Independent on Sunday that she is currently reading Katey: The Life and Loves of Dickens’s Artist Daughter because Charles Dickens is her “mad pash”. Miriam Margolyes is currently appearing on the West End stage to great acclaim in the musical Wicked.

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p>I was interviewed by Karl Moore of Writers FM  the online radio station written by writers for writers. We chatted for well over an hour about both my biographies: Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel and Katey: The Life and Loves of Dickens’s Artist Daughter. To find out more about Writers FM and to download the interview (please be aware that this does take some time) go to www.writersfm.com/writersfm