A Very Country Christmas
I was also lucky enough to meet the fab Ellie Harrison and film in Malton in Yorkshire for the BBC’s ‘A Very Country Christmas’. It’s available to watch in the UK on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qf9g
1 December: Dickens’s Lost Portrait
This portrait of Charles Dickens was painted at the exact time he was writing A Christmas Carol, in 1843 – and then lost for almost 175 years. Join me to discover what was happening in Dickens’s life while he was working on his most famous Christmas book. I’ll also tell you about the talented female artist who painted his portrait and how she helped to inspire his writing. Fnd out the remarkable story behind the “lost portrait”, how it was re-discovered and how it can help us understand the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim.
The talk is taking place at 6pm UK time, and is joinable from all over the world. Tickets are on sale via Eventbrite, but the event will be on Zoom.
Telegraph Picture of the Day
I was really privileged to be photographed by the brilliant Charlotte Graham for the 175th anniversary of ‘A Christmas Carol’ holding the beautiful edition of Dickens’s classic story, which is owned by the people of Malton in Yorkshire (the home of Dickens’s friends, the lawyer Charles Smithson and his wife Elizabeth). Charlotte’s image was chosen as one of the ‘Pictures of the Day’ (the copyright for this image is with the photographer, Charlotte Graham). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/16/pictures-day-16-december-2018/lucinda-hawksley-great-great-great-granddaughter-charles-dickens/
Fleet Library talk
On Thursday 22 November, I’ll be talking about Dickens and Christmas at Fleet Library in Hampshire. Tickets are available from the library.
175 Years of ‘A Christmas Carol’
On 19 December, the 175th anniversary of ‘A Christmas Carol’, I’m going to be leading two special Dickens and Christmas walking tours of London, the first at 10am (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dickens-christmas-tickets-52174894514) & the second at 2pm (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dickens-christmas-tickets-52174903541). Both are on Eventbrite and bookable now!
Is it too early to mention Christmas…?
I know it’s still only July but, at the moment, if you pre-order my upcoming book Dickens and Christmas (which is due out at the end of October), you’ll get £4 off.
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Dickens-and-Christmas-Hardback/p/14004