This article was originally published in The Vegetarian magazine in 2001. It sounded impressive to say, “I’m not around this weekend, I’m off to Belgium for a festival”, but it wasn’t to any Glastonbury equivalent that I was speeding through Le Tunnel (do French-speakers call it ‘The Tunnel’?). I was heading to Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert in the district … Read more
In 1842, Charles and Catherine Dickens set sail from Liverpool for a 6-month tour of the USA and Canada. In this online event, I’ll be talking about their journey and how it inspired Dickens’s writing. This is the first in a series of talks I’ll be giving over the next year, inspired by the book … Read more
In 2019, before the pandemic hit, I was lucky enough to return to Melbourne, Australia, one of my favourite cities. The following article appeared in Oberoi magazine (unfortunately, with half of the final sentence cut off by the printers!) Melbourne has a long history of loving art. The first art gallery in Australia was opened … Read more
If you’re dreaming of your next holiday, gain inspiration for your travels, with my beautiful book, The Writer Abroad, published by The British Library. It’s available from all good bookshops and from the British Library shop – either in person or online. https://www.bl.uk/shop/the-writer-abroad/p-922