This riveting read provides a vital look at the inside story of our food: what we eat and how we should be eating it. Tim Spector introduces us to a way of eating that’s not only nutritious and cheap but also one of the longest and best-established systems in the world. Something that’s both simple and fool-proof but at the same time life-changing! Fermentation. …
Miriam Margolyes From A to Z
Whether sharing daring declarations, behind-the-scenes antics, or the indignities of ageing, Miriam’s insights will touch your heart, provoke your thoughts, and leave you in stitches. With her signature candour, unpredictability, and unvarnished truth, the irreplaceable Miriam Margolyes will deliver an experience as unique and extraordinary as she is. …
Join us at the Charles Dickens Museum for a special talk with celebrated author, biographer, and Dickens descendant Lucinda Hawksley, as she shines a light on the remarkable life and career of Katey Dickens who was born on 29th October 1839 at 48 Doughty Street, one of Charles Dickens’s most fascinating children. …
Shaun Usher is a literary phenomenon – the appointed custodian of letters, lists and now, diaries. Join him in conversation with historian and author, Lucinda Hawksley, featuring actor Miriam Margolyes giving very special diary readings. …
Dubbed ‘gloriously Gothic’ (Daily Mail), Estella’s Revenge reimagines the story of Charles Dickens’ Miss Havisham – the world’s most famous jilted bride. Long fascinated with Miss Havisham’s daughter, Estella, Barbara asks the question: What kind of emotionally-scarred adult would Estella become? …
Join a descendant of Dickens over a delicious dinner at The White Horse and Griffin, the original coaching inn where Dickens stayed whilst visiting Whitby. …
A life-long Dickens aficionado, her recent Edinburgh Fringe show was Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits. She comes to Whitby at the end of a book tour for her latest memoir.
Join her for a candid interview with her long-time friend: Dickens’ great, great, great granddaughter, the author, art historian and broadcaster, Lucinda Hawksley, as she discusses her latest book: The Little Book of Miriam, an A-Z of wit and wisdom. …
An evening with writer and broadcaster Lucinda Hawksley, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Lucinda will explore the life and enduring influence of her celebrated ancestor, offering fresh insights into his world and the creative legacy he left behind. This promises to be a fascinating blend of literary heritage and contemporary perspective, bringing Dickens’s relevance to today’s audiences. …
Join Lucinda Hawksley, author, lecturer, broadcaster and great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens. Come on a fun walking tour of the London that Dickens wrote about in his Christmas novellas and short stories. We’ll start near one of Dickens’s homes and walk across the city, discovering the places that he was inspired by and the stories the city helped him to create. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the festive season. …
Past Events
This year’s award ceremony marks the opening event of the Isle of Wight Literary Festival. Taking place at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes on Tuesday 7th October, the Presentation Lunch will include an opening speech by award founder Hunter Davies, with all three judges in attendance.
It’s a rare chance to see Island-inspired authors and readers come together in celebration—and for finalists, a moment to share their work in front of a literary-minded audience.
Judges:
- Children’s books: Nicholas Allen, author and illustrator of favourites like The Queen’s Knickers
- Fiction: M.H. Eccleston, whose Island-based murder mystery Death on the Isle won the very first award
- Non-fiction: Lucinda Hawksley, historian, broadcaster, and descendant of Charles Dickens
Join authors Angela Buckley and Lucinda Hawksley for a special event looking at Victorian detective stories, from real-life mysteries to those created by Charles Dickens (Lucinda’s great great great grandfather). The talk will explore the legendary author’s fascination with detectives and their sleuthing adventures, as well as the real-life investigators and crime cases that inspired both his fiction and journalism.
Walk around Charles Dickens’s London from his former home in Bloomsbury to where he was living when he wrote A Christmas Carol. Your guide, Lucinda Hawksley, is a great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens and the author of more than 20 books, including Dickens and Christmas and Dickens and Travel.
Join the inspiring author and historian Lucinda Hawksley for an intimate salon, discussing all things Persuasion!
Over tea and cake, Lucinda will share some of her favourite scenes, characters and moments from the novel, and lead a discussion on everything from long engagements to hedgerow rambles, romantic letters and seaside ramparts.
Photo credit: Katrina Campbell
‘Loving longest’: Women, constancy and care in Persuasion.
Join acclaimed author Emily Howes for a fascinating conversation about Persuasion and how it deals with women’s relationships, the intricacies of class and social mobility, and the expectations around caring and care.
Emily will consider comparison points in Persuasion and her novel The Painter’s Daughters which tells the story of Peggy and Molly Gainsborough and explores sisterhood, sex, control and individuality.
Emily will be in conversation with author, broadcaster and biographer Lucinda Hawksley.
A child of the Arts & Crafts movement, May Morris was born at the Red House and grew up in the bohemian, complicated, and often heartbreaking atmosphere of her parents’ artistic milieu. She became a prolific artist, as well as a fervent suffragist, and cultivated her own fascinating circle of friends, yet May remained in the shadow of her famous father and – until recent years – was seldom given credit for her own work.
Join Lucinda on a walking tour of Arthur Conan-Doyle and Sherlock Holmes’s London.
When Audible asked me to write a podcast about ‘The Real Sherlock’, I decided to create a walking tour of London that would take in some of the most important places in the lives of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – and the world’s most famous detective. Join me to discover the places that inspired the author and helped him to create Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson and many other memorable characters.
This is a great chance to see parts of London you’ve not been able to visit – or perhaps you live in London and have simply walked past without knowing their significance. Come and discover some of the hidden wonders of this wonderful city and be immersed in the London of Sherlock Holmes.
Friday 4 July
Departure from Piazza Alberica
9:00 pm
Dickens and the Anglo-Americans in Carrara
Travelling conference
Curated by Davide Lambruschi and Marzia Dati
Saturday 5 July
Dickens Fellowship – Piazza Alberica
5:30 pm
Inaugural greetings
Marzia Dati
President of the Italian Branch of the Dickens Fellowship
Francesca Orestano
Emeritus Professor of English Literature – University of Milan, Honorary Member of the Italian Branch of the Dickens Fellowship
6:00 pm
Dickens and Travel
Lucinda Dickens Hawksley
International President of the Dickens Fellowship, writer, essayist, art historian and biographer
7:00 pm
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Presentation of the Italian translation of the unfinished novel by Dickens
Saverio Tomaiuolo
Associate Professor of English Language, Translation and Linguistics
University of Cassino and Southern Lazio
Talk with Francesca Orestano
Garden party to follow