Talks & Speaking Engagements

Extra/Ordinary Women – Exhibition Talk on Anny Thackeray

Date: 30 July 2026
Time: 12.30pm UK Time
Location: Online: Zoom
In person: Charles Dickens Museum,
49 Doughty Street,
London WC1N 2LX
Talks & Events
Extra/Ordinary Women Exhibition Talks poster

Lucinda will be at the Charles Dickens Museum to speak about Anny Thackeray. When researching her biography of Dickens’s artist daughter, Katey, Lucinda Hawksley became fascinated by Anny Thackeray, a close friend of the Dickens girls. Anny was the older daughter of the novelist William Thackeray and she became a famous novelist in her own right.

There will be the opportunity for a short Q+A following the talk. …

Extra/Ordinary Women – Exhibition Talk on Fanny Burnett

Date: 20 August 2026
Time: 12.30pm UK Time
Location: Online: Zoom
In person: Charles Dickens Museum,
49 Doughty Street,
London WC1N 2LX
Talks & Events
Fanny Burnett

Lucinda will be joining us at the Charles Dickens Museum to speak about Fanny Burnett. Frances ‘Fanny’ Dickens was the oldest child in the Dickens family and adored by her younger brother, Charles.

There will be the opportunity for a short Q+A following the talk. …

Persuasion Salon

Date: 19 September 2026
Time: 2.30-3.30pm
Location: Jane Austen’s House in Chawton
Talks & Events
Persuasion Salon Jane Austen House

Join the inspiring author and historian Lucinda Hawksley for an intimate salon, discussing all things Persuasion!
Over afternoon tea and cakes, 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. …

Three Remarkable Women: Lizzie Siddal, Katey Perugini and Princess Louise

Date: 15 October 2026
Time: 10am-4pm
Location: Arthur Morison Memorial Hall, Rowls Lane,
Cucklington, Wincanton,
Somerset BA9 9PY
Talks & Events
Three Remarkable Women

Katey Perugini (nee Dickens), Princess Louise and Lizzie Siddal are the intriguing subjects of Lucinda’s lectures on this Day of Special Interest. …

A Victorian Christmas with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley

Date: 2 December 2026
Time: 7-8pm
Location: Online
Talks & Events
Victorian Christmas Tree

An online event presented by Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. Ever wondered why we send cards, pull crackers or decorate trees? It turns out we have the Victorians (and a certain Mr. Dickens) to thank for so much we love about the festive season. …

The Curious History of the Artists’ Rifles Corp

Date: 19 January 2027
Time: 10.45am
Location: The Arts Society Solent,
Titchfield Community Centre
Talks & Events
Artists Rifles

In the mid-nineteenth century, fears that France was about to invade England, caused a large number of army corps to be set up. Almost every trade – bakers, railway-workers, butchers, bankers – had its own regiment. Artists were no exception. The registration book of the Artists’ Rifles Corp reads like an artistic edition of “Who’s Who” …

Princess Louise: an Aesthetic sculptor locked away in the Royal Archives

Date: 4 February 2027
Location: The Arts Society Paris,
Théâtre du Ranelagh,
5 Rue des Vignes,
75016 Paris
Talks & Events
Princess Louise in Venice 1881 from the Royal Collection
Princess Louise in Venice 1881 from the Royal Collection

When researching my biographies of Lizzie Siddal and Kate Perugini, I kept coming across a mysterious princess, attending studio parties, helping fellow artists in times of need, and being linked with several scandals. I was amazed to discover Princess Louise was a daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a well-respected sculptor. …

Past Events

Lecture at The Arts Society New Milton: Pre-Raphaelite Brothers Their Lives and Works

Date: 11 June 2026
Location: The Memorial Hub,
Whitefield Road,
New Milton BH25 6DE
Talks & Events

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was made up of seven precocious, talented and astonishingly forward-thinking young men who changed the face of 19th-century art and artistic society. They included in their number a Beethoven-style child genius; a romantic Italian obsessed with a long-dead medieval poet; a fervent traveller who spent years in obscure areas of the Middle East and whose fervour for painting by moonlight led his neighbours to believe him insane; and a young man who staked everything he had on the Australian goldrush. Their lives were as extraordinary as their art and the circle in which they moved makes for a truly exciting story.

The Women in Dickens’ Novels

Date: 27 May 2026
Time: 10am-12pm
Location: Gentofte Hovedbibliotek
Ahlmanns Alle 6,
2900 Hellerup
Øregårdssalen
(Denmark)
Talks & Events

Kvinderne i Dickens’ romaner

Charles Dickens is often criticized for writing stereotypical and submissive female characters, yet many of his female figures were anything but that.

Kvinderne i Dickens’ romaner
Photo of Dickens: Herbert Watkins, 1858

In this lecture, author and art historian Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, Charles Dickens’ great-great-granddaughter, sheds new light on the often overlooked female characters in his novels. She explores women who were independent, had careers, or broke with the norms of the time regarding how a woman was expected to behave.

A fascinating look at 19th-century Great Britain and the strong women Dickens both knew and wrote about.

NB: The lecture will be held in English.

Dickens’ Women – meet Dickens expert Lucinda Hawksley

Date: 27 May 2026
Time: 5-7pm
Location: Stadsbiblioteket
Lyngby Hovedgade 28,
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Fennebergsalen
(Denmark)
Talks & Events

Author, lecturer, and Charles Dickens expert Lucinda Hawksley on the diverse, powerful and fascinating women in the works of Dickens.

Charles Dickens is often accused of writing only unbelievably compliant and domesticated women in his novels, but many of his female characters have very strong personalities and fascinating lives, reflecting the strong and interesting women Dickens knew. 

Lucinda Hawksley is an author, art historian, broadcaster, lecturer, and an expert on the writings and the life of Charles Dickens, of whom Hawksley is also a descendant, being the great-great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated author.

The event is in English.

Extra/Ordinary Women – Exhibition Talk on Mamie Dickens

Date: 7 May 2026
Time: 12.30 UK Time
Location: Online: Zoom
In person: Charles Dickens Museum,
49 Doughty Street,
London WC1N 2LX
Talks & Events
Mamie Dickens

Lucinda will be at the Charles Dickens Museum to speak about Dickens’s daughter, Mamie Dickens. Mamie was the second of Charles and Catherine Dickens’s children. Always the dutiful daughter, her nickname within the family was “mild Gloster”. When her parents separated, Mamie became her father’s housekeeper and something of a local celebrity in Kent. After Dickens’s death, however, everything changed. Mamie left her family, moved to Manchester and lived a scandalous new life, which is still shrouded in secrecy. In this talk, her great-great-great granddaughter Lucinda Hawksley will look at the life of the lesser-known Dickens daughter.

There will be the opportunity for a short Q+A following the talk.

Sense and Sensibility Salon

Date: 2 May 2026
Time: 10.15-11.15am
Location: Jane Austen's House,
Chawton,
Hampshire,
GU34 1SD
Talks & Events

Join author and broadcaster (and Austen lover) Lucinda Hawksley for an intimate salon, discussing all things Sense and Sensibility!

Over an elegant repast of tea and cake, Lucinda will share some of her favourite scenes, characters and moments from the novel, and lead a lively discussion on everything from running down hills in the rain to secret engagements, flannel waistcoats and ivory toothpick cases. Who do you love and who do you love to hate in Jane Austen’s first published novel? Do you secretly sympathise with Mrs John Dashwood, or have a fondness for Sir John Middleton? And of course – are you team Sense or Sensibility?

Farnham Literary Festival: Neither Here nor There: Epic Journeys From History

Date: 15 March 2026
Time: 4.30-5.30pm
Location: Farnham Town Hall
Farnham Town Council
South Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7RN
Talks & Events
Neither Here nor There: Epic Journeys From History poster

Step aboard for an epic voyage of discovery. Let us take you on an adventure through history, from the far?flung travels of Charles Dickens, brought to life by his great-great-great granddaughter Lucinda Hawksley; to Midge Gillies’ compelling account of the trailblazing aviators who fought to be the first women to fly across the Atlantic; via Nicholas Jubber’s exploration of the world’s shadowy corners, where legends of giants, dragons, ogres, zombies, ghosts, and demons still live rooted in memory.

Charles Dickens and his Manchester Connections

Date: 7 March 2026
Time: 5-6.30pm
Location: The Portico Library,
57 Mosley Street,
Manchester M2 3HY
Talks & Events

Did you know that Charles Dickens was a regular visitor to Manchester? Or that he visited the Portico Library in 1844? That he performed on stage in the city, that Manchester played a crucial role in the creation of one of his most famous books, or that his much-loved sister made her home here?

Come along to the Portico Library on 7 March to hear Lucinda Hawksley (great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens) uncover more about the author’s connections with the city.

There will be a chance to see some first editions of Dickens’ books and his sign in in the Portico Stranger’s Book. This is a fundraising activity for Portico Reunited.

Great Recitations Dickens Festival 2026

Date: 7 February 2026
Time: 5pm
Location: Script Haven,
104 High Street,
Worcester WR1 2HW
Talks & Events
Great Recitations Dickens Festival  logo

An incredible opportunity to meet writer and broadcaster Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Lucinda will explore the life and enduring influence of her celebrated ancestor, with exciting insights into his continuing relevance to today’s audiences.

Refreshments and book sales will be available on the night.

All ages (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult).

Birthday Dinner at The Dickens Fellowship, The Charterhouse

Date: 4 February 2026
Time: 7pm
Location: The Charterhouse,
Charterhouse Square,
London EC1M 6AN
Talks & Events

Celebration event. Advance booking essential.