How Christmas became a publishing sensation
Since its publication on 19 December 1843, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has never been out of print. It was an astonishing and instant success, selling …
Listen to Lizzie Siddal on BBC Radio 4 Extra
Struck by her good looks and her pale copper hair, the Pre-Raphaelite painters made Lizzie Siddal one of the best known faces of the Victorian …
President of the International Dickens Fellowship
On 24 August Lucinda will be sworn in as President of the International Dickens Fellowship. She will be taking over from the brilliant Professor Cathy Waters. …
A Tantalising Talk with Lucinda Hawksley and Humphrey Hawksley
We recently had the delight of hosting a rousing talk with award-winning authors Lucinda Hawskley and Humphrey Hawksley at Riverstone Kensington. This was the latest …
Why it’s time to rescue Charlie Collins from his brother Wilkie’s shadow
This week’s bicentenary of the birth of Wilkie Collins – author of The Moonstone (1868) and The Woman in White, who regularly collaborated on plays and stories …
Charles Dickens’ great-great-great-granddaughter on why Texans do the author best at Christmas
What’s the first location that springs to mind when thinking of setting up a Charles Dickens festival? It’s unlikely to be a Texan island. But …
Hanley: The Angel of the Rubbish Dump
On 18 January 2007 a young American woman died in a car crash in Guatemala City; her name was Hanley Denning and she was only …
Whalesong: Thanking the cetaceans
My grandmother, who lived in London, took my seaside-dwelling sisters and me to the Natural History Museum when I was about five. I have a …
How the Victorians invented colour
In the Ashmolean, look out for a reclining woman reading a book. She may be wearing a black dress, but she is surrounded by vivid …