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 …
50% OFF audiobook – Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter
Spirited and lively, Queen Victoria’s Mysterious Daughter is richly packed with arguments, intrigues, scandals, and secrets, and is a vivid portrait of a princess desperate …
Interview by Pat Cuadros, Pop Culture Editor for Blogcritics Magazine
Earlier this year, I chatted one-on-one with author, art historian, and public speaker Lucinda Hawksley, who is a patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Hawksley is …
Interview with Damian Le Bas
I was lucky enough to interview Damian Le Bas, #author of ‘The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain’ for the Goldster ‘Inside Story’. You …
Dubai Festival of Literature
I’m in Dubai for the Emirates Festival of Literature. Tonight (7 February) is the main event for me, ‘Miss Havisham’s Wedding’, a celebration of the …