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. …
Join acclaimed author Emily Howes for a fascinating conversation with Lucinda Hawksley about Persuasion and how it deals with women’s relationships, the intricacies of class and social mobility, and the expectations around caring and care. …
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 …
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. …
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. …
Past Events
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
Charles Dickens was fascinated by tales from other countries and cultures and longed to see the world. Lucinda Hawksley looks at the journeys made by the Victorian author – who is also her great great great grandfather.
This is a hybrid meeting. Please join us in St Dunstan’s Church Hall, Canterbury, if you can, or request the Zoom details by email from [email protected]
On 9th June 1925 the Charles Dickens Museum first opened to the public. Eager crowds gathered on the street in a wave of jubilation that the home of the great author had been saved from demolition and was now a space to be admired and enjoyed.
On Monday 9 June, we’ll be celebrating the 100th birthday of The Charles Dickens Museum, with free entry. I’ll be there for most of the day, together with other family members. Maybe I’ll see you there?
In June 1882, Sigmund Freud gave a copy of David Copperfield, his favourite Dickens novel, to Martha Bernays. This copy — one of the 1,600 volumes which were brought from Vienna to London in 1938 when the Freud family fled Nazi persecution — remains in Freud’s library at the Museum today. In this special event, Lucinda Hawksley will explore what was happening in Dickens’s life at the time of working on David Copperfield and the inspirations behind what is widely considered to be his most autobiographical novel.
Photo credit: “Freud’s library” by Thomas Quine on Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Author, art historian, broadcaster and President of the International Dickens Fellowship, Lucinda Hawksley will talk about her life and work in conversation with James Clarke, writer and lecturer.