Past Events
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.
Join the English Department at the Dining Hall for an event in memory of Jackie Elmquist ’22. Renowned author Lucinda Hawksley will speak on Charles Dickens and travel, two of Jackie’s favorite topics, as all who knew her can confirm. Hawksley is a prolific writer who is in great demand as a speaker; she is also the beloved London professor of many a Skidmore First-Year London student. What’s more, she happens to be the great, great, great, great granddaughter of Dickens himself.
Come out to enjoy and to learn from a lively speaker and to honor the memory of a dearly missed alumna, who died tragically in December 2023. A reception will follow the talk.
This event is free and open to the public.
An Afternoon of Readings and Discussion at St George the Martyr Church (the ‘Little Dorrit’ church) on Borough High Street, SE1 1JA — a fund-raising event in aid of the restoration of the church’s ‘Little Dorrit’ vestry. Further details to be announced.
Lucinda Hawksley in conversation with Andrew Dickens
About the Talk:
From childhood, Charles Dickens was fascinated by tales from other countries and other cultures and he longed to see the world. Lucinda Hawksley talks to Andrew Dickens about the journeys made by her great great great grandfather in Europe, long before the arrival of high-speed rail, toured America (twice) and Canada and, before his untimely death, was planning a tour of Australia.
Join us and make your yuletide merry with mulled-wine, a mince pie and a talk by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, a descendant of Charles Dickens, as she reveals the fascinating tale of Christmas traditions during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Lucinda Hawksley is rightly very proud of her lineage to Charles Dickens (she is his great-great-great granddaughter) – his influence runs through much of her work and writing. However, she is very much an author in her own right and has over twenty published books, many about women through history who have inspired her, and travel books.
Lucinda will talk to Victoria about her most exciting adventures, most-admired women and favourite books – an evening that will be peppered with snippets of Dickensian drama and Victorian music!
This illustrated talk, presented by Cindy Sughrue, Director of the Charles Dickens Museum, and Lucinda Hawksley, art historian, biographer, award-winning travel writer, and great-great-great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, explores Dickens’s lifelong fascination with the neighbourhood of St-Giles-in-the-Fields. It influenced and inspired his work as a writer, journalist and social reform campaigner, from his childhood recollections through to the final years of his life.
Lucinda Hawksley, great great great daughter of Charles Dickens, reveals how Charles Dicken’s journeys influenced his writing and enriched his life. Although Dickens is usually perceived as a London author, in the 18402 he whisked his family away to live in Itay for a year, and spent several months in Switzerland. Some years later he took up residence in Paris and Boulogne where he lived in secret with his lover). In addition to travelling widely in Europe, he also toured America twice, performed onstage in Canada and, before his untimely death, was planning a tour of Australia. Besides far-flung places Dickens also travelled the British Isles including the Isle of Wight.