Celebrating the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens

Using Victorian photos and prints, discover the difference between the Docklands of Dickens's time and the Docklands we know today. Use simple paper techniques, folding, cutting and collage to make a clever pop-up picture of Victorian Docklands. 5+

12.30-1.30pm & 1.30-2.30pm
FREE

Creative workshop for children aged 2-5 years and their carers.

Tue 27 Dec, 11-11.30am, 12-12.30pm & 2-2.30pm (Docklands)
Wed 28 Dec, 11-11.30am, 12-12.30pm & 2-2.30pm (London Wall)

FREE

The eminent actor, writer and director offers a fresh perspective on Dickens, uncovering not only a literary great but a true showman who adored the stage and became an early ‘celebrity’ author with his many theatrical reading tours. Incorporating special performances of the novelist’s work, Simon Callow will bring to life the spirit of Dickens’s dazzling genius.

8-9.30pm
Book in advance £6 (concs £5)
 

The beautiful campus of Royal Holloway will be open to all local and campus-based reading groups for a special one-off reading group event hosted in the Victorian Founder’s building. Join us for afternoon tea, accompanied by two short talks from academics based at Royal Holloway who will offer insights into 'Oliver Twist' and Dickens’s world, and an opportunity to discuss the book in smaller groups. There will also be a small exhibition provided by the college archives, which will showcase some of the college’s special collections, including a letter from Charles Dickens, and some early examples of his books. This event is part of Cityread.

To celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’s birth, Royal Holloway Library Service will be running a series of free, participatory events in conjunction with Dickens 2012 and Cityread London. On 5 March, Royal Holloway will open its doors to all local and campus-based reading groups for a special one-off reading group event hosted in the Victorian Founder’s Building. Attendees will enjoy afternoon tea, accompanied by two short talks from academics based at Royal Holloway, who will offer insights into 'Oliver Twist' and Dickens’s world, and an opportunity to discuss the book in smaller groups. There will also be a small exhibition provided by the College archives, which will showcase some of the College’s special collections, including a letter from Charles Dickens, and some early examples of his books. Over the subsequent weeks there will be a series of writers’ workshops, led by local authors, students, and academics, offering a chance for budding novelists to get creative and learn more about Dickens’s writing process.

Each month read a classic Dickens novel as part of Dickens Book Club and share your thoughts on Twitter @Dickensbookclub or Facebook. Literary lovers can also join Dickens and London curator, Alex Werner, for after-hours discussion in Foyles’ world-famous flagship store. He will examines how Dickens used and described London and how his writings have shaped the way we view the 19th Century city. 6.30-7.30pm. Free admission. Month's book: 'The Old Curiosity Shop'.

One of the great imaginative writers of all time, Charles Dickens was aconsummate storyteller who could draw his readers into the heart of his narrative. Michael Rosen delves into Dickens's story-telling skills and techniques, including how his 'voice' appeared both as the narrator and in the minds and mouths of his characters. With the skill of the modern-day filmmaker, Dickens could convey the broadest scene to the most intimate detail.

Michael Rosenis a broadcaster, children's novelist and poet who was Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. He is the author of 140 books which include Dickens: His work and His World later reformatted as What’s So Special about Dickens? as well as contributing to numerous learning resources for schools on Charles Dickens.

Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £8, concs £6. For booking details and further information please visit www.bishopsgate.org.uk or telephone 020 7392 9200

The first major public event of the year at the UCL Bloomsbury Campus will be a panel discussion on Dickens’s London on the evening of Thursday 15 March from 6pm. It will be followed by a drinks reception in the South Cloisters. An exhibition on UCL and Dickens’s London will run through the day in the South Cloisters. The broadcaster and UCL Fellow Mark Lawson will chair a panel discussion and question and answer session with Rosemary Ashton, OBE, UCL Quain Professor of English, popular London historian Jerry White and Julian Hunt, FRS, author of London’s Environment. Dickens's bicentennial provides an opportunity for an examination of Dickens’s London, the improvements in the urban environment and public health since his time and the resonances for global megacities.

In conjunction with the Victorian Studies Centre at the University of Leicester, the School of Humanities at the University of Buckingham is delighted to announce an international Dickens Bicentenary conference on 28-31 March 2012, featuring the launch of the Dickens Journals Online project, and an exhibition of archive materials. The list of invited speakers includes Laurel Brake, John Drew, Louis James, Hazel Mackenzie, Robert Patten, Joanne Shattock, Michael Slater, John Sutherland, John Tulloch, Cathy Waters, Tony Williams and Ben Winyard.

To celebrate the Bicentenary of Dickens’s birth, and the public launch of the website, you are warmly invited to an international conference that aims to position Household Words and All the Year Round within the broader context of nineteenth-century periodical culture, through invited papers and contributions from experts in these and a range of rival publications, and online workshops.

'Dickens and Massachusetts: A Tale of Power and Transformation' is a major exhibition exploring Dickens’s travels in Massachusetts and America, including his memorable 1842 visit to Lowell. Featuring rare, little-seen Dickens artifacts from eight major collections and museums (including Francis Alexander’s acclaimed 1842 portrait, receiving its first public viewing in 30 years), 'Dickens and Massachusetts' catches this literary lion early in his brilliant career—as a young man discovering his creative powers and his growing influence as a public figure and social reformer. It examines how Massachusetts influenced his work, and how that work in turn continues to influence and transform new generations of readers. Sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Lowell National Historical Park, the exhibition is the centerpiece of 'Dickens in Lowell', a seven-month slate of performances, speakers, and family programs that together add up to the largest Dickens bicentenary celebration in New England.