Chancellor attends Charles Dickens bicentenary service
Tue, Feb 7, 2012
Chancellor Sheila Hancock and Vice-Chancellor Professor John Craven will join members of the Dickens family, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Cheryl Buggy, and actor and biographer of Dickens, Simon Callow.
Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812 at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsea - which is now 393 Old Commercial Road. He was the most popular novelist of the Victorian era and is widely regarded as one of the finest novelists of all time.
Vice-Chancellor John Craven said: “The city is gearing up for a host of events to mark the anniversary of one of its most famous sons and the University is delighted to be a part of the celebrations. Dickens retained a lifelong bond with Portsmouth and it is important to commemorate the city’s enduring links with one of English literature’s greatest figures.”
Dickens expert and Senior lecturer in English Literature, Dr Christopher Pittard, said: “Dickens is still a tremendously relevant author with whom most people have some familiarity – even if they’ve never read one of his novels.
“Although he left Portsmouth at an early age Dickens drew on his childhood memories in Nicholas Nickleby and wrote affectionately about the city. In the novel, Nicholas and Smike join a theatrical company and learn the craft of acting in Portsmouth so it is very fitting to have Sheila Hancock and Simon Callow in the city to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth.”
The University is hosting a series of conferences, public lectures and literary cafes to commemorate the birth of Dickens this year.