Leading Authority On Dickens' Early Life Delivers Bicentennial Birthday Lecture

Everyone is warmly invited to the Dickens’ bicentennial birthday lecture given this year by writer Michael Allen, a leading authority on the author’s childhood and early life. Mr Allen is the highly respected author of titles such as Charles Dickens’ Childhood and Dickens and the Blacking Factory, a fascinating book published last year. He has written and lectured extensively on his subject. His talk takes place at the John Pounds Memorial Unitarian Church in the High Street, Old Portsmouth at 7.30pm on Saturday 4 February, just three days before the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth in the city.Places should be booked through the Headmaster’s Secretary Mrs Debbi King either by email at d.king@pgs.org.uk or on 023 9236 4268. A complimentary drink will be served in the ante room at the church at the end of the event.

A leading authority on Charles Dickens’ childhood and early life will be the guest speaker at the school’s annual birthday lecture in honour of the great author, born in the city 200 years ago next month.

This is the 14th annual Dickens’ Birthday Lecture organised by the Portsmouth Grammar School in association with the Dickens Fellowship. The first in 1999 had to be moved to the larger venue of John Pounds Church – fittingly Dickens had a keen interest in Pounds, Unitarianism and Portsmouth.

Headmaster Mr James Priory said: ‘All members of the school community and the public generally are warmly invited. I hope as many people as possible will be able to join us for this special event in which we celebrate 200 years since Dickens’ birth in Portsmouth in 1812.’