The work of one of the 19th century’s most famous authors will be brought to life in the north-east this week.
Aberdeen University is hosting the 110th International Conference of the Dickens Fellowship, which will run from today until Sunday.
Over the five days delegates will hear from a host of Dickens experts and an exhibition containing first editions of all his books has opened in the Sir Duncan Rice Library.
On Saturday crime writer Ian Rankin will be interviewed by broadcaster James Naughtie on the novel Bleak House.
The event has already attracted 5,000 visitors and organiser Paul Schlicke believes this is a testament to the author’s enduring popularity.
He said: “His work has influenced some of the best writers of the current generation and we are delighted to be able to welcome Ian Rankin and James Naughtie who will discuss Dickens’s ninth novel, Bleak House, and its influence on his crime fiction.
“When asked about his interest in Dickens, Rankin explained that Bleak House was one of the first crime novels he read and showed him that you can use the tricks of the whodunnit to engage the reader while critiquing and challenging the whole of society from top to bottom.”
The conversation on Bleak House will take place in the Arts Lecture Theatre on the King’s College Campus at 1.15pm on Saturday.
Tickets are available at www.abdn.ac.uk/events/9123
Members of the public can visit the exhibition free of charge from 10am until 5pm between Monday and Friday, and on Saturday from 10am until 4.30pm until August 14.
