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Carroll, Christie, Austen: UK events fete beloved authors

April 20, 2015

Molly Molloy illustration, part of ‘The Alice Look’ at the V&A Museum of Childhood. ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ marks its 150th anniversary this November. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 20, 2015.Next week marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victorian author Anthony Trollope. Throughout 2015, visitors to the UK will be able to take their pick of British authors to celebrate, with events planned around a number of big anniversaries.

Virginia Woolf

March 26 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Virginia Woolf's first novel, “The Voyage Out”. If you're looking to mark the occasion, Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor is presenting "Woolf Works" at the Royal Opera House from May 11-26, based on the author's life and writing. Themes from “Mrs Dalloway”, “Orlando” and “The Waves” are set to music by Max Richter.

Anthony Trollope

The prolific author of "Barchester Towers" and "The Way We Live Now" was born on April 24, 1815. A display at the British Library runs through June 7 and includes an April 23 panel talk, an exhibition at Lowewood Museum in Hoddesdon goes through June 20, and now through May 2, an exhibition by the British Postal Museum in London honours Trollope's work in introducing the bright red "pillar box" mailboxes that are seen throughout the UK.

Lewis Carroll

November 26 will mark 150 years since the publication of “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”, and events are already rolling out worldwide. In the author's home country, "The Alice Look" at the V&A Museum of Childhood in London (May 2-November 1) looks at Carroll's title character through the designers, stylists and photographers she's inspired.

Jane Austen

Hot on the heels of the 200th anniversary of “Pride and Prejudice”, December will mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Austen's “Emma”. Professor John Mullan has chosen "Was Emma ever right?" as the theme of his talk as part of Jane Austen Regency Week, and Bath's annual Jane Austen Festival runs from September 11-20.

Rudyard Kipling

December 30 is the 150th anniversary of Kipling's birth, and events are happening all year long. Among them, the Kipling Festival Rottingdean – June 25-July 5 – will hold its second edition, after last year's event recreated the look and feel of the village – where Kipling once lived – as it was in the Edwardian era.

Agatha Christie

The beloved crime writer was born 125 years ago. At the annual International Agatha Christie Festival in her birthplace of Torquay, Devon, running September 11-19, anecdotes about the author and notable fan letters will be exhibited after being crowd-sourced through the online campaign 125 Stories. The BBC is also marking the anniversary year with new adaptations of “Partners in Crime” and “And Then There Were None”. – AFP/Relaxnews, April 20, 2015.