Lucinda Hawksley is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. She is an author, art historian, public speaker and award-winning travel writer.

Lucinda has an MA in Literature and the History of Art, and has appeared in numerous television programmes including Charles Dickens & the Invention of Christmas, Dickens’s Secret Lover and Mrs Dickens’ Family Christmas.

Lucinda released Charles Dickens in October 2011 to commemorate his bicentenary. Charles Dickens is the definitive guide to the man and his works. It follows Dickens from his early childhood to his influence in the twenty-first century. The book also explores his personal and family relationships, intimately examining Charles Dickens as a husband, father, friend, employer and aspiring actor.

Lucinda has written or co-written more than 20 books including Essential Pre-Raphaelites (1999), Lizzie Siddal, The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel (2004; Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4), Katey: The Life and Loves of Dickens' Artist Daughter (2006) and 50 British Artists You Should Know (2011). In 2012 What Makes Art Great, co-written with artist Andy Pankhurst, will be published as will Charles Dickens, The Great Victorian. Lucinda's upcoming book about the 19th-century sculptor Princess Louise is due to be published in 2013.

More information about Lucinda's books and speaking engagements