Jane Austen’s House Museum,
Chawton, Hampshire.

The Centre for the Book is delighted to present for your reading pleasure “From Austen to the Brontёs: A Literary Tour of England,” by Margaux Warne.  Originally destined for The Listener, Margaux turned to us when Covid-19 forced a change of plans.

Margaux Warne is an independent Art Historian based in Christchurch. She studied Art History at the University of Canterbury and her research focuses on nineteenth-century art and literature. Two of her favourite nineteenth-century novels are Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Donald Kerr officially retired from his position as Special Collections Librarian on the 8th of April, with all fanfare subdued by lockdown.  However, the Bulletin has provided a nice tribute acknowledging his numerous accomplishments during his 18 years on the job.

We look forward to Donald’s continued involvement as co-director of the Centre for the Book and other learned activities in Dunedin and wish him all the best as he forges ahead with even more time for research on book collectors, Henry Miller and his other wide range of interests.

And when conditions once more permit, there will be a proper farewell function as well.

Although we cannot currently provide live events, The Centre for the Book is pleased to be able to at least offer pointers to online options for sustaining those craving a regular dose of book history to inoculate the mind.

Our first suggestion is the Canadian series, The Biblio File, presented by Nigel Beale.  Beale interviews scholars, publishers and librarians about the world of books.  You have to drill down a bit into his archives to see the full range, or you can search by keyword.  Either way, you are guaranteed to find some interesting and very bookish interviews.