Members of Dawlish & District u3a (University of the Third Age) were reportedly left 'spell-bound' during a talk on Charles Dickens by a local author at its most recent meeting on Monday 18 October.

Dr Keith Hooper, a specialist on 19th century literature who did his PhD at Exeter University, spoke about the Poor Law system (the housing of the poor in workhouses, etc.), Dickens' moral agenda in exposing the hypocrisy of the supposedly Christian society of the Victorian era, and the author's apparently contradictory success in business.

A spokesman for Dawlish & District u3a wrote: "Dr Hooper's impressive talk was delivered without notes and glittered with anecdotes and remarkable details.

"Dickens was famous not just as a writer but as a public performer, and he would have enjoyed Keith Hooper's own theatrical delivery!

"His listeners were left in no doubt about Dickens importance in our literary culture but also as a major figure in shaping political and social attitudes.

"Dickens was an enormous celebrity by the time of his death, and Dr Hooper's talk demonstrated powerfully why this was so."

Dawlish & District U3A has over 140 members who meet monthly to listen to speakers on a diverse range of subjects, and has about 20 different interest groups including Great Lives, Art Appreciation, French Conversation, Wine Appreciation, Scrabble, and Gardens & Gateaux.

To find out more and how to join, visit www.u3a.dawlish.info

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