Charles Dickens was an amateur conjurer for around seven years of his life. His best known show was on the Isle of Wight in 1849 when he wrote a highly amusing, and informative, playbill to promote his appearance. This playbill, in which Dickens called himself the ‘Unparalleled Necromancer’, provides the focus to learn about how Dickens became a conjurer, what sort of magic he did and how his magic sheds light both on his character and his writings. Included in the talk are a couple of Dickensian magic tricks performed in Ian’s own inimitable style.

Lecture by Ian Keable

The Arts Society Dumfries and Galloway (TASDAG), formerly The South West Scotland Decorative and Fine Arts Society, was founded in 1991 and is a Member Society of the The Arts Society, whose headquarters are in London.

The Arts Society is an arts based charity founded in 1968 by Patricia Fay, whose aim is the advancement of arts education and its appreciation and the preservation of our artistic heritage.

These aims are promoted by lectures, given by a list of 365 accredited lecturers, on fine and decorative arts in their widest sense including artists and their paintings, sculpture, china, furniture, fabrics, architecture, archaeology, film and media, music, ballet and much more.