From Shakespeare to Ian Fleming, Dover has played its part in the written word over the centuries - and now a new exhibition has opened at Dover Museum looking at some of the writers and their works inspired by the town and its history.
A reference to the White Cliffs of Dover in 'King Lear' is the reason why Shakespeare Cliff has its name, and Mathew Arnold's poem 'Dover Beach' describes the cliffs as 'Glimmering and vast'. Charles Dickens frequently visited and stayed in Dover, where he wrote parts of 'Bleak House' and 'Great Expectations'. Lord Byron, George Eliot, WH Auden, Noel Coward, Ian Fleming, Daniel Defoe, Wordsworth, and many other famous writers have also lived in or written about the unique town and culture of Dover.
The exhibition, 'Kingdom's Key: Dover in Words and Pictures', features extracts from the works of a range of writers, as well as pictures of the areas that inspired them. The title of the exhibition itself is adapted from a 13th century quotation by Matthew Paris about Dover Castle, which he described as 'the Key to England'.
The new stairwell exhibition runs until 22 January 2012.
For more information, contact Samantha Harris at Dover Museum on 01304 201066 or email samantha.harris@dover.gov.uk.
