QUENTIN Blake – the artist behind numerous illustrations, including for Roald Dahl novels – is the subject a new exhibition launching in Sherborne.

Organisers of the display promise an early festive treat for visitors to The Sherborne when it unveils a series of Blake’s original illustrations for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

It will be presented in the same location where the Victorian author famously performed the work, bringing to life characters such as Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and his family.

To add an extra-special element to the experience, the show can only be seen by candlelight, producing an “intimate and exciting viewing”.

Visitors will be provided with battery-powered candles to take around the galleries to enjoy a unique way to see the pictures.

On December 21, 1854, Charles Dickens visited Sherborne to give an eagerly-anticipated reading of A Christmas Carol at the Sherborne Literary and Scientific Institution.

Contemporary reports described how “the room was crowded to excess, and many were unable to obtain admission” as Dickens delivered just the second public reading of his already-famous 1843 novella, written to highlight inequalities in Victorian society.

Dickens’ readings were renowned for their theatricality – his Sherborne performance was said to have “occupied nearly three hours, to the great delight of the audience” – so it is fitting Blake’s vivid illustrations will once again bring this perennially popular ghost story to life in the very building where the celebrated writer once captivated his listeners.

Liz Gilmore, chief executive officer of The Sherborne, said: “The Sherborne has always been a place of thought leadership and a convening point historically. This exhibition celebrates The Sherborne’s powerful heritage connection with Charles Dickens, a major Victorian author, in what became an iconic work of Christmas literature.”

“Quentin’s drawings are a joyful bridge through time, letting visitors experience Dickens’ world with all the playful creativity he brings to the page,” she added. “You can almost feel the echoes of the past mingling with the present, where imagination meets history.”

It was in 1995 that Sir Quentin illustrated an edition of A Christmas Carol in his inimitable style, guiding young readers through Scrooge’s journey to find the meaning of Christmas.

The artist said: “Until I got to know the whole range of Dickens’ works, I always assumed that A Christmas Carol was a sentimental Christmas fable. But then I was invited to illustrate it. It is a fable, but detailed, observed, imaginative and tremendously rewarding to make drawings for. I’m delighted to think that they’re going on show in The Sherborne’s candlelit aura. Perhaps even Dickens might get to look at them.”

The exhibition opens at the Sherborne Christmas Lights Switch On, on November 28, from 6pm.
Illustrations for A Christmas Carol will run concurrently with Quentin Blake: Our Friends in the Country, featuring recent works celebrating all things countryside.

The exhibitions will act as the first two parts of a trilogy of shows devoted to Blake’s work, with Airborne Over Sherborne and 100 portraits to follow later in the year.

For more information about both displays, plus opening hours and workshop information, visit www.thesherborne.uk.