Literary & Musical Wight
Intro
We have not tried here to cover a large number of writers or musicians – that is just not possible - there is a vast amount of creative talent here on the Island. Instead, we have limited ourselves to a handful of writers – past and present. And we have done the same with the music section, merely looking at the Isle of Wight Festivals.
The Island has vast musical talent covering all genres of literature and music (especially the latter is encouraged at an early age – we can be very proud of the amazing music college we have here). You will also find 4, possibly 5 ‘good to go’ tours on this page – ‘almost’!
Literary Wight
Medina Bookshop
As mentioned in Royalty, Racing & Rigging section, Cowes is home to the Medina Bookshop, run by singer songwriter Paul Armfield (himself a perfect example of the frequent connection between literature and music on the Island). Peter Harrigan, Director of Medina Publishing is also based here. Peter is one of our partners with whom we work very closely. He has given several talks to our clients, as well as hosting several events for us. We also join forces in entertaining and working with visiting authors, which sometimes leads to ongoing connections, as demonstrated on this page. Peter also combines both literary and musical aspects of the Island, as he was the press officer for the early Isle of Wight (Music) Festivals.
Isle of Wight Literary Festival
The Medina Bookshop also supply the books for the Isle of Wight Literary Festival, which has now earned itself a place as one of the country’s finest. Should you choose to visit us in October, you will be able to bear witness to this for yourselves! The host for this Festival is none other than the wonderful Northwood House, again described on the ‘Royalty, Racing & Rigging’ page. The setting just couldn’t be better – and we are also fortunate enough that the beautiful St. Mary’s Church (below), set within its grounds, is used as a venue for some of the talks.
Garlic Farm at IOW Literary Festival 2025. Cookery demonstration followed by book signings
Isle of Wight literary heritage
Tennyson has received a good deal of attention from us, as might be expected (see both Victorian Wight and Fossils & Geology). But here he is again – as we can hardly write about Literary Wight without him!
Escaping from the prying eye of his celebrity status in Kensington, West London, he took up the suggestion of Isle of Wight friends to rent the house called Farringford in Freshwater Bay (which he later bought). This drew about a stream of other writers and artists and intellectuals from far and wide to visit him. But… of course, he can’t take credit for ALL the other Island writers. Neither was (or is) Freshwater the only thriving artistic colony on the Island.
Freshwater Bay, home to poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson for 40 years
Algernon Swinburne – resident of East Dene, Bonchurch
Swinburne was a highly colourful character who was a leading member of the Pre-Raphaelite group as a poet. Although not born on the Island (in the same way as Tennyson wasn’t), he did grow up here, in a house called ‘East Dene’ in Bonchurch. (Note the house’s name – you will meet it again!)
An Island Burial
Tennyson is buried in Westminster Abbey while his family are buried in Freshwater, Isle of Wight. Swinburne however, is buried on the Island (in Bonchurch), a mere stone’s throw from his childhood home. Neither of the poets died here.
Mutual respect but differences of opinion
Tennyson (who often visited Bonchurch) and Swinburne obviously knew each other well, as both lived and worked on the Isle of Wight for an overlapping period and inevitably moved in the same artistic circles. There was mutual respect, but they had as many differences as they did similarities, holding some vastly contrasting values and beliefs.
Candidate for Poet Laureate?
In fact, after Tennyson’s death in 1892, Swinburne was considered as a candidate for taking over the role of poet laureate, and his cause was championed by literary figures such as Oscar Wilde. He was, however, passed over as some of the subject matter he wrote about (especially in his younger years), was considered controversial at best and distasteful at worst. Gladstone, then Prime Minister, would have had the unenviable task of submitting his name to Queen Victoria, whose views on Swinburne were fairly clear!
Algernon Swinburne, as shown by Sue Lowday on her literary walk. Sue is also shown on her walk above.
Charles Dickens
Bonchurch and Dickens’ Island Connection
Charles Dickens famously spent a summer in Bonchurch in 1849, together with his family. Not only did he continue writing ‘David Copperfield’, his most autobiographical novel, while he was residing here at Winterbourne, but he also made the acquaintance of several people who he would use in not only that book, but also others. The blueprint of who would later become Miss Haversham in ‘Great Expectations’ was one of these. He adored the Island, particularly Bonchurch, and loved to roam the area, often climbing up St. Boniface Down just above the village. Noted for his walking habits, long and difficult hikes didn’t present him with a challenge, but rather offered a source inspiration and delight.
Presentation by Ian Dickens – great- great grandson of novelist Charles Dickens (Good to Go)
Ian Dickens, writer and artist and great-great grandson of his highly acclaimed ancestor, happens to live on the Isle of Wight. As another partner of ours, he will be happy to give you an extremely engaging illustrated talk on different variations on the theme of the life of his illustrious forebear. One of these in fact brings us right up to the present day.
This particular talk spans 5 generations of the Dickens family (including himself) and their connection to the sea. He ends with his personal experiences during his world circumnavigation in the clipper race of 2000/1. (He has written a book on this entitled ‘Sea Change’.) He recently delivered this talk to one of our VIP groups and held them captivated.
This presentation isn’t limited to being shown at any one venue – however, the photos shown here were at The Albion Hotel, Freshwater Bay (pictured top and right) - a stunning and fitting location to host it.
Anna Keen submitting a last-minute surprise for a (Dimbola) Dickens exhibition, drawn here tramping across the Island’s Downs. She is pictured here with Ian.
Guided Bonchurch Literary Walk (Good to Go)
Sue Lowday, Island historian and ‘Bonchurch as a Literary Colony’ expert, would love to lead you on a fascinating illustrated guided leisurely paced walk around the places in the village relating to the time not only of Dickens, but also, much more long-term, to that of Swinburne. She will also include other interesting and well-known characters who lived either directly in or close to the village. Sue has boundless knowledge and anecdotes and a scrapbook full of delicious snippets that she has collected over time to share with you.
Where Macaulay lived
Three Modern-Day Writers
I thought it both appropriate here to also focus on modern writers with strong Isle of Wight connections, all of whom we have worked with closely. None of them originate from the Island, making their perception of it all the more interesting for my purpose.Two are former clients and one is our partner Stephan Roman, a London-based author whose highly successful book ‘Isle and Empires’ was published by Isle of Wight’s Medina Publishing. I am ordering them according to the time I have known them - which means starting with Stephan.
Stephan Roman
Stephan and I have been working together for several years now and have formed a strong working partnership. He has conceived some truly enthralling and imaginative tours and talks - and he is now adding some new ones to stand alongside his tried and tested and much-loved ones.
‘Isle and Empires’ – by Stephan Roman
Not only is this incredibly well researched and informative, but also completely riveting and a real page-turner – quite difficult to put down! As he himself writes, his own parents inspired him to write this book by bringing the British, Russian and Polish sides of his family together. To quote from the book’s back cover…
“This is a journey into a world of imperial glory and power, family rivalry, wars, intrigue and alliances. It is also a story of Russia’s revolutionaries, spies and terrorists, and the refugees fleeing Tsarist oppression who found safety on the Isle of Wight”.
All of the above is covered in Stephan’s incredible walking tour, which he will be delighted to lead for group bookings of 10 people or more.
‘Ventnor – Cradle of the Russian Revolution’ with Stephan Roman (Good to Go Tour)
(timings approximate)
11.00 Coffee at The Terrace Rooms & Wine, Ventnor (formerly St. Augustine Villa, home to Alexander Herzen when he was in residence and the centre of Russian radical thinking)
11.45 Illustrated Talk at The Terrace about the Romanovs and Russian revolutionaries in Ventnor
1 p.m lunch with selected readings from Alexander Herzen’s letters about his time in Ventnor and stories about Turgenev and other ‘Ventnor radicals’
3 p.m. Short guided walk along the Esplanade to The Spyglass Inn, passing the houses of both Turgenev and Tolstoy. Minibus to collect from Spyglass Inn
3.45 Visit Ventnor Heritage Centre and brief talk by staff about Ventnor
Tour ends at 4.30
NB This tour can also be combined with Stephen’s ‘Romanov
Walk’ in Cowes forming a brand new:
2-day ‘Good to Go’ Tour ‘Royals & Radicals’
Marrying together a day in Cowes in the North with a day in Ventnor in the South. Spend your first day in Cowes discovering the haunts and stories of the Romanovs and your second in Ventnor, discovering those of the revolutionaries plotting to overthrow them!
Take a look at both sides of the story as well as both sides of the Island!
A new edition will soon be available and hopefully Stephan will have some copies for sale should you wish to buy one.
Shown below, a lovely Dutch client snapped up a copy of the original hardback edition in another of our wonderful Island bookshops, this time ‘Babushka Books’ of Shanklin. She was on a ‘create your own’ Literature and Gastronomy tour, when she was delighted to find and buy a copy.
A past Russian connection with Ventnor
So, just why was it that in Victorian times more Russian was spoken in Ventnor than English? No better person than Stephan to answer this question. Allow him to explain the connections between the Isle of Wight and Russia from the times of Peter the Great in 1698 right up until 1918 in a way which you will find fascinating, compelling and relevant. However, just a little bit of background information for you below…
‘Ventnorgrad’ (please also see Victorian Wight)
St Augustine Villa (pictured left) is today called The Terrace with Wine and Rooms – a really luxurious hotel.
In Ventnor in the 1850s and 60s, it was the intellectuals, radicals and revolutionaries who were plotting on this small tucked-away corner of what was for them a faraway island to overthrow the existing Russian regime. There were a lot of them here – in fact, so popular did it become that it was laughingly referred to as ‘Ventnorgrad’ by its Russian residents!
Several of them were writers – and the one I will mention here is Ivan Turgenev (of ‘Fathers and Sons’ fame). Both in Stephan’s book and on his tour, you will discover, among many other fascinating facts, how the central character of the book was the result of a ‘waking dream’ that Turgenev experienced on a walk from Ventnor to Blackgang Chine.
If you find this topic fascinating – please get in touch with us and let us liaise with Stephan to organise your tour!
Susanna Hoe
Susanna (who you already met briefly on the’ Royalty, Racing & Rigging’ page), is the author of a series of books about women and islands – a fascinating and highly original concept. Her book ‘The Isle of Wight: Women, History, Books and Places’ is the last of the series.
She contacted me to ask if I would show her round – not wanting to visit the more obvious spots, but to locate different places she already knew that she needed to visit for her research. She also required a travel companion who could throw more light on some at least of the people and places she was going to write about.
Susanna signing book for Brian Hinton at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival
I was also able to introduce her to several of the partners who you will meet on these pages, not least book publisher Peter Harrigan – who went on to do a limited Isle of Wight run of the book for her. This in turn led to her being invited to speak at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival.
When her book was published, I couldn’t have been more surprised or moved to see that she had dedicated it to me – and what better testimonial could I ever hope to receive than the one actually printed inside the book:
“Jane Richter, to whom the book is dedicated, almost deserves the status of co-author, so much has she been involved in the creation of it. From when I first contacted her ‘as a last resort’, she rode round with me to wherever I needed to go during three research trips. During those drives and at the places we visited, she gave me the benefit of her knowledge. Later, with that knowledge of the Island’s history, as well as its present places, she read the whole book, correcting the obvious errors’.”
Amy Harmon
You have also already met Amy on my ‘Spiritual and Artistic Wight’ page and briefly again on ‘Royalty, Racing & Rigging’.
I did much the same for Amy as I did for Susanna – the same but also different – one writing fiction, one non-fiction – one trying to track down places from the past that were possibly no longer standing and the other searching for inspiration and a feel for a certain place. Both were desperate to talk to people – and as ever – making introductions to other Island people I felt might be helpful was as much part of my remit as anything else.
Susanna signing book for Amy
Susanna and Amy – a near miss!
A while ago – they physically missed each other on the Island by a mere matter of days. It was just before Amy’s second visit that Susanna made one of her rather more frequent ones (she living in the UK rather than the US makes visiting us far easier!)
However, Susanna signed a copy of her book as a gift for Amy to receive upon arrival – along with a hand-written message wishing her every success.
Almost Good to go – ‘Magical Musical & Literary Mystery Tour’
Take a fun gallop round the Island with us – skipping from West to South to Central and then East – dropping into fun places with a strong musical and/or literary connection (on the music side - mainly Isle of Wight Festival related). Our stops include quirky museums, fun book- or record shops, eateries-cum-event venues etc. etc.
The tour is ‘almost’ good to go because it isn’t as mapped out as our other ‘good to go’ tours tend to be. But it is almost there – in that it is strongly themed. Of course, your strongest emphasis can be either musical OR literary – or an even divide– or of course – you can choose a tour that is exclusively one or the other!
Hence, we are not even listing a proposed itinerary here yet, because if we did, how could it be a mystery? But we will share our (secret) ideas with you once you enquire about the tour!
For now – we have, out of fairness, given you some ‘clues’, in that you might be able to guess some potential destinations from texts or photos on this page – but you won’t find them all!
(As is usually the case – the timing for this tour is somewhat flexible – but we think you will need to allow 6 hours minimum to REALLY do it justice.)
Mural outside Monkton Arts
Musical Wight
The Isle of Wight Music Festivals – early and more recent
Much as I enjoy talking about the Isle of Wight early Festivals of 1968, 1969 and the iconic Jimi Hendrix Festival of 1970 (the last one was held in Freshwater), I won’t do so here but will save it for your visit! However – just to mention that there was a long gap between the Festivals of 1970 and the next one - in fact, they didn’t restart until 2002!
(Left), Ray Foulk and John Giddings, organisers of the early and modern IOW Festivals - (Right) Publicity material for 1970 Festival
(Below) Happy Festival-goers at a recent IOW Festival
1970 Isle of Wight Festival (Dedicated Festival Exhibition at Dimbola)
A very good place to study the early Festivals is none other than Dimbola Museum and Galleries which has a permanent Festival exhibition room, but there are also other places on the Island which feature these music festivals, and we will be more than happy to include them in your tour.
Here, a few pieces from The Museum of Ryde (Royal Victoria Arcade).
Iconic Jimi Hendrix statue
No doubt you will stand in the garden of Dimbola next to the Jimi Hendrix statue for the obligatory photo! But here is its Chairman, Dr. Brian Hinton doing it on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of saving this beautiful historic building from demolition. Jimi is gazing across to the fields of Afton Down, where he headlined the world-famous Isle of Wight Music Festival of 1970.
Suggestions of where to eat, drink & stay
All of the below are discussed elsewhere (with the exception of Monkton Arts and The Cow)
Bonchurch Inn
Ventnor Exchange
The Coast, Cowes
The Spyglass Inn, Ventnor
The Rock, Freshwater Bay
Monkton Arts, Ryde
Dimbola Tea Room, Freshwater Bay
The Cow at Tapnell Farm (near Freshwater)
The Terrace Rooms & Wine
The Albion Hotel, Freshwater Bay
East Dene, Bonchurch (pictured right)
Literary & Musical Wight — In Good Company
Writers, poets and composers have long been drawn to the Isle of Wight — not in passing, but to stay, work, and reflect. The places you’ve explored here can be followed lightly, or traced in depth, depending on which stories, figures or landscapes speak to you most.
As with all our tours, nothing is fixed. These literary and musical threads can stand alone or be woven together with other themes, shaped around your interests and the pace that suits you best.