You are cordially invited to join us in celebrating Charles Lamb's 251st birthday, a CLS tradition.
Each year we gather on the nearest Saturday to 10th February to celebrate the work of Charles and Mary Lamb with a lecture from a distinguished Guest of Honour, lunch, and convivial Elian conversation. This year our guest of honour is Dr David Stewart (University of Northumbria), who will lecture on “Keats’s Slang and Speculations: Poetry’s Potential in the 1820s’”, chaired by Prof. John Gardner. Coffee from 10.30, lecture at 11, then we'll have lunch at Bath Spa University London's restaurant, with grace said by our guests from Christ's Hospital, the Grecians, and toast the immortal memory of the Lambs. After lunch we'll mark the publication of the first volume of the Collected Works of Charles and Mary Lamb by Oxford University Press, Complete Works of Charles and Mary Lamb, Volume I - Gregory Dart - Oxford University Press, a landmark in the history of Lamb studies. You're all most welcome: it will be a very friendly event.
Date: Saturday 7th February 2026
Time: 10.30am - 3.30pm
Location: Bath Spa University, 50 Hoxton Street, London, N1 6LP
To register, please use Eventbrite. Thank you.
Hazlitt’s portrait of Charles Lamb (1804) in The National Portrait Gallery
Charles Lamb, one of the great English essayists, was a child of London, the city that would inspire his best work. Born on Crown Office Row in 1775, he grew up in and around the Inner Temple and was educated at Christ’s Hospital in Newgate Street. He spent thirty-three years working as a clerk in the East India House on Leadenhall Street, writing poems, plays, and essays in his precious spare time. Renowned for his warm sense of humour and legendary social gatherings, he lived at the very heart of the literary scene of his day. His life, however, was often troubled by drink, depression, and tragedy. In 1796 his sister, Mary, stabbed their mother to death in a bout of insanity. Charles spent the rest of his life caring for his sister, foregoing marriage to ensure that she would not have to be confined indefinitely to an asylum. But their relationship was remarkably fruitful; they worked together on numerous literary projects and, in 1807, they published Tales from Shakespeare, a work that has never been out of print since. Charles died in 1834 and Mary in 1847. They lie in a shared grave in All Saint’s churchyard in Edmonton.
The Charles Lamb Society was founded in 1935 following the centenary of Lamb’s death. It aims to promote a wider and deeper understanding of the life and times of Charles and Mary Lamb. Each year we hold a series of events in London that try to preserve the spirit of Elian friendliness and good humour. New members are very welcome to join us. Please explore the site to find out more.