Literary societies

I had just been handed a cup of coffee and an agenda for the AGM. As I looked around I saw two women approach each other with slightly embarrassed anticipation. "Hello. I'm sure we've met before. You're Jane Austen aren't you?" "No, I'm Elizabeth Gaskell. Aren't you George Eliot?" I was attending the annual general meeting of the Alliance of Literary Societies. Several years and several meetings later, and I now know by sight Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy - or, to be precise, I know the people who run societies for readers with a passion for those writers. Over a hundred literary societies belong to the Alliance. Though I consider myself to be well-read, I've not heard of some of the authors, e.g. Sheila Kaye-Smith, John Meade Falkner, Malcolm Saville and Charles Williams, P.G. Wodehouse, John Betjeman, H.G. Wells, Graham Greene, J.R.R. Tolkien and on and on. There's even a society for a fictional character - Sherlock Holmes.

Literary societies undertake a great many activities for the benefit of their members. They publish newsletters, journals, bibliographies, webpages and editions of out-of-print works. They also arrange conferences, readings, performances, concerts, guided walks, social events and visits to places associated with their author. These activities enhance or restore the reputations of some writers, bring others to the attention of a new generation of readers, and encourage the appreciation of our literary heritage. Anniversaries often provide pegs for literary societies to hang events on. In the past few years the Housman Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the publication of A Shropshire Lad and the Jerome K. Jerome Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the publication of Three Men on the Bummel.

Births and deaths also provide occasions for members to meet and socialise. In 2000, the Stevenson Society got together to celebrate the 150th anniversary of RLS's birth, while the Rupert Brooke Society gathered together at Grantchester on the 85th anniversary of his death. Westminster Abbey is a special venue for literary societies to meet, and the 70th anniversary of D.H. Lawrence's death, the 150th anniversary of Thomas Hardy's birth, and the centenary of the publication of John Masefield's first poem were all commemorated there in recent years. The Browning Society holds an annual commemoration at the Abbey for Elizabeth Barrett and Robert. Honeymoons aren't usually celebrated, but the 150th anniversary of the Tennysons' honeymoon was, with a weekend on Lake Bassenthwaite.

When not celebrating the publications, births or deaths of their author, literary societies celebrate their own anniversaries: the Beatrix Potter Society and the Angela Thirkell Society gathered together when they each turned 20 in the year 2000. The Richard Jefferies Society celebrated its 50th, while the Arthur Ransome Society spent its 10th anniversary in - where else? - the Lake District. The Edward Thomas Fellowship spent its 21st birthday in Steep, Hampshire, where Thomas lived for many years.

You might think that there is rivalry between societies, along the lines of "our author is better than yours", but this is not usually the case. When the Rider Haggard Society arranged a meeting in East Sussex to explore his connections with Rudyard Kipling, members of the Kipling Society received special invitations to attend and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Lichfield in Staffordshire is famous for its connections with Dr Johnson; when the Philip Larkin Society organised a guided walked around the town (the young Larkin visited his relatives there in 1940 and found 17 Larkin graves in the cemetery), the Johnson Society was delighted.

Speaking of graves, the Thomas Lovell Beddoes Society's newsletter reports that two members, while attending the 1996 AGM in Bristol, scaled the gates of a burial ground one dark evening in search of Beddoes' final resting place in 1849. Forcing their way through jungle-like undergrowth they came to the most likely spot - covered with 50 years' accumulation of garden rubbish. They hacked and dug until the corner of a gravestone appeared. But spades were needed, and there was no time - they were late for a discussion back in the pub of Beddoes' most famous work, Death's Jest Book.

Literary societies have successfully campaigned for postage stamps to commemorate their authors, encouraged publishers to reprint their works and persuaded local authorities to put plaques on buildings. Anthony Trollope was admitted to Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey after persuasion from the Trollope Society. The Jane Austen Society and the Francis Brett Young Society have both produced information packs for students, while several societies have produced tapes and CDs of their authors' works.

With all this literary activity taking place you might think that a society of literary societies is, well, just a bit de trop. The Alliance of Literary Societies traces its origins back to 1973 when an article appeared in The Times about a property in Chatham, with Dickens associations, that was under threat of demolition.

The formation of the Landor Society took place at the birthplace on Smith Street, Warwick. Jean Field, second from right, is the author of a new biography of Landor, published by Brewin Books. Ltd.

Mrs Kathleen Adams, secretary of the George Eliot Fellowship, wrote to The Times suggesting that the combined voices of several literary societies might be more effective than a solitary voice when matters like this came up. She offered to co-ordinate any such efforts if threats to our literary heritage occurred anywhere in the country. Several literary societies contacted her and for the next 15 years she acted as the secretary of an informal organisation, with neither committee nor funds. A few years later, when there were plans to build a petrol station next to George Eliot's childhood home near Nuneaton, she was able to call on all the societies to object - and Nuneaton Borough Council backed down. At a meeting in Birmingham in 1988, delegates from 27 literary societies formally created the Alliance. It now produces a newsletter, a journal and a handbook for member societies.

This latter includes a calendar of literary events and a model constitution; information on copyright, commemorative plaques and stamps, specialist booksellers, public liability insurance and data protection; and advice on various matters. The actor and broadcaster Gabriel Woolf, who specialises in giving one-man literary performances, was president of the Alliance from 1988 to 2001. Susan Hill, the popular novelist and children's writer, is the now president. Her enthusiasm for literature will ensure that the Alliance goes from strength to strength.

Linda Hart was chairman of the Friends of the Dymock Poets from 1993 to 2001.

Further information

To obtain a list of all the literary societies in the Alliance contact Mrs Rosemary Culley, 22 Belmont Grove, Havant, Hants PO9 3PU, tel 023 9247 5855, email rosemary@sndc.demon.co.uk or see the Alliance website at www.sndc.demon.co.uk

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