Timothy West to bring Dr Johnson back to life for Boswell

ACTOR Timothy West will appear as Dr Johnson in a special performance for the Boswell Book Festival, based at the ancestral home of his famed Scottish biographer, James Boswell.

The Ayrshire literary festival, in only its second year, has won backing from Creative Scotland and EventScotland. It celebrates Boswell’s legacy, and the art of biography and memoir, at his home of Auchinleck House.

The line-up includes death camp survivor Zdenka Fantlova, with her book The Tin Ring, about her rescue from Bergen-Belsen by an unknown British soldier. Other highlights include Christopher Ward, who wrote And the Band Played On, about his grandfather, a violinist on the Titanic. Retired MP Sir Tam Dalyell, and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway, will appear to discuss their memoirs.

West appears as the famous lexicographer in Dr Johnson’s Dictionary of Crime, a comic thriller. But the festival also includes a new series of “life writing” sessions and masterclasses, to help people write their own biographies, memoirs, or family histories.

The former director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, James Holloway, will discuss the importance of portraits or photos as records in a “Portrait or Pen” session.

The festival’s founder and director, Caroline Knox, said: “After our hugely successful first year, we felt there was an opportunity to dig deeper into the theme of biography. Many people find it very rewarding pulling together their ancestor’s lives, but what do they do next with the material?”

TIM CORNWELL