At first glance, it seems unlikely that the white English Victorian writer Charles Dickens and the Black American musician Prince Rogers Nelson have anything in common.

But as two of Nick Hornby’s ‘artists who have shaped me, inspired me, made me think about my own work’ he set out to see whether there was anything he could learn from these two great artists and their prolific bodies of work. What did they do with their phenomenal talent? Did it damage them in some way, personally, professionally? Is there any way of knowing where it came from? Did it kill them?

With wit, curiosity and deep admiration Nick Hornby traces their extraordinary lives – from their difficult beginnings to the women they fell for to their limitless energy for work, to their money and the movies – and brilliantly illuminates their very particular kind of genius. Come along and find out more. Nick is the bestselling author of eight novels including ‘Just Like You’, ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘About a Boy’ and several works of nonfiction including ‘Fever Pitch’. He has also written several award-winning screenplays including ‘Brooklyn’, ‘Wild’ and ‘State of the Union’. Nick will be in conversation with broadcaster and Observer critic Alex Clark. This event is sponsored by Weightmans.