In scenes beyond even the imagination of Britain's greatest novelist, the life of Charles Dickens was celebrated yesterday at simultaneous events at his birthplace, Portsmouth, and at the site of his burial in Westminster Abbey.

I read Nick Gibb's statement that every child should read a Dickens novel by the age of 11 with disbelief. Did he really – as your report (6 February) suggests – say the book should be Great Expectations?

In scenes beyond even the imagination of Britain's greatest novelist, the life of Charles Dickens was celebrated yesterday at simultaneous events at his birthplace, Portsmouth, and at the site of his burial in Westminster Abbey.

Despite two centuries of change, many poor communities are still facing the same literacy problems experienced in Victorian times, Nick Gibb said today.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be leading celebrations today to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

I enjoy ploughing through i's daily email inbox, filtering out the more vituperative comments, replying where needed, but often just being overwhelmed by the kindness of our readers.

The Schools Minister has great expectations of Britain's 11-year-olds, singling out Charles Dickens's classic as one of the books all children should read before they leave primary school. But on the eve of Dickens's 200th birthday, his biographer warned that young readers do not have the attention span to appreciate his work.

The Schools minister Nick Gibb has great expectations of Britain's 11-year-olds, singling out Charles Dickens' classic as one of the books all children should read before they leave primary school. But on the eve of Dickens' 200th birthday, his biographer has warned that young readers do not have the attention-span to appreciate his work.

The latest news and views from the world of travel

Sometimes there are things we just don't need to know. Theodora Dallas, the juror who was sentenced on Monday to six months in jail for causing a trial to be aborted for googling the accused and telling fellow jurors what she'd uncovered, probably now realises that better than most. But if there was a lesson to be learned from her conviction, it wasn't one that could be discerned from the reporting of her case.

The thing is that sometimes there are things we just don't need to know. Theodora Dallas, the juror who was sentenced on Monday to six months in jail for causing a trial to be aborted after she Googled the accused and told her fellow jurors what she'd uncovered, probably now realises that better than most. But if there was a lesson to be learned from her conviction, it wasn't one that could be discerned from the reporting of her case.

Susan Elkin selects the best of the new books being published to celebrate Dickens's bicentennial year