GIVEN all the recent excitement surrounding the local acquisition of the early edition of A Christmas Carol, signed by Charles Dickens and given to the widow of his Malton friend Charles Smithson, the timing of the launch of the new website for the Charles Dickens (Malton) Society could not have been better.

Linda McCarthy, the society’s secretary, said: “We’ve been working on this for some time. For several years, a website generously managed by Malcolm Chalk of Malton’s Worldwide Shopping Mall, has offered information about the Counting House Museum, but now we have developed our very own site.

“It tells all about the Dickens connections with Malton, the museum, and our society – including the performances and presentations we offer. There are details of a Dickens Trail around the town and a couple of quizzes, as well as links to other local sites.

“It’s been great to have the support of Armco, in the middle of Malton, to help us develop this leap into worldwide promotion. What Dickens would have made of the technology, we can only guess – but we certainly have great expectations.”

Following all the recent publicity about the book, we are confident of both increased interest in the Dickens/Malton connection and in our efforts to promote this, with more members joining to help us and more visitors to the town and the museum.”

To see the website go to dickenssocietymalton.co.uk