Drama in dictionary

Mel Gibson and Robin Williams will star in a movie version of The Surgeon of Crowthorne by best-selling English author Simon Winchester, guest at a New Zealand Herald Dymocks literary luncheon this month.

The book is based on the unlikely relationship between the stern Sir James Murray (Gibson), first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and one of his finest contributors (Williams), who turned out to be a convicted murderer.

At the August 28 literary luncheon Winchester, will talk about his experiences as a foreign correspondent and his latest book, The Map that Changed the World. It deals with another unsung hero - William Smith, the father of British geology.