One of his biggest fans was a 10-year-old girl who lived in Buxton named Kate Douglas Wiggin. She grew up to become the author of such novels as "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm."

Dickens' great-great-grandson, Gerald Charles Dickens, will be in Buxton on Friday to perform his one-man rendition of "A Child's Journey with Dickens," Wiggin's story about meeting Dickens on the train from Portland to Boston.

Dickens is taking a break of sorts to come to Maine from his sixth annual whirlwind tour of America, during which he performs " A Christmas Carol" at least twice a day from the first of November to Christmas.

In an interview from a hotel room in Virginia last week, Dickens said he "discovered" the connection between Wiggin and his great-great-grandfather about four years ago and decided to create a performance about it because the story was so endearing.

"She found herself on the train with him and snuck up to his seat and began talking about how much she liked his books," Dickens said. "She told him in no uncertain terms what parts of his books she found interesting and what parts she found dull. He was absolutely swept away by it."

Dickens adds that the author had been involved in a serious train accident a few years before meeting Wiggin. After the accident, he was always anxious on trains, so her "popping up out of nowhere" was a welcome distraction, Dickens says.

Unlike Wiggin, Gerald Charles Dickens says he was not a big fan of his great-great-grandfather's writing as a kid. His first experience with Dickens' writing was reading "Oliver Twist" at age 13 in a class taught by a teacher with "an absolute lack of imagination."

Once he became an actor, however, Dickens was approached about doing a dramatic reading of "A Christmas Carol" for a charity event in London. Performing the story provided some insight into the theatrical nature of much of Dickens' work. After that, the great-great-grandson says he was hooked.

"A light clicked on. I went back and re-read 'Oliver Twist' and suddenly it made sense to me," he said.

Dickens now goes into schools and libraries and talks with kids about his great-great-grandfather's personality and childhood and about the times in which he lived. The goal is to spark an interest in his literary works among kids who might otherwise be daunted by the length and language of the novels.

"The secret is to make it live," he said. "to make it fun."

Dickens has never been to Maine and he's looking forward to spending Thanksgiving here, as well as performing Wiggin's story....

Dickens doesn't expect the kind of rock-star treatment from his audience in Maine that his great-great-grandfather used to get. But with 300 tickets sold already, it's safe to say that Dickens' fans are excited about meeting a real relation and hearing him bring to life Wiggin's memoir of her encounter with the British author in 1868.

"I love history and the history of things," said Beverly Atkinson who is hosting the reception for Dickens at her home, the Brewster Mansion in Buxton, which is adjacent to the Tory Hill Church. Joining Dickens at the reception and book-signing will be Eleanor Poe Barlow, author of "The Master's Cat", the story of Charles Dickens as told by his cat.

The performance will benefit the Dorcas Society, the charitable and literary organization started 104 years ago by Wiggin to help preserve the Parish House in Buxton, which is used by many community groups....