PART of the ethos of the Literary Festival is to celebrate writers with connections to the city. In 2017, the festival’s Salisbury Greats strand focused on the work of William Golding, Terry Pratchett and John Creasey. This year, the authors featured are Dorothy L Sayers and Thomas Hardy.

Dorothy L Sayers went to school in Salisbury at Godolphin and her debut novel, Whose Body? features Salisbury Cathedral Hotel. One of the founders of modern crime writing, her work will be explored by Martin Edwards (Salisbury Playhouse, Thursday, October 18, 7pm, £5), and her legacy in all-female crime panel (8.15pm, £5).

On Saturday, October 20, attention turns to the work of Thomas Hardy. Tony Fincham, the current chairman of the Thomas Hardy Society and author of several books about Hardy, will talk about the great writer and the Wessex he wrote about (Salisbury Library, 1.30pm, £3). This will be followed by a fascinating walk around Hardy’s Salisbury, led by Brenda Parry and Pat Withers (outside Salisbury Library, 2.30pm, free).

For a more general introduction to Salisbury and writing, festival director Tom Bromley will be leading a literary walk around Salisbury, featuring readings from some of the many novels set in the city, from Charles Dickens to Charles Cumming (outside Salisbury Library, 9.30am, free). Both walks are free and will take about an hour.