Portsmouth anniversary in 2016. In literature, Portsmouth is the chief location for Jonathan Meades' 1993 novel "Pompey", in which it is inhabited largely by incestuous and necrophiliac criminals. Since the release of his novel, Meades has presented a TV programme documenting Victorian architecture in Portsmouth Dockyard. In Jane Austen's novel "Mansfield Park", Portsmouth is the hometown of the main character Fanny Price, and is the setting of most of the closing chapters of the novel. In Charles Dickens' novel "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby", main protagonists Nicholas and Smike make their way to Portsmouth and get involved in a
Portsmouth specialises in professional drama, and the newly restored Kings Theatre in Southsea, which features amateur musicals as well a number of national tours. Another theatre is the Groundlings Theatre, which was built in 1784 and is housed in The Old Beneficial School, Portsea. New Prince's Theatre and Southsea's Kings Theatre were both designed by Victorian architect and entrepreneur Frank Matcham. The city also has three established music venues: the Guildhall, The Wedgewood Rooms (which includes a smaller venue, Edge of the Wedge), and Portsmouth Pyramids Centre. Portsmouth Guildhall, another theatrical venue, is one of the largest events venue in South