Literature fans will get a chance to see the much-anticipated On Chesil Beach - a month before its general release.

The screening of the adaptation at the Bridport Arts Centre will be attended by novelist Ian McEwan.

The event is part of Bridport's From Page to Screen Festival and takes place on Wednesday, April 11.

The celebrated author's latest work to be given the film treatment features scenes shot locally, strengthening West Dorset's claim as a popular filming location.

The 2015 adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan, catapulted the region's stunning landscape into the spotlight and West Bay has become known internationally as the home of Broadchurch.

Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach is rated as among the most acclaimed British novels of this century. Published in 2007, it was short-listed for the Booker Prize, garnered glowing reviews and became a best seller. McEwan, has seen several of his novels adapted into films including The Comfort of Strangers and Atonement.

Saoirse Ronan earned her first Oscar nomination aged just 12 for her portrayal of Briony Tallis in Atonement, and returns to screens as Florence, one of the central characters of On Chesil Beach.

She stars alongside Billy Howle as Edward, Anne Marie Duff and Emily Watson. Florence and Edward are university graduates from drastically different backgrounds who spend their wedding night in a stuffy, sedate hotel near Chesil Beach.

Critics gave the film rave reviews after it premiered at the launch of the Toronto Film Festival.

Hollywood trade magazine Variety described it as #a vision of love that’s shockingly old-fashioned and tinglingly audacious. It should succeed in connecting with audiences eager to experience that all-too-rare thing: a romantic drama that gets so far into the mystique of its era that it takes you somewhere you’ve never been.'

Bridport Arts Centre Director Laura Cockett said: “It is an honour to welcome a writer of Ian’s standing to Bridport. He is a writer who has seen so many of his literary works made into film. I know he will offer audiences a unique insight into the process of film adaptation.”

Tickets for the event will be on sale early in March.

A general release date for On Chesil Beach was originally set for June, but this has been pushed forward to May 18.