An actor held an audience enthralled at the close of another successful international conference.

Terence Stamp, famed for roles in Superman, Star Wars and Far From the Madding Crowd, visited Dorchester on Saturday for the Thomas Hardy Society’s 50th Anniversary Festival and International Conference.

Secretary Mike Nixon said Mr Stamp’s talk was a ‘wonderful climax’ to a great event.

He added: “He really was quite mesmerising and magical. He’s a very charismatic guy. He spoke about his career, interesting snippets about his role in Far From the Madding Crowd. He is actually left handed, but he had to do all the sword play right handed because of when the story is set.

“He spoke about working with Olivier – he’s a really lovely chap, so easy to get along with.”

Speaking about the whole conference, which included a screening of Far From the Madding Crowd at the Plaza, Mr Nixon said it had been ‘massively successful’, with people coming from as far away as China and Japan to attend.

Hardy has an enduring appeal, even in modern times, he added.

“I think it’s relevant to 2018 because of characters like the Mayor of Casterbridge, whose life falls apart when he falls off the wagon, Tess who is a single mother and Jude, who worries about marriage and relationships. These are all issues people still face today.

“And there is some really beautiful writing. People get so much pleasure from coming to Dorset and seeing the places these stories were set.”

Mr Nixon praised the society’s volunteers, adding: “The fact that this society started in 1968 and there are still 900 to 1,000 members is a tribute to their hard work.

“It still seems to be gaining momentum, and we hope that continues.”

The society runs as an educational charity, and, as well as running the annual conference, publishes its own journal, holds events and celebrates Hardy’s birthday every year on June 2.

Another of the society’s aims is to try to get Hardy’s novels back on the school curriculum – along with his literary contemporaries.

Mr Nixon said: “We don’t want him - or other writers like Eliot and Dickens – to disappear.”

For more information about the Thomas Hardy Society, visit www.hardysociety.org