Charles Dickens Museum, Dining Room
Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine lived here with the eldest
three of their ten children, with the older two of Dickens' daughters,
Mary Dickens and Kate Macready Dickens being born in the house.
A new addition to the household was Dickens' younger brother
Frederick. Also, Catherine's 17-year-old sister Mary moved with them
from Furnival's Inn to offer support to her newly married sister and
brother-in-law. It was not unusual for a woman's unwed sister to live
with and help a newly married couple. Dickens became very attached to
Mary, and she died in his arms after a brief illness in 1837. She
inspired characters in many of his books, and her death is
fictionalized as the death of Little Nell. Dickens had a three year
lease (at £80 a year) on the property. He would remain here until 1839
after which he moved on to grander homes as his wealth increased and
his family grew. However, this is his only surviving London house.
The two years that Dickens lived in the house were extremely
productive, for here he completed The Pickwick Papers (1836), wrote
the whole of Oliver Twist (1838) and Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39) and
worked on Barnaby Rudge (1840–41).
Photo 92, May 2015