For Sale: Charles Dickens’ Bleak House Mansion

Do you have $3.85 million? May I have it, please? Fine. In that case, how about a mansion that once served as Charles Dickens’s summer home? That price includes “all fixtures, fittings, and artifacts, less personal effects.” What a deal!

The clifftop mansion includes a museum hosting smuggled goods from the Napoleonic War, which is fantastic; I’ve always wanted one of those. It currently moonlights as a bed & breakfast and wedding venue, but it could all be yours for 3.1 million pounds. If you like to throw fancy parties, this is your spot: your guests can congregate in the reception hall, dining rooms, bar and lounge, and reception room. Seven bedrooms and luxurious bathrooms ensure that everyone will be comfortable. When you’re all tuckered out from walking from one end of the house to the other, you can lean back in an antique chair, direct your gaze upwards, and appreciate the 19th century moldings.

The biggest selling point is a certain previous owner you may have heard of. Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield on these premises in 1851, and his office is still home to the desk where he sat and crafted his prose. He also planned Bleak House while staying at the mansion, which now bears the novel’s name. Yet there’s nothing bleak about the deep reds and yellows, bay windows, and detailed wood panels. With Charlie’s portrait and bust presiding over the scene, you could lean against the period fireplace and ponder the moral issues plaguing society (beard optional).

Situated by the sea, the views are sure to inspire anyone. Personally, I would remove the palm trees pictured on the listing, because they seem a tad out of place north of 45° latitude. Ah, if I were Queen…

If, like me, you’re not on the market for a mansion, you’d better visit while it’s still open to the public. Why not make a bucket list? You could add the Hemingway and Woolf residences to your list, for starters. Or, if you have recently inherited a fortune but aren’t into that ultra-extravagant life, how about living in Harry or Hermione’s childhood homes? (Okay, Hermione’s is pretty swanky, too. It’s good to be a dentist.)

YouTube Channel: United Kingdom Hotel Reviews

Featured image via Bleak House Broadstairs

h/t Mansion Global