For Dickens, it was a not-so-bleak house

A bust of John Dickens that now stands on the landing outside the birth room was made later in life when he achieved a sort of fame because of the success of his son.

The family lived in this rented house for only a few months after Charles's birth. Then they moved to another house in Portsmouth, which offered lower rent. By 1815 the family moved from Portsmouth to Chatham and later to London.

But this little house is where it all began for Charles Dickens, and seems the setting for his later longings for a happy family.

The image of a secure childhood was brief for Dickens. After the family moved to London, his father, who could not pay his bills, was taken to debtors' prison.

At age 12, young Dickens was sent to work in a blacking (boot polish) factory, which traumatized him, but also eventually gave him material for his stories. The orphans he often wrote about - David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Pip of "Great Expectations" - all had a bit of Charles Dickens in them.

Although he was not an orphan, the feeling of abandonment was part of him. His charming father had so much trouble paying his debts and staying out of prison that this pattern continued the rest of his life. Dickens's characters of Micawber ("David Copperfield") and William Dorrit ("Little Dorrit") are versions of his father.

When his father felt enough on his feet to have his son stop the grueling, dirty work at the factory, his mother nevertheless wanted him to continue, to help the family's finances.

Dickens never forgot that. His mother's character, too, showed up in his stories - as in Mrs. Nickleby in "Nicholas Nickleby."

But in Portsmouth, the little Dickens family, was, by all accounts, a happy young family, living in the cozy brick house not far from the sea.

It's reported that Dickens returned to Portsmouth three times after he achieved fame, and in 1866, with his manager, he looked for his birthplace, but was unsure which of the small houses it was.

"Eventually," says Rosalinda M. C. Hardiman of the Birthplace Museum, "he did a mock collapse upon a set of steps, pretending to be a lovesick clown. The householder came out and chased the two men away, little knowing that one was the famous writer Charles Dickens."

The top floor of the house holds some memorabilia - a lock of his brown hair, a photo of Dickens reading to his daughter, and the green couch, now surrounded by a brass rail, with a sign cautioning visitors not to sit on it.

We crept up to the little attic where a cupboard holds souvenirs sold during Dickens's day that related to his popular books. Until Dickens, no authors had items marketed to go with their books.

When we left, each step toward the shopping area of Portsmouth and the train station took us away from the sea and away from the humble beginnings of the author whose stories were as popular in his day as the adventures of Harry Potter are today.

Charles Dickens never forgot his beginnings: His novels revolved around the great themes of treatment of the poor, the working class, and especially children.

And it all began in the little brick house in Portsmouth, England.

• For more information: Charles Dickens Birthplace, 393 Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 4QL England; www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk www.portsmouthmuseums.co.uk

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