Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit".
Dickens was inspired by his surroundings:
While living in Rochester, Kent, he came across this tombstone:
A change of spelling to Dorrit, and he had the bones to create a vast novel.
His heroine of course is Amy, but he utilised the name of Fanny from the tombstone for Amy's flighty sister.
Rochester is fun, if you know a smattering of Dickens trivia.
A few years ago we amused ourselves on the Dickens Walk round the streets of this ancient English town.
We found Restoration House, where Charles II spent the night in 1688.
It became the model for Satis House in Great Expectations.
It is very imposing, and a bit sinister: Cue the creepy black bird to fly into the picture ...
Here are a few samples of the Dickensian shops we found -
It's bleak and cold here, with rain expected. Perfect reading weather for the weekend.
Geez I wish we had old shops with character like that here in Brisbane, Australia. So so nice.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to know where Charles Dickens got his inspiration. Now I want to visit too!
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