Charles Dickens

"He can touch every chord of human sympathy with an intensity of power which would be almost painful if it were long sustained."

The Hampshire Telegraph describing the last visit of Charles Dickens to his birthplace of Portsmouth in 1866 when he gave a reading.

Birth of a literary giant, Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, one of England’s literary giants, was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812. He was the son of John Dickens, a pay clerk in the Dockyard and his wife Elizabeth. John and Elizabeth occupied a comfortable home at 387 Mile End Terrace, now 393 Old Commercial Road. Their house somehow survived the subsequent devastation of Portsmouth and is preserved in the care of Portsmouth City Museums and Records Service. To find out more, or take a virtual tour, visit their website: http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/