see [page 9]
The Old Curiosity Shop in Portugal Street, said to be the house assigned by the novelist for the residence of Little Nell and her grandfather, was “one of those receptacles for old and curious things, which seem to crouch in odd corners of this town, and to hide their musty treasure from the public eye in jealousy and distrust.” It is possibly the best known among the landmarks of places made famous by Dickens.
The Grave of Little Nell
see [page 8]
“They saw the vault covered and the stone fixed down. Then, when the dusk of evening had come on, and not a sound disturbed the sacred stillness of the place when the bright moon poured in her light on tomb and monument, on pillar, wall, and arch, and most of all (it seemed to them) upon her quiet grave in that calm time, when all outward things and inward thoughts teem with assurances of immortality, and worldly hopes and fears are humbled in the dust before them—then, with tranquil and submissive hearts, they turned away, and left the child with God.”
Dotheboys Hall, in “Nicholas Nickleby,” is said to have borne a close resemblance to Shaw’s Academy at Bowes, Yorkshire; but Dickens in his
Dotheboys Hall at Bowes, Yorkshire
see [page 12]
preface to the book disclaimed his intention of identifying the infamous Mr. Squeers with the master of any particular school by his words, “Mr. Squeers is the representative of a class and not of an individual.” “‘The fact is it ain’t a Hall,’ observed Squeers, drily.... ‘We call it a hall up in London because it sounds better, but they don’t know it by that name in these parts. A man may call his house an island if he likes; there’s no Act of Parliament against that, I believe.’ ... The school was a long cold-looking house, one storey high, with a few straggling outbuildings behind and a barn and stable adjoining.”
Dickens’s Favourite Raven