4 Bookish Homes Perfect For Literary Lovers

From the manor house which inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre to Stephen Fry’s childhood home, a spate of properties perfect for literary lovers have hit the market in recent months. In honour of World Book Day (5 March), here’s a round-up of our favourite bookish homes currently for sale.

Live Next Door To Charles Dickens

If moving into a coaching-inn-turned-home once frequented by Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens wasn’t enough, why not move in next-door to the famed Victorian author, or at the very least his ghost? Though Charles Dickens has long been departed from this world, his former London home has been transformed into a museum about his life and works. On the same street as the famous Doughty Street Chambers, this corner of London is rich in history. The museum is Dickens’s last surviving London property, and many of his most beloved objects and artefacts, including his writing desk and original manuscripts, are on display throughout this recreation of his former home. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens lived at 48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury with his family from 1837 to 1839 for just £80 a year (around £11,600 today). Having penned many of his most beloved classics, including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, from this home, today the property is commemorated with a blue plaque. And now the nine-bedroom home which sits next door is up for sale.

On the market for £4.5m. Find out more at dexters.co.uk

Move To A Famous Literary Street

Tite Street in Chelsea has attracted many famous creatives over the years. From writer Oscar Wilde and artist John Collier, to painters James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent, this area of London has long boasted a rich and artistic heritage. When Wilde wasn’t romping around Mayfair, he wrote many of his most famous titles, including The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, from his Tite Street home, where he lived with his wife Constance from 1884 to 1895. Want a room of your own to pen a bestseller? This gorgeous one-bedroom apartment on Tite Street is currently on the market. 

On the market for £1.45m. Find out more at dexters.co.uk

Live Like Winnie The Pooh

This year marks 100 years since the honey-loving, red-top-sporting bear Winnie-the-Pooh was first introduced to the world. Resident of the fantastical Hundred Acre Wood, author A. A. Milne drew his inspiration from the real-life Ashdown Wood near his own home in the small East Sussex village of Hartfield. Want to live among the world of Pooh and his pals? This five-bedroom country house sits in the very same village where Milne once lived. Across its 2.24 (not quite 100) acres of grounds, this home boasts expansive lawns, a paved terrace, a paddock, a heated swimming pool, covered outdoor kitchen and BBQ area, plus a detached studio or gym space, as well as a bar and cinema.

On the market for £2m. Find out more at johndwood.co.uk

Buy A Home Down The Road From Sylvia Plath

While Primrose Hill has become known as a bit of a celebrity hotspot in recent years, it seems this leafy green corner of London has always attracted famous faces to its streets. The colourful road of Chalcot Square in Primrose Hill was once home to Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes from January 1960 until August 1961, for which they paid just 3 guineas a week. ‘When I came to my beloved Primrose Hill, with the golden leaves, I was full of such joy,’ wrote Plath of her former home. And this Grade II listed property is just a couple of doors down. Arranged over six floors, this five-bedroom house has been designed by renowned interiors expert Taylor Howes.

On the market for £9.5m. Find out more at knightfrank.com