It holds London linked to one of Charles Dickens’s most scandal characters has listed for $ 25 million

This house has seen the best of the moments and the worst of time.

London’s stately mansion linked to one of Charles Dickens’s most infamous fiction financiers has reached the market at a price of $ 25 million, and a much less tragic price than its original owner or his literary doppelgänger.

Located in Marylebone on Harley Street, the seven -bedroom house covers more than 8,600 square feet through five floors and is marketed by Beauchamp Estates, according to a statement.

The architecture of the real estate on the list II, which is traded with contemporary comforts, including a private spa, a immersion pool and a domestic cinema, amenities that place it “a world away from anything remotely Dickensian,” said Jeremy Gee, CEO of Beauchamp Estates.

Originally built between 1822 and 1825 by the architect John White Jr., the Georgia Red Maó building has Sash windows, a light entrance and an ornamental balcony overlooking a terrace on the first floor.

Inside, the house offers wide reception rooms, a formal dining room and a design kitchen with elegant cabinets and a central island.

The comforts occupy the lower level of the soil, including a mosaic lined pool, a mirror gym, a steam bath and a cellar. A private elevator connects several levels, from quarter -service to an attic suite with vault ceilings.

But his most intriguing asset can be his former owner and the scandal that came with him.

According to historical records at University College London, the city’s house was occupied by John Henry Deffell, a rich merchant, socialit and director of the East Indian company.

A prominent investor with interests in India and Jamaica, deffell attracted aristocratic followers who trusted his fortunes. When many of these investments collapsed as fraudulent in 1847, deffell fled from Marylebone and died by suicide, a story covered by the London Gazette and the Morning Chronicle.

Among the readers of these roles was a young Charles Dickens, then working as a journalist at La Moring Chronicle.

Scholars believe that the fall of Offell helped to shape the character of Merder in the “Little Dorrit” of Dorrit: a praised power player and the power of London, the financial empire of the financial empire that takes advantage of dozens of eager investors before unveiling in the scandal.

In the novel, Merdle resides in a house in Grand Harley Street with his social wife, and finally takes his own life when his schemes collapse, dragging the Dorrit family by ruin.

The parallels between fiction and fact are striking, with Harley Street, which serves as a literal and symbolic backdrop.

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who held several titles between 1852 and 1874, read “ Little Dorrit ” and condemned rich merchants in the area and referred to the street as a “ flat and spirit ” enclave, a critique that was probably sharpened by his political rival William Gladstone, he lived nearby, according to his launch.

Today, property is anything little.

The interior has been widely modernized with lifestyle -based updates, including a kitchen on the ground floor and a living room open to a private courtyard garden, as well as a main suite with a bathroom with marble and a sculptural autonomous bathtub.

The upper level houses a full attic apartment, while the lower level includes staff barracks and service rooms.

“This magnificent Victorian mansion on Harley Street in London is one of the largest houses in Marylebone and one of the few houses on the street with a private pool,” Gee said in a statement.

Rosy Khalastchy, director and head of Beauchamp Sttes’ St. John’s Wood and Marylebone Office, emphasized the mix of history and the main location of the house.

“This mansion of Marylebone is impeccably presented at the northern end of Harley Street, which is very sought after, as it provides easy access to the wide open spaces of the Regent Park and the shops, restaurants, cafes and other services of Marylebone High Street,” he said.

“The main rooms have magnificent and beautiful proportions finishes and, next to the large staircase, there is a passenger lift that runs from the lower land to the third floor.”