Dickens at Bonchurch, 1849

From The Spectator, 22 May, 1993

Dickens at Bonchurch, 1849
by Alan Ross

'The prettiest place I ever saw my life, at home or abroad –
Charles Dickens in a letter to his wife, Kate.

The sea curved like a cutlass,
Through pines a presentiment
Of blue. 'Invisible till 2'
He instructed, and stuck to it
Regardless, back to the view.

Later, visibility restored,
He held court: Carlyle and Tennyson,
Thackeray. 'Much good merriment,'
Rounders on the beach, swimming,
Diversions for the easily bored.

Not just writing. Daily he frolicked
Among bamboos and willow,
Showered under a contraption rigged
To his own design. The lace
Of the sea fretted around his feet.
And always Copperfield proceeding apace.