London townhouse with ties to Charles Dickens asks $25M

This house has seen the best of times — and the worst of times.

A stately London mansion tied to one of Charles Dickens’ most infamous fictional financiers has hit the market with a roughly $25 million asking price — and a far less tragic fate than its original owner or his literary doppelgänger.

Located in Marylebone on Harley Street, the seven-bedroom townhouse spans more than 8,600 square feet across five floors and is being marketed by Beauchamp Estates, according to a press release.

The Grade II-listed property pairs period architecture with contemporary comforts, including a private spa, a plunge pool and a home cinema — amenities that place it “a world away from anything remotely Dickensian,” said Jeremy Gee, managing director of Beauchamp Estates.

Originally built between 1822 and 1825 by architect John White Jr., the red-brick Georgian building features sash windows, a fanlight entrance and an ornamental balcony overlooking a first-floor terrace.

Inside, the home offers expansive reception rooms, a formal dining room and a designer kitchen with sleek cabinetry and a central island.

Amenities occupy the lower ground level, including a mosaic-lined swimming pool, a mirrored gym, a steam room and a wine cellar. A private lift connects multiple levels, from the service quarters to a penthouse suite with vaulted ceilings.

But its most intriguing asset might be its former owner — and the scandal that came with him.

According to historical records from University College London, the townhouse was first occupied by John Henry Deffell, a wealthy merchant, socialite and director of the East India Company.

A prominent investor with interests in India and Jamaica, Deffell attracted aristocratic followers who entrusted him with their fortunes. When many of those investments collapsed as fraudulent in 1847, Deffell fled Marylebone and died by suicide — a story covered by the London Gazette and the Morning Chronicle.

Among the readers of those papers was a young Charles Dickens, then working as a journalist at the Morning Chronicle.

Scholars believe that Deffell’s downfall helped shape the character of Mr. Merdle in Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” — a lauded merchant and London power player whose financial empire draws in scores of eager investors before unraveling into scandal.

In the novel, Merdle resides in a grand Harley Street home with his socialite wife and ultimately takes his own life when his schemes collapse, dragging the Dorrit family into ruin.

The parallels between fiction and fact are striking, with Harley Street itself serving as both literal and symbolic backdrop.

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who held several titles between 1852 to 1874, reportedly read “Little Dorrit,” and condemned the area’s wealthy merchants and referred to the street as a “flat, spiritless” enclave — a critique likely sharpened by the fact that his political rival William Gladstone lived nearby, according to the release.

Today, the property is anything but lackluster.

The interior has been extensively modernized with lifestyle-driven upgrades, including a ground-floor kitchen and a sitting room that open to a private patio garden, as well as a principal suite with a marble-clad bathroom and sculptural freestanding tub.

The top level houses a full penthouse apartment, while the lower level includes staff quarters and service rooms.

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

Rosy Khalastchy, director and head of Beauchamp Estates’ St. John’s Wood and Marylebone office, highlighted the home’s blend of history and prime location.

“This immaculately presented Marylebone mansion is located at the north end of Harley Street, which is highly sought after since it provides easy access to the wide open spaces of adjacent Regent’s Park and the shops, restaurants, cafes and other amenities of Marylebone High Street,” she said.

“The principal rooms have magnificent proportions and beautiful finishes and alongside the grand staircase there is a passenger lift running from lower ground to third floor.”