Bleak House, at Broadstairs on the eastern tip of the Kent coastline, takes its name from the novel which Dickens conceived at his family retreat. It was formerly known as Fort House, having been built as a small garrison, whose troops were charged with guarding the coastline against marauders. The epithet ``bleak'' comes from its austere, castellated facade and windswept position. From its windows Dickens watched dozens of ships founder on the infamous Goodwin Sands, graveyard over the centuries to hundreds of vessels.

In horrified letters to friends he described the awful sight of ships going down and their cargo oflivestock washed ashore. The current owners, Louis and Cheryl Longhi, who with their determination and eccentricity would not disgrace a Dickens novel, bought the property in 1976 from a newspaper magnate who created the museum 50 years ago. Without grants or subsidy it houses an eclectic jumble of Dickens artefacts, maritime history and a grizzly smugglers' museum.

Scholars and enthusiasts from all over the world visit the shrine, one of several homes occupied by the restless author until his death in 1870. Character actors who have come to soak up the atmosphere include the English comedienne Miriam Margolyes who has made a speciality of recreating Dickens's women on stage and screen.

It was at Bleak House that the novelist wrote his largely autobiographical masterpiece David Copperfield, drawing on personalities from the little harbour town, but disguising their identity by setting the action the nearby English Channel port of Dover.

Among the treasures on show are furniture used at anotherfavourite home, Gads Hill, first editions of the novels, a shorthand print edition of A Christmas Carol, the author's own proofmarks for a page of Bleak House, letters, a penknife, and editions of his novels in other languages including Dutch and Russian.

For any prospective homebuyer with $1.65m to spend, the undertaking is immense: there are 47 rooms, including a large west wing added after Dickens's time. Among the main attractions are the dining room in which Dickens, who travelled down river from London for his summer stays, entertained other writer friends including Wilkie Collins, who influenced the late and unfinished book The Mystery of Edwin Drood. His study overlooking the sea has also been recreated and is a favourite haunt of psychics who claim that the writer's continuing presence is tangible. The Longhis bought Bleak House for pounds $66,000 and calculate that they have spent a further $412,000 on its continuing renovation.