Charles Dickens and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term "Dickensian" is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace (now 393 Commercial Road), Landport in Portsea Island (Portsmouth), the second of eight children of Elizabeth Dickens (née Barrow; 1789–1863) and John Dickens (1785–1851). His father was a clerk in the
Landport Drapery Bazaar Landport Drapery Bazaar Landport Drapery Bazaar was a department store located on Commercial Road, Portsmouth. In 1870 Robert E Davies, the three time Mayor of Portsmouth opened a department store on what is now called Commercial Road (previously Union Road and Landport Road). He called his new enterprise the Landport Drapery Bazaar after the district that the store was located in. The original store was destroyed by fire in 1908, and subsequently rebuilt. However in 1941 the store received a direct hit from a German Bomber which left a giant crater in the middle of the store. The business however