In central London, a six-story Georgian property adorned with blue plaques that housed American novelist Herman Melville became available for rent over the weekend for £ 19,500 (US $ 26,843) per month.

The blue disc encrusted in the facade of the building, which is part of the city’s famous Blue Plaque program, means that the property is an important place because a notable person once lived there.

Melville lived at the house in 1849 and it was there that he began to write his magnum opus “Moby Dick”, a book considered “the greatest novel in American literature”.

The author was a “tireless party animal and tourist” while in the capital, according to English Heritage, which runs the Blue Plaque program. “In his diary, he recorded seeing the Lord Mayor’s Show, a public hanging, the British Museum, the National Gallery and the London Zoo,” according to the organization’s website.

There were also descriptions in his diary of imaginary “grease rooms” in the butchers of London’s long-gone Fleet Market, and it was in the town that Melville first saw the footage of JMW Turner’s whale hunt, providing visual inspiration for his new book. , according to SEO agency Dexters.

Recently renovated, the house spans 4,400 square feet and is adorned with high ceilings, wood-paneled walls, period fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows and a roof terrace with stunning views of the London Eye and the river, providing an excellent vantage point for the city’s famous and popular New Year’s Eve fireworks display, the real estate agency said.

There is also a large entrance hall, a double reception, two kitchens and five bedrooms.

“This beautiful Georgian townhouse in Westminster has it all – heritage, character and incredible views of London landmarks,” Lazarus Demetriou, director of Dexters Fitzrovia, said in a statement. “It offers the perfect contemporary family home in one of London’s most exclusive locations.”

The London rental market, especially in the very high end, has seen increasing demand from tenants, who are returning to the city en masse and looking for more space.

The supply is so limited that some potential tenants have accepted short-term rentals, booked hotels or even signed pre-rental agreements, according to a recent report from Knight Frank.