Nightmare … is the habitat of childhood. In these startling words, Frederick Busch, in “A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life,” characterized Charles Dickens’ perspective concerning the lives of children. While our first reaction might be to conclude that Dickens was a victim of his own hyperbole, it would be more restrained to acknowledge that he himself had experienced a horrific childhood and fictionally represented his experiences in “Bleak House” as well as …