The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of the poetics of Pater's story "The Child in the house" (the specifics of the narrative, the memory-perception of the author and the characters, the traditions of romanticism, impressionistic elements of the writer's style). Methodology and Approach. The article is based on a holistic historical and literary analysis of the work, with elements of cultural and semiotic approaches. Results. The programmatic value of the work is proved, the author of which, following the philosophical and aesthetic thoughts of contemporaries (Heidegger, Bergson), foresaw the ideas of modernism, the Proust poetics of searching for lost time, created the innovative concept of childhood, the formation of the aesthetic conscience of the character - the Man of Art. Theoretical and / or Practical Implications. The results of the study expand and deepen the understanding of the work of one of the most significant representatives of English aestheticism; it can be used in lecture courses and practical classes in the University curriculum in foreign literature of the second half of the 19th century.