Charles Dickens

 Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens not only walked out on his wife, but he also took the children, which was the law of the day. Charles Dickens junior, was the only one who stayed with his mother Catherine Dickens, who gave birth to ten children.

While Dickens didn't encourage his children to see their mother, he didn't prohibit contact. He purchased a house for Catherine Dickens and sought a legal separation. He blamed his wife for her numerous pregnancies and thought she'd given him far too many children.

There were friends and acquaintances who thought Dickens had treated his wife badly. He accused her of being an unfit mother and we know that he tried to have her committed to a mental asylum, but a doctor found no evidence that she suffered from a mental disorder.

Dickens had become infatuated with a young 18-year-old actress called Ellen Ternan and they later entered into a secret relationship. It seems strange that considering the way in which he treated Catherine Dickens, her sister Georgina Hogarth, continued to live with the family as the housekeeper and remained devoted to Dickens.

Another sister, called Mary Hogarth, who died aged 17-years-old, is probably the sister that Dickens was far more interested in. She'd also lived with the Dickens family and he was badly affected by her death as was Catherine Dickens.