April 2, 1836- Charles Dickens Married Catherine Thomas Hogarth

April 2

Copy of Catherine Dickens Portrait

On April 2, 1836, Charles Dickens, one of the most celebrated writers of the Victorian era, married Catherine Thomson Hogarth at St. Luke’s Church in Chelsea, London. Their marriage began a life filled with literary success, travel, and personal challenges.

Dickens first met Catherine in 1834, working as a journalist for the Morning Chronicle. Catherine’s father, George Hogarth, was the newspaper’s editor and a well-connected music critic. Dickens frequently visited the Hogarth household, where he became close with Catherine and her sisters, Mary and Georgina​. By 1835, Dickens and Catherine had been engaged and married a year later. Dickens was a mere 24 years old then, and his literary career was beginning to flourish. His first significant work, The Pickwick Papers, was being published monthly, and he was gaining recognition as a promising new author​, a time filled with excitement and promise.

Following their wedding, Dickens and Catherine enjoyed a brief honeymoon in Chalk, Kent, before settling into Furnival’s Inn in London. Their family soon expanded, with the couple welcoming ten children over the years. Their firstborn, Charles Dickens Jr., arrived in January 1837​. During the early years of their marriage, Catherine played a crucial role in supporting Dickens in his writing and social engagements, often accompanying him on his travels. However, life with Dickens was demanding. His literary fame meant constant work, public readings, and a busy social life, which affected their relationship​.

As Dickens’s career soared, his marriage with Catherine began to deteriorate. By the 1850s, Dickens grew increasingly distant from his wife. He found companionship in Ellen Ternan, a young actress, which further strained his relationship with Catherine​. In 1858, after 22 years of marriage, Dickens and Catherine officially separated. The separation, a highly publicized event, saw Catherine moving out, taking only one of their ten children, while her sister Georgina Hogarth stayed with Dickens to help raise the others. The separation was highly publicized, with Dickens issuing a letter denying wrongdoing but subtly blaming Catherine for their failed marriage​.