Charles V Catherine Dickens — Jean Wilson

In 1831 when nineteen, Charles was at last beginning to believe that he might be able to at least bury some of the past and escape following in his father's footsteps which frequently led to the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison.There were many opportunities opening up and an opportunity in his own extended family for an introduction into publishing came his way. Following this route he made the acquaintance of George Hogarth and quickly proposed to his daughter. He didn't marry an heiress but he did the next best thing, he married the daughter of an established literary gentleman, so it was something of a career move.From the birth of his first child he regretted his marriage. This was largely because Catherine's two younger sisters were brought into his house at his instigation and he became infatuated. His life finally unravelled when he became involved with Ellen Ternan, a young actress and he separated from Catherine.Documents still trickle out to throw light onto the tragedy.