How many children did Charles Dickens have?
CHARLES DICKENS is a towering figure in world literature, who many regard as one of the greatest writers ever.
But how many children did he have, and who was his wife? Here's all you need to know.
How many children did Charles Dickens have?
Charles Dickens is one of the greatest fiction writers in the English language.
Scholars and critics regard him as a genius, and his work continues to be widely read to this day.
In addition to his prodigious literary output - including fifteen novels - he also found time to have a large family.
Charles and his wife Catherine had 10 children together, though their daughter Dora Annie Dickens sadly died in infancy.
His children are:
- Charles (Charley) 1837-1896 - started in banking and business but was declared bankrupt and wrote reference books
- Mary 1838-1896 - known as Mamie she wrote My Father As I Recall Him
- Kate 1839-1929 - longest surviving child who died aged 89. She was known for her fiery temper and married twice. Her only child died young
- Walter 1841-1863 - reached rank of lieutenant in the East India Company but fell into debt and left many unpaid bills for his father after his death aged just 22
- Francis 1844-1886 - he joined the Bengal Mounted Police and then Canada’s Northwest Mounted Police
- Alfred 1845-1912 - also had money worries and moved to Australia. Married Jessie Devlin and had two daughters
- Sydney 1847-1872 - followed a career in the Navy but got into financial troubles before passing away aged 25
- Henry 1849-1933 - nicknamed Harry he was s sportsman and had a career in law. Knighted in 1922, he is the grandfather of author Monica Dickens. He was the last surviving child of Charles, dying aged 84
- Dora 1850-1851 - Dora passed away at eight months old
- Edward 1852-1902 - he followed his brother to Australia and became an MP in New South Wales
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Who was Charles Dickens?
Dickens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1812, the second of eight children.
His first taste of literary success was the 1836 publication of The Pickwick Papers in serial form.
He then found huge success as a novelist with classics like Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol.
His works are frequently adapted for stage and screen and is celebrated to this day for his satire, humour, and ingenious storytelling.
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He died aged 58 on June 9, 1870, in Higham, Kent,
He is buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Who was Charles Dickens' wife Catherine Thomson Hogarth?
Catherine Thompson Hogarth was born in Edinburgh on May 19, 1815.
She met Dickens through her father who was a journalist at the Morning Chronicle where Dickens worked as a young man.
They were married on April 2, 1836, before separating in June 1858, just six years after their youngest child, Edward, was born.
It's not known why they separated, but there were rumours that Charles had a fling with an actress, and it was even suggested that he'd had an affair with his sister-in-law, Georgina.
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Despite the separation, she remained loyal to Charles and on her deathbed gave a collection of letters from him to her daughter, saying: "Give these to the British Museum – that the world may know [Charles] loved me once".
She died of cancer aged 64 in 1879, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.