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Mrs. Dickens
In the early days of their marriage, Charles Dickens was infatuated with his pretty, sweet-natured new wife, Kate. But as he found fame as a novelist and their family rose through the ranks of Victorian society, he grew increasingly frustrated that real people could not be controlled as easily as his characters.
Kate bears her husband ten children and travels the world by his side but the harder she tries to be a model wife the more she finds herself falling short. She seeks comfort and companionship in Anne Brown, the family's trusted servant, but whilst Anne comes to care deeply for Kate, her loyalties are tested to breaking point as the Dickens' marriage unravels.
Mrs Dickens reimagines the life of a complex, forgotten woman and tells the story of a decades-long marriage in all its tenderness, grief, romance and fury. Above all, it shows a woman silenced by more powerful voices until she finds the courage to use her own.
Kate bears her husband ten children and travels the world by his side but the harder she tries to be a model wife the more she finds herself falling short. She seeks comfort and companionship in Anne Brown, the family's trusted servant, but whilst Anne comes to care deeply for Kate, her loyalties are tested to breaking point as the Dickens' marriage unravels.
Mrs Dickens reimagines the life of a complex, forgotten woman and tells the story of a decades-long marriage in all its tenderness, grief, romance and fury. Above all, it shows a woman silenced by more powerful voices until she finds the courage to use her own.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2026
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June 25, 2026I have very complex feelings about this book. I really liked Emily Howes' debut novel The Painter's Daughters, which I read when it came out back in 2024, and I was so excited when I heard that she was writing about Catherine Dickens. Charles Dickens is my favourite author, but I went into this already aware of Dickens' mercurial nature, and his poor treatment of Catherine, so I didn't have a saintly image of him, nor was I armed ready with excuses and apologies for his behaviour. I was intrigued and went in completely open minded.
Where Mrs Dickens does succeed is giving Catherine 'Kate' Dickens a voice, bringing her out of obscurity and letting her stand out from under her husband's large shadow. Her depiction of Kate is sympathetic and human - I felt like I grew to know her better through reading this book, which is ultimately what Howes set out to do. I do think that her story was at times over simplified to make her a victim of not just her husband's cruelty but all of her family and the general public, too. This is slightly redeemed towards the end of the book, but it did sometimes feel like Catherine was being reduced to just that - a poor bullied victim with little to no agency.
There are many instances of very good writing where Howes hits the nail precisely on the head:
"He, the Inimitable, as he begins to sign himself, half in jest, half in earnest. She, the Beloved. A pair of characters in a play about happiness".
Even her choice to include Hilary Mantel's quote at the beginning of the book, "Once a woman has had ten children, she ceases to have a biography", was brilliant, and captured the essence of this story perfectly. There's a lot of ground to cover in the couple's 22 years of marriage, with a number of babies and books birthed between them, so not everything could be covered. It was interesting to see what was missing and skimmed over - the complete exclusion of John Forster was slightly odd to me considering how close he was to the family, but that may be just me.
The book isn't always the most subtle or nuanced when it comes to its portrayal of other people, however. Dickens himself is depicted as constantly cruel, essentially a tyrant to his wife and children with next to nothing redeemable about him. Georgina Hogarth, Kate's sister, is painted in one singular hue: that of the controlling, traitorous sister, which takes away all complexity of their relationship. Ellen Ternan is barely present, reduced to just a pretty young girl having an affair with a much older, famous man, though of course her interactions with Catherine were extremely limited so couldn't be deeply explored. Anne Brown was decent but at times I wondered if she really necessitated chapters written from her perspective, though her complex relationship with both Catherine and Charles was really interesting. I think maybe the book should have been written entirely from Catherine's perspective...this would be limiting but would also negate the issues with the representations of other people as it is all her opinion and point of view.
Overall, I think this is a good novel but it left me uneasy in some of its choices. I'm very curious to read more about Catherine and have ordered the biography, The Other Dickens, which Howes cites as her main source of research for this novel. I hope Mrs Dickens inspires more people to look deeper into Catherine's story.
Where Mrs Dickens does succeed is giving Catherine 'Kate' Dickens a voice, bringing her out of obscurity and letting her stand out from under her husband's large shadow. Her depiction of Kate is sympathetic and human - I felt like I grew to know her better through reading this book, which is ultimately what Howes set out to do. I do think that her story was at times over simplified to make her a victim of not just her husband's cruelty but all of her family and the general public, too. This is slightly redeemed towards the end of the book, but it did sometimes feel like Catherine was being reduced to just that - a poor bullied victim with little to no agency.
There are many instances of very good writing where Howes hits the nail precisely on the head:
"He, the Inimitable, as he begins to sign himself, half in jest, half in earnest. She, the Beloved. A pair of characters in a play about happiness".
Even her choice to include Hilary Mantel's quote at the beginning of the book, "Once a woman has had ten children, she ceases to have a biography", was brilliant, and captured the essence of this story perfectly. There's a lot of ground to cover in the couple's 22 years of marriage, with a number of babies and books birthed between them, so not everything could be covered. It was interesting to see what was missing and skimmed over - the complete exclusion of John Forster was slightly odd to me considering how close he was to the family, but that may be just me.
The book isn't always the most subtle or nuanced when it comes to its portrayal of other people, however. Dickens himself is depicted as constantly cruel, essentially a tyrant to his wife and children with next to nothing redeemable about him. Georgina Hogarth, Kate's sister, is painted in one singular hue: that of the controlling, traitorous sister, which takes away all complexity of their relationship. Ellen Ternan is barely present, reduced to just a pretty young girl having an affair with a much older, famous man, though of course her interactions with Catherine were extremely limited so couldn't be deeply explored. Anne Brown was decent but at times I wondered if she really necessitated chapters written from her perspective, though her complex relationship with both Catherine and Charles was really interesting. I think maybe the book should have been written entirely from Catherine's perspective...this would be limiting but would also negate the issues with the representations of other people as it is all her opinion and point of view.
Overall, I think this is a good novel but it left me uneasy in some of its choices. I'm very curious to read more about Catherine and have ordered the biography, The Other Dickens, which Howes cites as her main source of research for this novel. I hope Mrs Dickens inspires more people to look deeper into Catherine's story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
‘Mrs Dickens’ is a wonderful read. Most readers will probably know by now that Kate Dickens was coerced and controlled by her husband throughout her married life. He had the temerity to hint that she was insane, destroyed evidence of their mutually happy years and banished her from home and her ten children. Emily Howes recreates authentic characters and situations vividly as she follows Kate Dickens’ life from introvert girl to wife of the most famous writer of his time. Of course, we feel tremendous sympathy for Mrs Dickens. She is a kind, sympathetic woman, a talented cook who suffers horribly from post-natal depression. Nothing is ever her husband’s fault. She is always to blame.
Of course, there will be Dickens’ readers who find it hard to come face to face with their hero in this portrayal. But there we are; this is what domestic cruelty looks like.
There are several women in this novel alongside the eponymous heroine. Kate’s mother, sisters and daughters play their parts, as do Dickens’ various flirtations, some significantly more serious than others. However, the foil to Kate throughout is hard-nosed Anne, playing her part as lady’s maid, children’s nurse and housekeeper to the Dickens’ family over the years. This invented character is a very clever addition on Emily Howes’ part.
Through Anne, the author ensures that the reader understands just how tough it is to make one’s way in the world when an orphan with no education or financial stability. There are moments when the reader will thoroughly disapprove of Anne’s choices. However, it must be remembered that they are being made by someone who, like Dickens, has been traumatised in childhood, who, like Dickens, has experienced abject poverty. These experiences stain them both. He manipulates her and she grabs all the material support she can.
Nevertheless, by the end of the novel Anne understands what Kate has known all along. That selfless love trumps all. Anne finally realises that ‘…everything I thought of value has turned out to be nothing, and everything I thought was nothing has turned out to be what I would die for.’ A really well told, carefully researched, fascinating story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group Phoenix for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Of course, there will be Dickens’ readers who find it hard to come face to face with their hero in this portrayal. But there we are; this is what domestic cruelty looks like.
There are several women in this novel alongside the eponymous heroine. Kate’s mother, sisters and daughters play their parts, as do Dickens’ various flirtations, some significantly more serious than others. However, the foil to Kate throughout is hard-nosed Anne, playing her part as lady’s maid, children’s nurse and housekeeper to the Dickens’ family over the years. This invented character is a very clever addition on Emily Howes’ part.
Through Anne, the author ensures that the reader understands just how tough it is to make one’s way in the world when an orphan with no education or financial stability. There are moments when the reader will thoroughly disapprove of Anne’s choices. However, it must be remembered that they are being made by someone who, like Dickens, has been traumatised in childhood, who, like Dickens, has experienced abject poverty. These experiences stain them both. He manipulates her and she grabs all the material support she can.
Nevertheless, by the end of the novel Anne understands what Kate has known all along. That selfless love trumps all. Anne finally realises that ‘…everything I thought of value has turned out to be nothing, and everything I thought was nothing has turned out to be what I would die for.’ A really well told, carefully researched, fascinating story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group Phoenix for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
June 14, 2026
I could not put this book down. I am a member of a branch of the Dickens Fellowship. We discuss a Dickens novel in detail during the course of the year. There is no doubt Dickens is a brilliant, impressive writer. His phenomenal energy enabled him to write and act and walk miles in London.among other interests but he died young and exhausted at only 58. Emily Howes has researched his life and that of his wife thoroughly. Dickens was a control freak which Howe has shown by illustrating his need to keep control of all in his life from his china to his 9 children and wife. She illustrates the stages of their marriage from when Kate was young and pretty to the cruel separation brought about by his affair with Ellen Ternan for which he refuses to.take any blame. Dickens emerges as a great writer and inspired companion but a very bad husband. The picture of Csthetine trying her best to please him while undergoing the birth of 10 children and severe post natal depression is so sympathetic it brought tears to my eyes
The fictional devoted servant who suffers an even worse poverty stricken childhood than Dickens himself is asubtle portrait.. She loves Catherine Dickens but sacrifices her after the separation so that she can afford to educate her daughter . She also neglects her brother in order to obtain.a more comfortable life At the end she.realizes her values have always been wrong..Howe makes the reader fully aware of the position of women.in Victorian times which makes it so hard for Kate to withstand her husband's domination. There is even a consoling.happy ending which finds Kate as a happy grandmother back in her rightful place with her most loyal son and his wife. A great novel.
The fictional devoted servant who suffers an even worse poverty stricken childhood than Dickens himself is asubtle portrait.. She loves Catherine Dickens but sacrifices her after the separation so that she can afford to educate her daughter . She also neglects her brother in order to obtain.a more comfortable life At the end she.realizes her values have always been wrong..Howe makes the reader fully aware of the position of women.in Victorian times which makes it so hard for Kate to withstand her husband's domination. There is even a consoling.happy ending which finds Kate as a happy grandmother back in her rightful place with her most loyal son and his wife. A great novel.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Mrs Dickens by Emily Howes is a compelling dramatisation of the married life of Kate Dickens, wife of Charles Dickens, rooted in a great deal of their true history. It charts their relationship from early romance and love through the relentless realities of marriage, including the harrowing births of ten children and the gradual erosion of affection that leads to abandonment and separation.
One of the most fascinating (and uncomfortable) aspects is Howes’s portrayal of Charles himself: charismatic, brilliant, and deeply contradictory. His infatuations with other women — including the awkward and unsettling obsessions with Kate’s sisters, first Mary and then Georgy — sit alongside his rigid expectations of Kate existing to soothe, support, and never inconvenience him - the "balm in the marriage" as her mother puts it. Dickens’s fame, his exacting desires and requirements, and their travels to America and Italy all make for a compelling read.
After finishing the book, I found myself doing more reading and understanding how much of this story was factual, which made the novel even more powerful. It offers a fascinating insight into the family life of Dickens’s wife and children, and into the uncomfortable contradictions in the personality of this celebrated novelist — a man capable of immense empathy on the page, yet often painfully lacking it at home.
(Copilot assisted me with the writing of this review - based on very specific prompts taken from my notes of reading the book).
One of the most fascinating (and uncomfortable) aspects is Howes’s portrayal of Charles himself: charismatic, brilliant, and deeply contradictory. His infatuations with other women — including the awkward and unsettling obsessions with Kate’s sisters, first Mary and then Georgy — sit alongside his rigid expectations of Kate existing to soothe, support, and never inconvenience him - the "balm in the marriage" as her mother puts it. Dickens’s fame, his exacting desires and requirements, and their travels to America and Italy all make for a compelling read.
After finishing the book, I found myself doing more reading and understanding how much of this story was factual, which made the novel even more powerful. It offers a fascinating insight into the family life of Dickens’s wife and children, and into the uncomfortable contradictions in the personality of this celebrated novelist — a man capable of immense empathy on the page, yet often painfully lacking it at home.
(Copilot assisted me with the writing of this review - based on very specific prompts taken from my notes of reading the book).
Review of advance copy
The saying “Behind every great man…” was a recurring thought whilst reading this wonderful exploration and dissection of a marriage.
Of course one never knows both sides of a marriage unless one is in the marriage, but it seemed to me heartbreakingly sad that Kate, drawn as she was to the domestic sphere, appeared to lose the love and admiration of her husband in part, because she had neither the talent nor the ambition of her husband.
I did feel frustrated with her at times, for biting her lip and for backing away from confrontation. Then again, when Kate did ‘snap’ she experienced the repercussions of standing up for herself. So I could understand why her natural reticence, plus her husband’s quick intelligence, plus society’s expectations of women at the time, kept her in the background. But I could understand why she came to be how she was.
Charles Dickens was undoubtedly a great writer, but I think he was not a good husband.
Kate Dickens may not be regarded as a great woman, but I think she was a good one, and she deserves to be remembered as such.
PS I cried a lot when reading this. And I don't often cry at books...
Of course one never knows both sides of a marriage unless one is in the marriage, but it seemed to me heartbreakingly sad that Kate, drawn as she was to the domestic sphere, appeared to lose the love and admiration of her husband in part, because she had neither the talent nor the ambition of her husband.
I did feel frustrated with her at times, for biting her lip and for backing away from confrontation. Then again, when Kate did ‘snap’ she experienced the repercussions of standing up for herself. So I could understand why her natural reticence, plus her husband’s quick intelligence, plus society’s expectations of women at the time, kept her in the background. But I could understand why she came to be how she was.
Charles Dickens was undoubtedly a great writer, but I think he was not a good husband.
Kate Dickens may not be regarded as a great woman, but I think she was a good one, and she deserves to be remembered as such.
PS I cried a lot when reading this. And I don't often cry at books...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Mrs. Dickens by Emily Howes is a fascinating and beautifully written historical novel that offers a fresh perspective on a well-known literary figure through the eyes of the woman beside him. The story feels rich in detail, and the emotional depth of the characters makes it especially engaging.
I really enjoyed how it explores marriage, ambition, sacrifice, and identity in such a thoughtful way. Some parts move at a slower pace, but the strong character work and immersive setting make it worth it. Overall, a compelling and memorable read that brings history to life.
I really enjoyed how it explores marriage, ambition, sacrifice, and identity in such a thoughtful way. Some parts move at a slower pace, but the strong character work and immersive setting make it worth it. Overall, a compelling and memorable read that brings history to life.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was completely immersed in this book. The writing is fantastic. The characterisation is good and as it is based on the real lives of Dickens and his wife, even though I knew what was coming so I was utterly caught up in the tension as the drama and tragedy unfolded. This was so good I went out and bought Howes' previous novel off the back of finishing this. It's terrific.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Se viene una traducción de un libro que me ha encantado ❤️
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