Mrs Dickens by Emily Howes
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
'I adored this book' Florence Knapp
'An impressive, involving novel' The Times
'I was enthralled' Jennie Godfrey
London, 1835. Nineteen-year-old Kate Hogarth falls in love with the young journalist Charles Dickens. In the early days of their marriage, Charles is infatuated with his bride and Kate delights in her new life, the balm to her husband's irrepressible spirit. But as he finds fame as a novelist and the family rise through the ranks of Victorian society, Kate becomes increasingly aware of his frustration that real people cannot be manipulated as easily as his characters.
Meanwhile, in the East End slums, a young orphan named Anne Brown has lost everything, but is determined to make her way in the world. A chance encounter with the Dickens family transports her to the heart of the household, opening up a world of privilege, travel and remarkable company. But her newfound freedom has come at a cost she cannot always ignore.
As the years go by and the family expands, the cracks in the Dickens's marriage deepen. Kate seeks comfort and companionship in her trusted servant, but whilst Anne has come to care deeply for Mrs Dickens, her loyalties are tested to breaking point as Charles takes control of their future . . .
Vibrant, witty and deeply moving, Mrs Dickens traces a long marriage in all its tenderness, grief, romance and fury. It illuminates the life of a complex, forgotten woman whose voice often went unheard, but whose story deserves to be told.
'Heartfelt and heartbreaking' Daily Mail
'A marvellous achievement' Emma Stonex
'Beautiful, heartbreaking, immersive' Roisín O'Donnell
A beautiful, heartbreaking, immersive novel, which brings a woman's silenced story back to vivid, irrepressible life. A story about the cost of male ambition, and the courage it takes for a woman to reclaim her own narrative. Howes' distinctive voice is so warm, so relatable, so companionable; readers will fall in love with Kate, or "Mrs. Dickens" -- Roisín O'Donnell
Powerful, tender and evocative, Mrs Dickens is a deeply thoughtful contribution to our understanding of the life of Catherine Dickens. Emily Howes writes with great skill, plucking at the truth without flinching and exploring topics that are as relevant today as they were in the 1800s, from the manipulation of women by the men they love, to the ill treatment of mothers in society. She captures the complexities of their famous marriage, and the harsh realities of being married to a genius, with such depth . . . An impressive follow-up to her brilliant debut The Painter's Daughters, Emily Howes is a class act. I will be recommending to everyone! -- Harriet Constable
How can you hope to tell your truth when you're up against the greatest fiction-writer of the nineteenth century? Mrs Dickens rescues the novelist's despised wife from the margins of her husband's story and makes her the heroine of her own -- Helena Kelly
Mrs Dickens tells the story of Charles Dickens' beleaguered bride, Kate. She bore ten children, travelled around the world with her husband, and still couldn't live up to the Victorian ideal of the Angel in the Home. Soon, their family is unravelling in a way that seems, well, Dickensian. Reimagining the life of a woman lost to history, this is a book just begging for screen rights * Tatler, The 14 Buzziest Books of 2026 *
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781399610834 |
| ISBN 10 | 139961083X |
| Title | Mrs Dickens |
| Author | Emily Howes |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Orion Publishing Co |
| Year published | 2026-06-11 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |