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The second episode looks at his marriage to Catherine Hogarth, the
early years of his fame, the effects of family life on his work and
how he used his writing, as well as his growing reputation, to
improve social conditions.
By the time he was 25, Dickens was considered by many to be the
most famous and best-loved novelist in the world. The second
episode looks at his marriage to Catherine Hogarth, the early years
of his fame, the effects of family life on his work and how he used
his writing, as well as his growing reputation, to improve social
conditions. Dickens'stories - a brilliant melding of fiction and
reportage - were imbued with contemporary and topical references,
real issues for his avid audience. In Oliver Twist, he conjured his
own vision of hell - the workhouse. In Nicholas Nickleby, he
crusaded against another notorious institution, the so-called
private academies for unwanted children. At home, the death of his
beloved sister-in-law Mary - who became for him the idealized image
of the virginal female - struck the first blow to his marriage with
Catherine. Later traumas would include the deaths of his father and
his baby daughter, Dora.