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The third episode details the author's growing fame, increasing
dissatisfaction with family life and deepening affection for Ellen
Ternan.
The third episode details the author's growing fame, increasing
dissatisfaction with family life and deepening affection for Ellen
Ternan. Rumors about their relationship were rampant, and after 22
years of marriage, Dickens banished Catherine from their home
forever. These were years of gloom and discontent for Dickens, as
evidenced by his novel Bleak House. Nevertheless, his love for
Ternan intensified, with secret rendezvous and assumed names. In
1865, Dickens, Ternan and her mother were traveling together aboard
a train that derailed, killing 10 people and injuring many more.
Dickens assisted Ternan and her mother, came to the aid of other
injured passengers and even returned to the wreck to recover his
manuscript of Our Mutual Friend despite the psychological trauma of
the accident. The exact nature of his relationship with Ternan is
unknown, but Dickens'later works, such as A Tale of Two Cities,
Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend, were increasingly
preoccupied with the theme of unrequited love. One romance he could
count on was the love of his adoring public. His readings, which he
approached with an almost spiritual fervor, were wildly popular.
According to some, the stress of his public readings could have
been a factor in his death, which occurred in 1870 after a massive
stroke.