Catherine Dickens numerous—all of which he strenuously denied. In June 1858 Charles and Catherine Dickens separated. The exact cause of the separation is unknown, although attention at the time and since has focused on rumours of an affair between Dickens and Ellen Ternan and/or Catherine's sister, Georgina Hogarth. A bracelet intended for Ellen Ternan had supposedly been delivered to the Dickens household some months previously, leading to accusation and denial. Dickens' friend, William Makepeace Thackeray, later asserted that Dickens's separation from Catherine was due to a liaison with Ternan, rather than with Georgina Hogarth as had been put to him. This remark
Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse is now marked with black and on the pillar she stands beside is inscribed "Comedy 1764". The , which is depicted on the right, has nothing inscribed on it but "William Hogarth, 1764" on the bottom. Through this engraving, the early Georgian elbow chair in which Hogarth is shown sitting gave rise in the late nineteenth century to the collectors' and dealers' designation of "Hogarth chair" for similar bended-back elbow chairs with vase-shaped splats, slip seats (upholstered over a drop-in frame) and cabriole legs on pad feet. Such chairs from the American colonies are designated "Queen Anne chairs", perpetuating an