What happened to George Meredith after the death of his first wife in 1861?

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George Meredith George Meredith, detail of an oil painting by G.F. Watts, 1893; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Following the death of his first wife in 1861, George Meredith was left to care for his eight-year-old son, Arthur. During this period, he sought solace in his work, publishing the poetry collection Modern Love, and Poems of the English Roadside, with Poems and Ballads in 1862, which served to process the tragedy of his own failed marriage.1

Meredith continued his literary career by publishing the novel Emilia in England (later titled Sandra Belloni) in 1864. His personal life also shifted during this time; after placing Arthur in a boarding school and experiencing significant loneliness, he met Marie Vulliamy. Following a period of persuading her father of his respectability, Meredith married her in September 1864, effectively ending his period of isolation.1