By the mid-1890s the worst of Henry's legal problems were behind them and the family was reunited, with Winnie and Marie now living with their parents in London. The North London Collegiate School for Girls was far more expensive than St George's School in Edinburgh had been, so Winnie and Marie attended, at least initially, for only half-days. Henry rented a house for the family near the school, at 25 Denning Road, Hampstead, and moved his enormous collection of flints and stones to the new address, with the neighbours looking on in bemusement. This was the first time that the family had lived together since the demise of Henry's fortunes. The situation must have felt awkward to all of them, and they coped by living increasingly separate lives. Charlotte divided her time between Denning Road and Torrington Square. Although Henry remained under pressure from his creditors, he kept Mansion House and spent most of his time in Swanscombe or abroad, staying for brief periods at Denning Road or Torrington Square whenever it suited him. Marie and Winnie spent school terms at Denning Road and most holidays at Swanscombe.

Perhaps as an effort to economize, Charlotte gave up Torrington Square in 1895 but, by then used to her independence, she resumed the lease only a few weeks later. She was at her intellectual peak, immersed in various feminist enterprises, travelling to suffrage campaign meetings in the regional capitals, giving speeches and publishing essays on Shakespearian contexts. Although she made an effort to be at Denning Road during the afternoons when the girls came home from school, she was distracted, busy and full of her own plans and ideas.

Becoming Herself

Marie Stopes attended the North London Collegiate School for Girls from 1894 to 1899. She had not distinguished herself academically at St George's in Edinburgh and found the standard at the new school challenging. It was her little sister Winnie who won the first school prizes, in scripture and science.