Around 1645, Mary Powell returned to Milton. Once again, the reasons for her return are unclear. Charles I had lost the Battle of Naseby and any hope for military victory. The Powell family, avowed Royalists, were now in danger. They were ejected from their home in Oxford as Charles' power waned. Within a year of Mary's return to Milton, her entire family had moved in with the couple.
With the return of Mary and the arrival of her family, Milton was suddenly the head of a large household. His first collection of poetry, entitled Poems, was published in 1646. The volume included Lycidas, Comus, and "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In July, seven months after Poems was published, Milton's first daughter, Anne, was born. The marriage that had begun inauspiciously now seemed, if not perfect, at least sound.
Shortly after the reunion of Milton with his wife and the birth of his first child, both his father-in-law, Richard Powell, and his own father died. Milton was left with a moderate estate. He complained at this point that he was surrounded by "uncongenial people," a problem that was resolved a few months later when all the Powell relatives moved back to Oxford. Milton and his wife and daughter then moved into a smaller house in High Holborn. For the first time, the couple had a reasonably normal life and family. In 1648, a second daughter, Mary, was born.
