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The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens [Paperback]

Claire Tomalin (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 21 Jun 2012

The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin is the acclaimed story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens

Winner of the NCR Book Award, the Hawthornden Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize

'This is the story of someone who - almost - wasn't there; who vanished into thin air. Her names, dates, family and experiences very nearly disappeared from the record for good ...'

Claire Tomalin's multi-award-winning story of the life of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens is a remarkable work of biography and historical revisionism that returns the neglected actress to her rightful place in history as well as providing a compelling and truthful portrait of the great Victorian novelist.

For those who enjoyed Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self and Charles Dickens: A Life; The Invisible Woman is invaluable reading for lovers of Charles Dickens, and for readers of biography everywhere.

'Will come to be seen as one of the crucial women's biographies because of its vivid dramatization of the process by which women have been written out of history and have been forced to deny their own experiences' Sean French, New Statesman

'The most original biography I read this year. Starting out with scarcely the bare bones of a story, Tomalin convinces by the end that she has got as near to the truth as anyone will' Anthony Howard, Sunday Times

'A biography of high scholarship and compelling detective work' Melvyn Bragg, Independent

Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man and, most recently, Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (21 Jun 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0241963257
  • ISBN-13: 978-0241963258
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

About the Author

Claire Tomalin has written seven highly acclaimed biographies, and has won a host of prizes. Her Samuel Pepys was Whitbread Book of the Year in 2002. Her biography of Charles Dickens, published in 2011, was an international bestseller. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the novelist and playwright Michael Frayn.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars `It seemed like a good moment to start putting something on paper which might restore Nelly to visibility.' 26 Dec 2013
By Jennifer Cameron-Smith TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book, first published in 1990, is about the actress Nelly Ternan, who had a relationship with Charles Dickens from 1857 until his death in 1870. Ms Tomalin writes that Nelly Ternan `played a central role in the life of Charles Dickens at a time when he was perhaps the best-known man in Britain.' While Nelly Ternan was the first person named in Charles Dickens's will, there is very little documentary evidence of her involvement or importance in his life.

So, who is Nelly Ternan, and why was her name effectively removed from history?

Sadly it appears that none of the letters between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan survived. By piecing together clues found in contemporary playbills, other documents and photographs, Ms Tomalin has created a portrait of Nelly Ternan and her family. As a consequence of Ms Tomalin's research, we also have a clearer picture of the last years of Dickens's life, some potential insights into his writing, as well as of the times in which he lived.

The main reason that Nelly Ternan does not appear in most accounts of Charles Dickens was because he and others worked so hard to protect his image of respectable Victorian morality. After his death, Nelly Ternan kept quiet as well because of her fear of scandal and humiliation. The second reason had to do with Nelly Ternan's origins: as an actress and as a member of an acting family, she belonged to a class of women not considered respectable. Ironically, Charles Dickens first met Nelly Ternan through his own fascination with the theatre: when her family were hired by his amateur theatrical company.

After Dickens died in 1870, Nelly Ternan married a schoolmaster with whom she had two children. Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 4 Jan 2014
By John Hopper TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE VOICE
Format:Paperback
This is an analysis of the family background and life of Ellen (Nelly) Ternan, the young actress who was almost certainly the mistress of Charles Dickens from 1858 until his death in 1870. Tomalin pieces together a range of evidence from different sources and, while there is no smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence for an affair seems overwhelming. Dickens's associates, in particular his sister-in-law and housekeeper, Georgina Hogarth, and his biographer John Forster, kept the affair secret during his life and after his death. Nelly went along with it, largely keeping the evidence secret until after her own death in 1914, the last of her immediate family; her son Geoffrey found out about it afterwards from examining his mother's papers and talking to the author's last surviving son, Sir Henry Dickens, and it seems to have blighted the remaining 45 years of his life. This collusion was, of course, very much the flavour of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and Dickens's and his family's desire to maintain his uniformly positive public image added an edge to this drive . The book is also interesting in its coverage of the life of actresses in the early 19th century - Nelly's sisters, parents and grandparents were all in the profession, which was then regarded as very disreputable and actresses little better than whores. Interesting stuff, and good photos as well.
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5.0 out of 5 stars great story- 15 Dec 2013
By Alex Worrall
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great story - I was at the film premiere recently and when it goes on general release Im sure that there will be a great deal more interest in the book which has all these wonderful back stories
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3.0 out of 5 stars story worth telling 19 Sep 2013
By marilyn vihman
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Definitely a good read, but a bit of a slog as well. It's a feminist story worth telling (which I knew the outlines of already); not very exciting or deeply moving, given the relatively small amount that we wlll ever know.
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