The Invisible Woman

The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens

By: Claire Tomalin

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan met in 1857; she was 18, a hard-working actress performing in his production of The Frozen Deep, and he was 45, the most lionized writer in England. Out of their meeting came a love affair that lasted 13 years and destroyed Dickens's marriage while effacing Nelly Ternan from the public record.

In this remarkable work of biography and scholarly reconstruction, the acclaimed biographer of Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, and Jane Austen rescues Nelly from the shadows of history, not only returning the neglected actress to her rightful place, but also providing a compelling portrait of the great Victorian novelist himself. The result is a thrilling literary detective story and a deeply compassionate work that encompasses all those women who were exiled from the warm, well-lighted parlors of Victorian England.

©1990, 1991 Claire Tomalin (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Captivating.... An absorbing book about...a character who helps to illuminate the life of a great artist and the life of her times." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

Icky Story of a Great Writer Who Was an Icky Man

Nothing Tomalin tells us about Charles Dickens's behavior towards his wife, children and mistress — most of it unforgivable — undoes the brilliance of his novels. I wish I could cancel such a selfish man from my cultural heritage, but that would mean forgetting "Bleak House," "Great Expectations," and "A Tale of Two Cities" Can't do it.

Carefully Researched and Beautifully Read Biography

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities this week (highly recommend) and remained in a Dickens mood. I saw this book, checked out some mixed reviews, and gave it a go. I loved it! Full disclosure, I was a history major and some people might find this book a bit dry reading/listening, but the author painstakingly places the reader in the Victorian headset, absolutely necessary to understanding Ellen’s situation and options. Tomalin is methodical in rebuilding the Ternan sisters’ long lives. When the author speculates, she lets you know she is doing so (though it isn’t that often). If you are looking for a salacious biography, this isn’t it. The Invisible Woman is a masterful book of detailed detective work that creates a clearer understanding of Dickens - not a saint but a flawed genius.

Dickens the Hypocrite

I have to begin by saying that I am not a Dickens fan, and as I read this book, I began to like him even less. Tomalin focuses on Dickens's relationship with the Ternan family, in particular his presumed affair with the youngest daughter, Ellen, best known as Nelly. She was only 18 at the time their affair began, Dickens 45. The Ternans were an acting family, and Dickens used his prestige first to persuade Mrs. Ternan and the girls to perform in his play 'The Frozen Deep,' then to secure various roles for her with his theatrical friends. Before long, he abandoned his wife (the mother of his 10 children), spreading rumors about her mental health and the ingratitude of her family members for all his assistance. (Wikipedia notes, "Matters came to a head in 1858 when Catherine Dickens opened a packet delivered by a London jeweller which contained a gold bracelet meant for Ternan with a note written by her husband.") Dickens began to lead a double life, leasing and purchasing a series of homes for Nelly, her sisters and her widowed mother--homes deliberately located further and further from the public eye. After all, the man whose works were supposed to be the moral compass of England couldn't be caught with a mistress! His financial and personal arrangements were handled through coded letters to friends who acted as go-betweens, including Wilkie Collins. Nelly was kept such a deep, dark secret that her identity was even hidden when she suffered a serious injury in a train derailment while traveling with Dickens. Tomalin posits that she had at least one, and perhaps two, pregnancies by Dickens but lost both babies shortly after birth. Later in life, long after Dickens's death, Nelly supposedly confessed the affair to her pastor, saying that she greatly regretted it and loathed Dickens in those last years but could not, financially, break away.

The last section of the book addresses Nelly's life post-Dickens and the history of both the coverup and revelation of the affair.

I felt sorry for both Catherine, Dickens's long-suffering wife, and for Nelly, a young woman pressured by poverty and impressed by celebrity. As for Dickens, what a pompous, self-righteous hypocrite!

A unique insight

I didn’t expect to hear about the fascinating world of the Victorian theatre in a story entwined with Charles Dickens, but there nestled in this hidden history, it was. Claire Tomalin has done some serious research for the entire book, not just the Victorian theatre. I highly recommend it. The narration by Wanda McCaddon had good tone and rhythm and the British accent made it a joy to listen to.

The tale of a "purchased" woman.

I liked this book, but because so much of the papers of Dickens and Ms. Ternan were destroyed by family members, it's conclusions are supposition and circumstantial. That said, I personally believe they did have a relationship and probably a one sided one. I think because of Mr. Dickens' literary genius he was able to "purchase" this woman as a companion and mistress. What woman of little means with a family to support could turn down such an offer?

I admit it's just my gut instinct, but I think it is valid.

The saddest part of this story is when Nellie's son discovers the facts of the relationship and he destroys all the papers and refuses to talk about his mother with anyone. Anytime someone puts someone on a pedestal and they come crashing down, this type of thing happens.

I haven't seen the movie version of this book yet but I expect to in the near future.

It is well researched with the amount of materials available today and I can recommend it on that basis.

The narrator does an adequate job.