The Invisible Woman
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About the Author
Claire Tomalin was born in London in 1933. She has worked in publishing and journalism all her life, becoming literary editor first of the New Statesman and then of the Sunday Times, which she left in 1986. She is the author of, among other books: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman and the extraordinarily successful biography of Samuel Pepys. Other books written for Penguin are: Jane Austen: A Life and a collection of memoirs entitled Several Strangers.
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First Sentence
This is the story of someone who - almost - wasn't there; who vanished into thin air. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
This is the story of someone who - almost - wasn't there; who vanished into thin air. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 81 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Claire Tomalin's biographies often reveal (or rescue) the life of a woman who lived on the margins of society. Her ability to rediscover these lives is amazing. Ellen Ternan is one such woman. She was a member of a family of actors in Victorian England, who had a long, secret relationship with the most popular novellist of the day, Charles Dickens. Tomalin describes the world of the theatre (which was not considered respectable), the limited choices for Ellen and her sisters, and the impossible position Ellen was in as Dickens' mistress. Ellen was invisible to respectable society, and to posterity, because Dickens couldn't marry her. Dickens' dreadful behaviour to his wife, Catherine, is also detailed here This is a fascinating story for anyone interested in Victorian society and the ambiguous position of women living on the margins.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an account of the woman with whom Dickens had an intimate relationship for over a decade, though the ranks of family and other supporters sought to hide the fact from the what would have been a scandalised and disapproving world.
Tomalin's book is a fascinating and multi-faceted read. The lengthy background to the Ternan family allows for a really interesting exploration of the theatrical world of the nineteenth-century. This is brilliantly dovetailed into an exploration of the ambivalence of an actress's social position at that time and of women generally. Dickens' own lifelong pre-occupation with and delight in theatre (he longed to run one and was an enthusiastic amateur actor) is central to the narrative, while the position of women is cleverly elaborated through the way Tomalin explores the highly problematic nature of Dickens representation of them within his work through the prism of his relationship with actress Nelly.
Dickens emerges badly and the author does not gloss over his cruelties and selfishness. The modern reader is less shocked by his having had a mistress than by his almost megalomaniacal determination to keep the skeleton right at the back of the cupboard, a determination which leads to cruelties one associates more with a Steerforth than his creator.
Yet Tomalin is not a narrowly moralistic writer. She recognises the psychological struggles taking place out of sight, and that the awfulness of Dickens' behaviour at this point in his life does not obliterate his history of generosity and kindness, his energetic exposure of the ills of the society he lived in and active fight against many of them. However, he was not as free of that society's sense of propriety, nor as courageous in confronting it as he might have wished, nor as some of his associates managed to be.
But of course this book is not about Dickens, though he has a central role within it and is the point about which much of the narrative turns. This is Nelly's story, as far as it can be discovered, and it is remarkably vividly presented for all her 'invisibilty': one cannot but feel the deepest sympathy for her dreadful plight and vulnerability in a relationship which protects her at the cost of depriving her of any real independence whilst putting her at the gravest risk of exposure and ignominy. Post-Dickens, she emerged from the shadows, married and for some years gained happiness and a respectable social position. However, one is most touched by the awful fate of Nelly's son, who, unable to come to terms with what he discovers about his mother and her former secret life, has his affection utterly poisoned by shame: the loving parent is obliterated by his post-mortem discoveries, Victorian social prejudices trumping affection and tenderness. Poor Nelly seems to have missed out in every way!
A fascinating and moving account which, in the paperback edition, also contains new evidence which seems to suggest that the established details of Dickens' death are not as has been assumed for over a century!
Tomalin's book is a fascinating and multi-faceted read. The lengthy background to the Ternan family allows for a really interesting exploration of the theatrical world of the nineteenth-century. This is brilliantly dovetailed into an exploration of the ambivalence of an actress's social position at that time and of women generally. Dickens' own lifelong pre-occupation with and delight in theatre (he longed to run one and was an enthusiastic amateur actor) is central to the narrative, while the position of women is cleverly elaborated through the way Tomalin explores the highly problematic nature of Dickens representation of them within his work through the prism of his relationship with actress Nelly.
Dickens emerges badly and the author does not gloss over his cruelties and selfishness. The modern reader is less shocked by his having had a mistress than by his almost megalomaniacal determination to keep the skeleton right at the back of the cupboard, a determination which leads to cruelties one associates more with a Steerforth than his creator.
Yet Tomalin is not a narrowly moralistic writer. She recognises the psychological struggles taking place out of sight, and that the awfulness of Dickens' behaviour at this point in his life does not obliterate his history of generosity and kindness, his energetic exposure of the ills of the society he lived in and active fight against many of them. However, he was not as free of that society's sense of propriety, nor as courageous in confronting it as he might have wished, nor as some of his associates managed to be.
But of course this book is not about Dickens, though he has a central role within it and is the point about which much of the narrative turns. This is Nelly's story, as far as it can be discovered, and it is remarkably vividly presented for all her 'invisibilty': one cannot but feel the deepest sympathy for her dreadful plight and vulnerability in a relationship which protects her at the cost of depriving her of any real independence whilst putting her at the gravest risk of exposure and ignominy. Post-Dickens, she emerged from the shadows, married and for some years gained happiness and a respectable social position. However, one is most touched by the awful fate of Nelly's son, who, unable to come to terms with what he discovers about his mother and her former secret life, has his affection utterly poisoned by shame: the loving parent is obliterated by his post-mortem discoveries, Victorian social prejudices trumping affection and tenderness. Poor Nelly seems to have missed out in every way!
A fascinating and moving account which, in the paperback edition, also contains new evidence which seems to suggest that the established details of Dickens' death are not as has been assumed for over a century!
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book shortly after finishing Ackroyd's 'Dickens' (1990 version). Tomalin's findings give a extra, sharper slant on that biography. Particularly the depiction of Dickens' death.
The accumulation of research and detective work go a long way to casting light on the elusive relationship between Nelly Ternan and the most famous English novelist of the 19th century.
It is eventually a sad - but all too human - story. And it did make me reassess Dickens' heroines and his approach to women in general. I agree with the author that Estella (from 'Great Expectations') is his most alluring female character.
Claire Tomalin has written a clear sighted, carefully outlined and moving/rather troubling history here. It certainly deserves all the critical plaudits it has recieved. I now look forward to reading her book on Thomas Hardy.
The accumulation of research and detective work go a long way to casting light on the elusive relationship between Nelly Ternan and the most famous English novelist of the 19th century.
It is eventually a sad - but all too human - story. And it did make me reassess Dickens' heroines and his approach to women in general. I agree with the author that Estella (from 'Great Expectations') is his most alluring female character.
Claire Tomalin has written a clear sighted, carefully outlined and moving/rather troubling history here. It certainly deserves all the critical plaudits it has recieved. I now look forward to reading her book on Thomas Hardy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Strange Man
I knew very little about Dickens' private life before reading this book, just that he had left his wife and lived with his mistress. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Mrs L
A fascinating appetiser for Tomalin's new Dickens biography.
This is an account of the woman with whom Dickens had an intimate relationship for over a decade, though the ranks of family and other supporters sought to hide the fact from the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by S. J. Williams
The Frozen Deep.
The invisible woman is the woman who, for the last thirteen years of Charles Dickens's life, was his secret obsession and intimate companion. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Andrea Bowhill
Excellent unravelling of Dickens dark secret
Before celebrated biographer Claire Tomalin publishes her eagerly awaited book on Charles Dickens this autumn, I thought I would check out her earlier book from 1990, which looks... Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Coulton
the invisible woman by clare tomalin
This book was excellent and gave a very good account of the alleged relationship between charles dickens and nelly ternan. Read more
Published 13 months ago by brain
`It seemed like a good moment to start putting something on paper...
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. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by J. Cameron-Smith
A masterly biography
With little original material, most of which was destroyed by the parties concerned, Tomalin has skilfully constructed a convincing account of Nelly Ternan's life, aspects of which... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by Mr. T. Harvey
The Hidden Life of Victorian England's most iconic author
I came to this after ploughing through Peter Ackroyd's biography of Dickens, intrigued by the shadowy figure of Nelly Ternan and her possible inolvement in Dickens' appalling... Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2009 by Sensible Cat
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