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The Invisible Woman

The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens

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The Invisible Woman

Written by: Claire Tomalin
Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
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About this listen

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 Art & Literature Authors Historical Women

What the critics say

"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)
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Charles Dickens led a life as full of plot twists as any of his best novels --- and with far more complex women. Enjoy!

Fascinating story

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