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The Invisible Woman
- The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
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.
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- The Saga of the Mitford Family
- By: Mary S. Lovell
- Narrated by: Annie Wauters
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of a close, loving family splintered by the violent ideologies of Europe between the wars. Jessica was a Communist; Debo became the Duchess of Devonshire; Nancy was one of the best-selling novelists of her day; the ethereally beautiful Diana was the most hated woman in England; and Unity Valkyrie, born in Swastika, Alaska, would become obsessed with Adolf Hitler.
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Great story, terrible reader
- By Victoria on 02-27-14
By: Mary S. Lovell
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Those Wild Wyndhams
- Three Sisters at the Heart of Power
- By: Claudia Renton
- Narrated by: Claudia Renton
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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They were confidantes to British prime ministers, poets, writers, and artists, their lives entwined with the most celebrated and scandalous figures of the day, from Oscar Wilde to Henry James. They were the lovers of great men - or men of great prominence... They lived in a world of luxurious excess, a world of splendor at 44 Belgrave Square and later at the even more vast Clouds, the exquisite Wiltshire house on 4,000 acres, the "house of the age", designed in 1876 by the visionary architect Philip Webb - the model for Henry James' The Spoils of Poynton.
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SLOW START BUT STICK WITH THIS ONE
- By The Louligan on 01-22-19
By: Claudia Renton
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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know
- By: Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: Colm Toibin
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Elegant, profound, and riveting, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways these men surface in their work. Through these stories of fathers and sons, Tóibín recounts the resistance to English cultural domination, the birth of modern Irish cultural identity, and the extraordinary contributions of these complex and masterful authors.
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Eminently re-readable
- By Ellen-A on 01-02-19
By: Colm Toibin
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The Club
- Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
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Wonderful survey
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Leo Damrosch
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What Matters in Jane Austen
- Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved
- By: John Mullan
- Narrated by: Paul Collins
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In What Matters in Jane Austen?, John Mullan shows that we can best appreciate Austen's brilliance by looking at the intriguing quirks and intricacies of her fiction. Asking and answering some very specific questions about what goes on in her novels, he reveals the inner workings of their greatness. In 20 short chapters, each of which explores a question prompted by Austen’s novels, Mullan illuminates the themes that matter most in her beloved fiction.
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Intriguing details and background
- By Barbara JA on 11-12-13
By: John Mullan
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Louisa
- The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams
- By: Louisa Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century.
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Insightful
- By Jean on 05-18-16
By: Louisa Thomas
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Proust's Duchess
- How Three Celebrated Women Captured the Imagination of Fin-de-Siecle Paris
- By: Caroline Weber
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 29 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Geneviève Halévy Bizet Straus; Laure de Sade, Comtesse de Adhéaume de Chevigné; and Élisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay, the Comtesse Greffulhe--these were the three superstars of fin-de-siècle Parisian high society who, as Caroline Weber says, "transformed themselves, and were transformed by those around them, into living legends: paragons of elegance, nobility, and style."
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Enthralling, entertaining and brilliant
- By Uli Baer on 01-14-19
By: Caroline Weber
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Marmee and Louisa
- The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
- By: Eve LaPlante
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Biographers have consistently credited her father, Bronson Alcott, for Louisa May Alcott's professional success, assuming that this outspoken idealist was the source of her progressive thinking and remarkable independence. But in this riveting dual biography, Eve LaPlante explodes those myths, drawing on unknown and unexplored letters and journals to show that Louisa's "Marmee", Abigail May Alcott, was in fact the intellectual and emotional center of her daughter's world. It was Abigail who urged Louisa to write, who inspired many of her stories, and who gave her the support and courage she needed to pursue her path.
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Hardworking women and the man they supported
- By Chris on 04-26-13
By: Eve LaPlante
What listeners say about The Invisible Woman
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cariola
- 05-28-14
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!
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10 people found this helpful
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- Heat
- 01-04-23
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.
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- Sarah P.
- 05-12-21
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.
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- Diana Stephens
- 04-29-21
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.
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- Kristi R.
- 04-27-14
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.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Kendra
- 03-05-15
A tribute to those who remain invisible
Maybe we shouldn't mix philosophy with biography, but I almost always do; and this is the perfect book for it. No one is straight forward in this book, and that makes me think that the author has probably captured it right. I admire the way these women lived their lives, they were living against convention, and they made it work. When I think that this history almost never was, I also think of all the other histories of women (and men) who schemed and fought and overcame and then disappeared. I am glad we captured this one, I thought it was uplifting.
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2 people found this helpful
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- CMS
- 04-14-23
Not for everyone
I loved Claire Tomalin's autobiography, A Life of My Own and her definitive book on Jane Austin, A Life is a must read for any Janeite. A life of My Own is read by the superb Penelope Wilton and her reading of Tomalin's amazing life is superb. Sadly the reader of this title does not do it justice. Tomalin researches her subjects very thoroughly and one gets an extremely detailed account of every aspect of the world they live in and a wide circle of family and acquaintances. Immersing oneself in one of her books is a commitment! Although this is a fascinating look behind the curtain of Charles Dickens life and his partner I would recommend reading instead of listening.
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- Jean
- 01-21-13
Interesting
This is a story of Charles Dickens and his mistress Nelly Ternan. He was 45 and she 18 when they met in 1857. I almost got more interested in Claire Tomalin detective search for information about Nelly Ternan. Apparently both Ternan and Dickens destroyed most of the written material about themselves and lived in a discreet way. The divorce of the Dickens was shocking to Victorian England, so they kept a low profile. I found it interesting to note that a life in the theater (acting) was an unfavorable occupation and more so for women at the time, they were social outcasts and were thought of as whores. Things sure changed in the 20th and 21 century we put actors at the top of our society. Claire Tomalin did a great job trying to provide an accurate biography of the two but I am sure she had to do some speculation and deduction also. Wanda McCaddon did a good job of narrating the story. Tomalin's discussion of Dickens and his contemporaries was interesting as I had recently added to my wish list a book by Anthony Trollope, apparently he and Dickens were friends. Tomalin did a good job of bringing to life the era of the 1850s. If you enjoy literature and history you will enjoy this book.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Boomer
- 03-30-15
Excellent Read
I enjoyed reading about this family along with the history of Dickens as presented. I recommend for Dickens fans and Anglophiles.
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- Heather Gill
- 10-14-23
Interesting
I enjoyed the wide context this book provided for so many historical figures and events.
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