Description
Book SynopsisWas Charles Dickens the secret lover of young actress Nelly Ternan? How would a man of his renown have hidden such an affair? This book offers a complete account of the scandal that threatened to ruin Dickens - now dramatised as The Invisible Woman, a 2014 BBC film starring Ralph Fiennes.
Trade Review"A sexy story resting on a bed of comprehensive scholarship and pursued with Sherlock-ian imagination.”—
Kirkus (starred review)
* Kirkus *
“Slater’s work is a fascinating investigation into the nature of scandal itself as much as it is a look at the particular episode.”—
Daily Beast * The Daily Beast *
"Wise, witty and highly entertaining."—Simon Callow,
The Guardian -- Simon Callow * The Guardian *
“Strangely riveting, even haunting . . . a scholarly detective story.”—
The Boston Globe * The Boston Globe *
"Impeccably sourced and dashingly narrated… Slater sinks his teeth into the dirty subject of reputation making - and breaking - with a relish that almost made me forget (I mean this as a compliment) that author's status as an eminent academic."—Miranda Seymour,
Sunday Telegraph -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Telegraph *
“[Slater] examines decades of rumor and journalism to provide a history of the scandal as it has develpped since the author’s death.”—
New Yorker Page-Turner blog * New Yorker Page-Turner blog *
“A fascinating picture of not only Charles Dickens, but of the people who were (and still are) fascinated by him.”—
PopMatters * PopMatters *
"Exhaustively scholarly and very readable… Slater is… an astute and objective commentator…. This is a gripping account of a literary scandal." —
The Lady * The Lady *
"[An] elegant little history of how the truth came out, drop by scandalous drop."—John Bowen,
Times Literary Supplement -- John Bowen * The Times Literary Supplement *
“[Slater] happily tracks down and assesses the tiny accumulating pips and squeaks of the ‘scandal.’”—
San Francisco Chronicle * San Francisco Chronicle *
“You don’t need to know [Dickens’s] fiction to enjoy Slater’s zesty account of the life.”—
The New Republic * The New Republic *
“An invaluable work for Dickens scholars, and an enjoyable read for anyone.”—Choice
* Choice *
