Nelly Ternan
Thomas Ternan was the younger
brother of Nelly Ternan, who was the mistress of Charles Dickens
from 1857 until his death in 1870. Thomas was the youngest child
of this theatrical family who travelled the country performing
in the local theatres.
Nelly Ternan
At the time of Thomas's death
few people could afford to go to the theatre, so the Ternan
family struggled to make ends meet. Many years later, Charles
Dickens told a story of how Nelly had performed in the theatre
night after night before returning to her lodgings where
Thomas's corpse took up the only bed. Eventually, they saved
enough money to pay for Thomas's funeral.
Claire Tomalin tells the story
of the relationship between Nelly and Charles Dickens in her
excellent book, The Invisible Woman. |
