Sixty-five years after Charles Dickens's death in 1870, it became public knowledge that he had been involved in an affair with actress Ellen Lawless Ternan. Barely 18 when they met, Ternan is now thought to have been a source of both inspiration (Helena Landless of The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and consternation (Stella in Great Expectations) to the beloved novelist. Though the extent of the couple's closeness remains unknown, Rackham, building upon the few undisputed facts, has achieved a stellar piece of fiction. Beginning at the height of Dickens's fame, the novel is told in alternating chapters by three very different narrators, none of whom hesitates to deride the others: popular mystery writer Wilkie Collins, author of The Moonstone, portrayed here as an addict and sensualist; Georgina Hogarth, Dickens's sister-in-law; and Ternan herself. After casting three of the Ternans to act in a play, Dickens—long unhappy with his obese, childlike wife—is soon smitten, not by Maria as the Ternans expect, but by the quiet, attentive Ellen. Complications, of course, ensue. Though this is not the first time this relationship has been portrayed in a novel—see, for instance, William Palmer's The Detective & Mr. Dickens—this tale truly cap- tivates, moving from the bawdy fun of the Collins chapters through Georgina Hogarth's unrequited longing to the elegiac moods of strong-willed Ellen. Thorough research is in evidence throughout, and this portrayal of Dickens—hardworking and honest, charitable and charming—is well in line with the man readers know from books and from history. But it is with his vibrant narrators that Rackham's inventiveness shines brightest. Readers will certainly never think of Wilkie Collins in quite the same way. (Sept.)
