From 1857 until his death in 1870, Charles Dickens had a close relationship with the actress Ellen Ternan. The story isn't yet fully known, since even by the standards of his age, Dickens was exceptionally keen to preserve his reputation and strict secrecy was maintained, but Ellen may have had a child by him. Claire Tomalin looks at this and other aspects of the affair and her book aims to show that Ellen, the youngest of three highly gifted sisters from an acting family, was a fascinating person in her own right. The biography draws on previously undiscovered material, including photographs, as well as bringing together facts previously known but not yet satisfactorily related to each other.