I could not get into this book. I will admit that I am not a huge Dickens fan; "A Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities" are the only works of his that I like. The man was a master of storytelling, however, as his legacy of work and numerous fans will attest. Because of this I have read a number of books about Dickens; it is impossible to recognize the contribution he made to literature even if you don't like his work. Brian Ruck lost me as soon as he suggested that Ellen Ternan was Dickens' illegitimate child. Renowned Dickens scholars have all agreed and supported their research with evidence that Ternan was in fact Charles Dickens' mistress, and that they had a child together. Ellen Ternan may have denied the relationship later in life, but letters and diaries survive confirming their relationship. Ruck uses language taken from some of Dickens' letters to support his theory that Dickens had an affair with Ellen Ternan's mother Frances Jarman Ternan and that Ellen was the resulting child. If anything, I think those snippets might indicate that Dickens had an affair with Frances and then years later began a relationship with her daughter. I am not a Dickens scholar, and I have no way to back up this theory; I am just reinterpreting what Ruck has interpreted himself. As well, Brian Ruck admits at the start of his book that he is not a historian or Dickens scholar, and his "proof" is very flimsy. All in all, I found this to be a biased and not well-supported study of Charles Dickens.

Absolutely fascinating. I was unaware of Ellen Ternan and the allegation that she was Dickens’ mistress. In the spirit of Gradgrind, the author bases his views on facts and draws a different conclusion. I feel confident that the author’s career as a research scientist leaves him well equipped to gather facts, apply analytical skills and form a different and more challenging view. His insight is forensic in detail and I believe his reappraisal is worthy of consideration. He gives a brief overview of Dickens and I was interested to note that current views about the relationship with Ellen are based on two rather dated and skewed biographies. Both concluded she was his mistress, but facts to support that are thin. Ruck looks at Ellen’s life in earlier years and draws on resources already in the public domain. These include letters, literary references, other biographies, contemporaneous records and more.Theres a comprehensive index and a number of interesting photos and pictures which give further context to his conclusions. It’s not definitive but in addition to presenting a plausible alternative, it also adds to the pleasure of reading Dickens. There are numerous literary references which add to the text. A great read all round and my thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This is a new author and I was intrigued by the write up
A fascinating, well researched offering

Well worth a read

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is freely given, and my opinions are my own.

This book is extremely interesting, and I really did enjoy it. I just couldn't give it five stars because there is so much speculation in the book. There is just so little evidence that the two had any type of relationship, let alone had a child together. Even so, it was interesting to read about the life of Ellen Ternan, someone I don't remember ever hearing about before (although it's possible I had in passing).

Would recommend this to anyone looking for a good non-fiction read, especially someone who loves Charles Dickens' books!