The Invisible Woman

Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in this adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book about the long-standing affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan.

Ralph Fiennes brings to life a hidden chapter from the life of Charles Dickens – his thirteen-year affair with Nelly Ternan. Fiennes both directs and stars in Abi Morgan’s moving adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book, which sensitively depicts a hitherto underplayed factor of Dickens’ great career, as he strives to keep secret an affair with a woman twenty-seven years his junior (played by Felicity Jones). It was a subterfuge that would affect the tenor of his much of his later work.

Fiennes elegantly mounts an intelligent and adult biopic that features some exceptional performances, not least from Fiennes himself in the lead role, which he had to be persuaded to adopt having originally only signed on as director.