Frances Eleanor Jarman (8 February 1802 – 30 October 1873) was an English actress who appeared in Ireland, Scotland, England, America and Canada. She travelled with

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

while her daughter was his mistress. Another of her daughters married the novelist

Thomas Adolphus Trollope Thomas Adolphus Trollope (29 April 1810 – 11 November 1892) was an English writer who was the author of more than 60 books. He lived most of his life in Italy creating a renowned villa in Florence with his first wife, Theodosia, and later ...

Life

Jarman was born in Hull in 1802. Her mother, Martha Maria Mottershed, was a successful actress and after her marriage she continued to appear and from 1812 she appeared with her daughter. Her father, John Jarman, had been trained as a lawyer, but he worked in Tate Wilkinson's Yorkshire acting company as a prompter whilst his wife appeared in major roles as ''Maria Errington'' before her marriage even though her maiden name was Mottershed. Jarman was almost immediately part of the cast and she appeared in one role before she was christened. She continued to be employed in juvenile roles.

Ternan sisters - a carte d visite Maria Ellen and Frances

Whilst she was appearing in Edinburgh she met an Irish actor named Thomas Lawless Ternan and they were married in 1834. They set off immediately on a long working honeymoon and in 1835 she was on a three-year tour of cities in Canada and the United States. There she gave birth to a daughter Frances Eleanor Ternan on board a paddle steamer in

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inla ...

. According to Tom Ternan the tour was a great success making £500 in two nights in Boston.Thomas Ternan
John Simkin, Spartacus Educational, retrieved 19 January 2015 The Ternans returned to Britain where she found work in major cities before appearing at Drury Lane in 1837 to 1838. The Ternans' daughters appeared as "Infant Phenomena" on the stage.Frances Eleanor Trollope
Maggie Kopp, Harold Lee Library, retrieved 18 January 2015 Thomas Ternan became the manager of the Theatre Royal in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

where his wife became the lead actress and all of his daughters acted on the stage. Thomas Ternan had a mental breakdown in 1844 and he lived for two years in an asylum in

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before he died in 1846. In 1865 Charles Dickens was abroad whilst writing ''

Our Mutual Friend ''Our Mutual Friend'', written in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, qu ...

'' with his mistress

Ellen Ternan Ellen Lawless Ternan (3 March 1839 – 25 April 1914), also known as Nelly Ternan or Nelly Wharton-Robinson, was an English actress known for association with the author Charles Dickens. Birth and family life Ellen Ternan was born in Roches ...

. Ellen was accompanied by her mother. Dickens was travelling with Ellen Ternan but this was not public knowledge although he seemed to show no effort to disguise his relationship with her on the ferry home. Dickens had booked three first-class tickets and they boarded the train for London. During the journey there was the Staplehurst rail crash when the train was derailed and some carriages ended up in the river and ten people were killed. Their carriage came close to falling but remained in an unstable condition. Dickens was involved with rescuing several passengers including the Ternans. Dickens made substantial efforts not to give evidence at the following enquiry as he wanted to keep his travelling companion's identity secret.The Staplehurst Disaster
University of California Santa Cruz, retrieved 18 January 2015 Dickens talks of this incident at the end of ''Our Mutual Friend'', but again he fails to mention the full list of who he was travelling with. Jarman died in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

in October 1873. Her daughter Maria was a journalist, her daughter Frances was a novelist and Ellen is mentioned above.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarman, Frances Eleanor 1802 births 1873 deaths Actresses from Kingston upon Hull British actresses Survivors of railway accidents or incidents