CRITICISM

Altick, Richard D. “Mr. Dickens and His Friend.” Washington Post Book World (24 March 1991): 10.

Altick evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens.

Auerbach, Nina. “Best Performance by a Mistress.” New York Times Book Review (21 April 1991): 12.

Auerbach argues that Tomalin's study of Nelly Ternan in The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens is interesting but ultimately unsubstantial.

Barry, Kevin. “Still Clueless.” New York Times Book Review (7 December 1997): 46.

Barry finds shortcomings in Tomalin's effort to balance a traditional version of Austen's life with new critical perspectives in Jane Austen: A Life.

Bell, Pearl K. “A Genius for Friendship and a Talent for Hatred.” New York Times Book Review (15 May 1988): 15.

Bell offers a positive assessment of Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life.

Bliven, Naomi. “A Woman of No Importance.” New Yorker (22 July 1991): 80.

Bliven compliments Tomalin's narrative structure in The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens.

“Mrs. King.” Economist 334, no. 7996 (7 January 1995): 71-2.

The critic compliments Tomalin's skill at constructing a biographical portrait in Mrs. Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King.

“Not So Plain Jane.” Economist 345, no. 8039 (18 October 1997): 57-8.

The critic evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of Jane Austen: A Life.

Kakutani, Michiko. “So She Wasn't So Placid, After All.” New York Times (25 November 1997): E8.

Kakutani praises Tomalin's biographical portrait of Jane Austen in Jane Austen: A Life.

———. “Out of the Shadows: A Life of Dickens's Mistress.” New York Times (26 March 1991): C17.

Kakutani evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens.

Klinkenborg, Verlyn. Review of The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens, by Claire Tomalin. Smithsonian 23, no. 10 (January 1993): 131-32.

Klinkenborg calls The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens “tantalizing” and argues that the work offers “all the pleasures of a literary detective story.”

MacDonagh, Oliver. Review of Jane Austen: A Life, by Claire Tomalin. Quadrant 42, no. 6 (June 1998): 75-6.

MacDonagh notes Tomalin's skill with creating a comprehensive biographical portrait in Jane Austen: A Life.

Mantel, Hilary. “Not ‘Everybody's Dear Jane.’” New York Review of Books 95, no. 2 (5 February 1998): 8-11.

Mantel compares and contrasts Jane Austen: A Life with David Nokes's biography on the same subject.

Mueller, Lisel. “The Troubled Soul of a Literary Legend.” Chicago Tribune Books (13 March 1988): 6.

Mueller compliments Tomalin's careful evaluation of Mansfield's past in Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life.

Additional coverage of Tomalin's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Contemporary Authors, Vols. 89-92; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vols. 52, 88; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 155; and Literature Resource Center.