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

However, in 2021 author Cora Harrison suggested that Nelly Ternan was in fact Dickens' illegitimate daughter;[4] a conclusion that historian Brian Ruck arrived at independently in 2022.

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.

[8] Thomas Ternan became the manager of the Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne where his wife became the lead actress and all of his daughters acted on the stage.

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.

Dickens made substantial efforts not to give evidence at the following enquiry, keeping the identity of his travelling companions a secret.