She was best known for her biography of her mother-in-law, Frances Milton Trollope, who was famous for her book, Domestic Manners of the Americans, as well as her novels.

Her mother and father were on a three-year tour of North America after their marriage in Edinburgh in 1835.

Her father became the manager of the Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne where her mother was a leading actress.

The three daughters including Frances were put on stage to show off their skills.

[1] Her younger sister Ellen Ternan became the mistress of Charles Dickens and because of his intercession she was recommended as a prospective governess to the child of his widowed friend Thomas Trollope, following the death of his wife Theodosia Trollope.