Longley Collection

The Longley Collection comprises 51 volumes (29 titles), related to the actress Ellen Lawless Ternan (1839-1914), described as the most celebrated and most mysterious of Charles Dickens's love affairs. Most of the books, published between 1799 and 1965, are works of fiction, notably early childrens's books and several novels by Frances Trollope (1780-1863). At least two of them definitely belonged to Ellen Ternan, bearing her initials and the date on the title page; the others can be assumed to have done so. Frances Trollope's Anne Furness is inscribed by the author on the title page, albeit not to Ellen Ternan. The collection also contains books about Dickens which refer to Ellen Ternan; and an autobiography of the actress Ellen Terry.

The collection was presented to the Library by Miss K.M. Longley, i.e. the Dickens scholar Katherine Longley, who between 1978 and 1991 also gave the Library archival material pertaining to the Ternan family and their friends.

The collection is recorded on the main catalogue. To gain an overview of the collection, do a mixed classmark search on Longley. Related collections within Senate House Library include the Sterling Library ; Martin Collection and the Malcolm Morley Library .

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