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In this astonishing novel, a brilliant mélange of fact and fiction, Juliet Gael skillfully and stylishly captures the passions, hopes, dreams, and sorrows of literature's most famous sisters--and imagines how love dramatically and most unexpectedly found Charlotte Brontë.
During the two years that she studied in Brussels, Charlotte had a taste of life's splendors--travel, literature, and art. Now, back home in the Yorkshire moors, duty-bound to a blind father and an alcoholic brother, an ambitious Charlotte refuses to sink into hopelessness. With her sisters, Emily and Anne, Charlotte conceives a plan to earn money and pursue a dream: The Brontës will publish. In childhood the Brontë children created fantastical imaginary worlds; now the sisters craft novels quite unlike anything written before. Transforming her loneliness and personal sorrow into a triumph of literary art, Charlotte pens her 1847 masterpiece, Jane Eyre.
Charlotte's novel...
In her debut, Gael makes a valiant attempt to blend fact with fiction as she transports readers to 19th-century England, where Charlotte Brontë conspires with her sisters to publish their works under pseudonyms. The publications aren’t instant successes, and shortly after Charlotte’s Jane Eyre creates a stir in London, a wave of deaths in her family leaves Charlotte as the sole caretaker of her aging father. That responsibility, combined with her “average” looks, seem certain to fate Charlotte to a life of spinsterhood—until a confession of undying love comes from an unlikely corner. Charlotte has a choice: will she settle for less than that all-encompassing passion she writes about? Or would she rather be alone for the rest of her life? Through letters written by Brontë herself and research on her life and life’s work, Gael paints an accurate and intriguing depiction of the author, though her dedication to her material leads portions to read like straightforward biography. There are a number of good moments, though, and Brontë fans will surely enjoy this look at the author’s life, even if it doesn’t bleed like the classics. (May)
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
David Smith
reviewed Romancing Miss Bronte on February 19, 2018
Romancing Miss Bronte
A disappointing historical fiction about Charlotte Brontë, her sisters Emily and Ann, and how they came from obscurity to write some of the most enduring fiction the West has known.
The first part of this story was the best. The reader gets a unique glimpse into the minds of the Brontës, what their lives were probably like and how unfortunate their brother's existence turned out to be.
I loved hearing Juliet Gael's vision of their character and personality quirks.
The second half of the book, focused primarily on Charlotte and her relationship with Arthur, was a drag.
Up until that point, the women were surprisingly self sufficient, considering the times in which they lived. Yes, they coddled their alcoholic and opium-addicted brother. Yes, they indulged the whims of their ailing father, but for the most part, they acted how they pleased.
Once Arthur enters her life, Charlotte centers every action around him. He tells her who she can write. He controls their social schedule.
The book enters a repetitive loop: Charlotte does something Arthur doesn't like, he reprimands her, she writes her friend a letter about how annoying it is but she simply adores her husband so it's ok... and repeat.
This was probably the reality of her situation but it sucked. I can't imagine that I would have been happy living like that. I don't believe she was either.
The cringe-inducing letters Gael describes in the story actually exist. I also think that if I was a sensitive and reclusive person like Charlotte Brontë, having my personal letters published after my death would be a nightmare situation.
Charlotte and her sisters were forced to live a sub-par existence because they were women.
Traditional roles for women left so little room for living. It's astonishing that the Brontës were able to write anything at all, when you consider when they lived and the disadvantages to their station.
They were poor, lived in the middle of nowhere and had no one they could rely on except themselves.
Add to the mix a dose of religious guilt and social expectations... again, the world is fortunate to have their stories.
I suggest reading Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights instead of this.
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