Booktalk

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

Summary
This 300 page book recounts the real story of writer Charlotte Bronte's rise to fame before, during, and after her most famous novel, Jane Eyre, was published.  The writer, Juliet Gael, stitches together historical records of Bronte's life with her family, including her famous sister, Emily Bronte, writer of Wuthering Heights, to write an almost non-fiction story about Bronte, but between these true moments are spots of fiction; readers are left to wonder which parts are real and which parts are memorex.  Bronte and her sisters, Emily and Anne, first get the idea to publish when they realize that there is no other way to bring in much needed revenue to their house.  Their father, Patrick, is the aging pastor of the local church, and their brother, Branwell, is of no use because he is love sick and drug and alcohol-addicted. 

When the sisters publish, they first do so under the pseudonyms, Currer Bell (Charlotte), Ellis Bell (Emily), and Acton Bell (Anne), because at the time it was frowned upon for women to write and most certainly, daughters of a minister.  Out of the three, Charlotte's book is received the best by critics and all of London is abuzz about the writer, Currer Bell.  No one knows what Currer really looks like and they all want to meet him.  At one point, it becomes impossible to keep the secret anymore and Charlotte and Anne travel to London to let their publisher know about their true identities.  Emily is against the idea and stays behind.

Charlotte and Anne try to present their best outward appearances at the publisher's office, but they are poor and the workers joke and giggle as they wait for George Smith, the editor-in-chief.  When Charlotte produces proof of their celebrity, everyone's tune changes.  Charlotte and Anne are wisked away to operas and clothing stores and treated like royalty.  At this time, several suitors or boyfriends are vying for Charlotte's attention, but she is focused on her writing and her family's health.

Sadly, her brother and both sisters die suddenly, and Charlotte is left with her father, her writing, and her memories.  Will the love interests in her life, George and Arthur, be able to improve Charlotte's life or make it worse?

My Opinion
I loved this book from start to finish.  As a college student I read and fell in love with the book Jane Eyre and studied Charlotte Bronte's life extensively, but Gael manages to find out the secrets in Bronte's life that I never knew, or at least, did not truly understand.  After reading this book, I have a renewed vision of Miss Bronte and I am now going to spend my break re-reading Jane Eyre.  I  highly recommend reading Jane Eyre first, a story about a fiery (Eyre means fire) young school teacher, who falls in love with her boss, Rochester, but unlike many women of the time, she will not change to suit her lover's needs and demands that he take her as she is:  a great message, male or female, to read and especially to read from a writer in the 1800s.