Charlotte

Charlotte Bront dazzled the world with some of literatures most vital, richly-drawn characters. She spent her brief but extraordinary life in search of love and eventually found it with Arthur Bell Nicholls, her fathers curate, a reserved yet passionate Irishman. The pair honeymooned in Ireland, though their joy was quenched nine months later when Charlotte died in March 1855. The aura of mystery surrounding the enigmatic author was only to intensify after her death. Charlotte is the story of two marriages and three lives irrevocably intertwined, told by the woman who went on to wed Bronts widower. Theirs was a love triangle of devotion and heartache, friendship and deception, passion and obsession. Martina Devlins enthralling novel re-envisions Charlottes pivotal time in Ireland, weaving back and forth through the novelists life and afterlife. It reflects upon the myths built up by those who knew her, those who thought they did, and those who longed to. I was utterly enthralled by this fictional rendering of Charlotte Bront's lifeand its aftermathas viewed through the eyes of her husband's second wife. This is a powerful and compelling novel that expertly imagines the lives and times of those closest to Bront, and captivates the reader with its cleverness and eloquence. Mary Costello In Charlotte, the raw gold of Charlotte Bronts marriage to Arthur Nicholls has been wrought in a wonderful artefact; this is a beautiful novel full of mystery, intrigue and story. Carlo Gbler