She is uncharitable, shallow, capricious and opportunistic. She is vain, manipulative, unkind, immature, entitled and forever suffering. Austin created a female narcissist of the most complex but understandable kind. This is the story of Lydia Robinson (alleged older married mistress of Branwell Bronte).
She was able to move seamlessly between romantic melodrama and psychological portraiture that complimented and enriched each of these respective forms of writing. Austin was able to do something incredibly accomplished and assured in her debut novel. My feeling is that the author's research inspired her to create something absolutely extraordinary. I am choosing not to approach this novel as historical fiction as I did not read it this way.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Atria books for an e-copy. Meticulously researched and deliciously told, Brontë’s Mistress is a captivating reimagining of the scandalous affair that has divided Brontë enthusiasts for generations and an illuminating portrait of a courageous, sharp-witted woman who fights to emerge with her dignity intact.ĥ "delicious, damning, dazzling" stars !! Soon, it falls on Lydia to save not just her reputation, but her way of life, before those clever girls reveal all her secrets in their novels. As Branwell’s inner turmoil rises to the surface, his behavior grows erratic and dangerous, and whispers of their passionate relationship spout from her servants’ lips, reaching all three protective Brontë sisters. A love of poetry, music, and theatre bring mistress and tutor together, and Branwell’s colorful tales of his sisters’ elaborate play-acting and made-up worlds form the backdrop for seduction.īut Lydia’s new taste of passion comes with consequences. Handsome, passionate, and uninhibited by social conventions, he’s also twenty-five to her forty-three. Branwell has his own demons to contend with-including living up to the ideals of his intelligent family-but his presence is a breath of fresh air for Lydia. With her teenage daughters rebelling, her testy mother-in-law scrutinizing her every move, and her marriage grown cold, Lydia is restless and yearning for something more.Īll of that changes with the arrival of her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, brother of her daughters’ governess, Miss Anne Brontë and those other writerly sisters, Charlotte and Emily. She returns to her bleak home, grief-stricken and unmoored. Yorkshire, 1843: Lydia Robinson-mistress of Thorp Green Hall-has lost her precious young daughter and her mother within the same year. Poe and Longbourn explores the scandalous historical love affair between Branwell Brontë and Lydia Robinson, giving voice to the woman who allegedly corrupted her son’s innocent tutor and brought down the entire Brontë family. This dazzling debut novel for fans of Mrs.
0 kommentar(er)
