Synopsis
If you know anything about the Bronte sisters, you know they all used pseudonyms when their books were first published. Charlotte was known as Currer Bell, Anne was Acton Bell, and Emily was Ellis Bell. When Anne attempted to publish her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Charlotte’s publisher accused her of also being the author of Currer Bell’s novel, Jane Eyre. The publisher was convinced Currer Bell was trying to circumvent their established contract by publishing with another publishing house. Loosely based on real events, the main action of The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë begins with Charlotte and Anne Bronte traveling to London to sort out the confusion. Here is where this piece of fiction diverts itself from reality.
While in London, Charlotte and Anne witness the murder of a young woman they had met while traveling from their home in Hawthorn. Thus begins Charlotte’s wild adventures. She soon meets an agent of the crown and begins unraveling mystery after mystery with him. He becomes a love interest for Charlotte later in the novel. Although, he is definitely not the man she later married in real life, her father’s curate Arthur Bell Nicholls.
My Reaction
I think the author tried too hard to cleverly connect the history of the Brontes’ with their own version of history. The author introduces way too many different elements. We start with the murder of a young woman and we end with the kidnapping of Queen Victoria’s children. Oh, and there is also a skirmish with Chinese mercenaries. It all a bit much to handle in the span of one novel. And it all seemed so rushed. I imagine that the author made an outline of everything she wanted to jam into the novel. Then, she took a step back, and instead of realizing there wasn’t enough room to devote to each topic and cutting some scenes out, she included everything under the sun.
The tone of the book initially impressed me since it mirrored Charlotte Brontë’s own works in a few ways. But as I kept reading, it became very clear that this author wanted to inject some modernity into Charlotte. The sex scenes alone should stand out as being antithetical to Brontë’s own writing and character. It’s not as if Victorians didn’t have sex. But Charlotte Brontë, the daughter of a curate and someone who was unlucky in love, having sex with a man she is not married to is completely ridiculous.
If it did not center around the Brontës’ lives, this book might have made a decent historical romance. However, since we need to hold the histories of the Brontës in our head as we read, plus the invented timeline involving the Chinese, plus some outrageous antics by Charlotte along the way, it doesn’t really work well at all. It was not necessary to include the entire Brontë family in the action of the novel. This counts double for Branwell, who was given too much of a hero’s ending for me. It’s like the author wanted to show the reader how much, or little, she knew about the Brontë family history by including as much as possible into the plot. And it obviously did not work out in her favor.
If you’re looking for another Historical Fiction or Romance to read next, check out our other book reviews. We hope you’ll find something that piques your interest!
Rating
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