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There are currently 20 member reviews
for Romancing Miss Bronte
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Peggy H. (North East, PA)
Yawn, too long
I really wanted to like this book, but, when, after 100 pages both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights were already published, and I knew that the Brontes hadn't written any other books....Yikes! what would the remaining 300 pages be about? How plain, how sad the lives of the sisters...but a bit too drawn out for my taste.
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Theresa R. (SIERRA MADRE, CA)
Decent Story
Although the book started very slowly, I gradually got into it and was able to finish. I liked Juliet Gael's writing style, but thought she could have gone a little deeper into character development. I didn't end up feeling like I really "cared for" any of the characters in this book. I would like to read her future books to see how she progresses as an author.
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Margot T. (Naples, Florida)
When you know the ending...
Since 'Romancing Miss Bronte' is a fictionalization of Charlotte Bronte's life, much of the mystery usually present in a novel, the "what will happen next" element is of necessity diminished and can only be compensated by a thrilling conveyance of the characters' internal workings. To this end, somehow author Gael tries very diligently but doesn't always write convincingly or evenly.
The book is, despite its lack of depth, a good read and does give the reader at least some idea of Bronte's difficult life, as a daughter of a tyrannical clergyman, beset by poverty and plagued by a lack of physical beauty and social grace. The author also is quite thorough in her rendering of the relationship among Charlotte and her sisters, Anne and Emily, and the tragedy of her brother. I think the best drawn character in the entire work is that of Arthur Nicholls, Charlotte's suitor, who in the end wins her hand and heart and leads her to emotional places never before imagined.
Ultimately, I would recommend this book, despite its unevenness, but would strongly advocate also reading 'Becoming Jane Eyre', a much more sensitively written novel, based on the same subject.
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Karen T. (Auburn, MA)
Good biographical novel
This is a good read for anyone who is already a fan of the Bronte sisters. It is slow to draw you in, beginning with a more biographical feel. The author does manage to paint an accurate picture of the role of a poor woman in those times and the struggle the sisters went through to become authors. It isn't until after Charlotte's publication of Jane Eyre that the book goes deeper into their lives and we really get to see more of the characters. At times if feels more like being told things about the characters rather than being showed them, which was a little disappointing. Overall, a great read for Bronte fans and it made me want to go back and re-read all their books!
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Mary A. (Fernandina Beach, FL)
Romancing Miss Bronte
This novel tells the story of Arthur Bell Nicholl's courtship of Charlotte Bronte.Bronte dreamed of passionate, romantic love and Nicholls, her father's curate for eight years, seems to be a most unlikely prospect. He's described as " a sort of inferior appendage to the Brontes one that performed a host of needed functions but was never accepted as worthy or equal."(p.175)So my curiosity was piqued as to how he would win over the reluctant Miss Bronte.
The author does succeed in not only revealing Arthur's growing love for Charlotte over eight long years (!) but also portrays Charlotte's conflicted emotions regarding his attentions through the use use of Bronte's actual correspondence.
Unfortunately, Gael interrupts the narrative by telling the reader what to think.For example, "There was in Arthur Nicholls much to recommend him to Charlotte Bronte not least of which was the disparity between surface and soul."(p.22)I'd rather have that revealed to me through the writer's art!
A better book dealing with the identical subject matter is the novel The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James.Although not without its flaws, James breaths life into Charlotte and Arthur and allows her readers to draw their own conclusions.
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Marie G. (Azusa, CA)
Few likable characters and ho-hum events
Perhaps I might have missed the point of the story or failed to appreciate the depiction of how dull life was for the Bronte sisters. It had a sluggish start and then about halfway in, just when it seemed like it would pick up when the sisters were published, it paved the way for more mundane events. It was like reading about someone having a hot cup of coffee and the author making embellishments here and there, but it was still about drinking coffee. The narrative was more mechanical rather than lyrical. I had wanted to love this book, but it left little for imagining. Book club members might have a hard time discussing this book.
