Charlotte by Martina Devlin
Charlotte Brontë dazzled the world with some of literature’s 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 father’s 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 Brontë’s widower. Theirs was a love triangle of devotion and heartache, friendship and deception, passion and obsession.
Martina Devlin’s enthralling novel re-envisions Charlotte’s pivotal time in Ireland, weaving back and forth through the novelist’s 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 Brontë's life—and its aftermath—as viewed through the eyes of her husband's second wife.
Charlotte Brontë dazzled the world with some of literature’s 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 father’s 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 Brontë’s widower. Theirs was a love triangle of devotion and heartache, friendship and deception, passion and obsession.
Martina Devlin’s enthralling novel re-envisions Charlotte’s pivotal time in Ireland, weaving back and forth through the novelist’s 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 Brontë's life—and its aftermath—as viewed through the eyes of her husband's second wife.
Charlotte Brontë dazzled the world with some of literature’s 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 father’s 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 Brontë’s widower. Theirs was a love triangle of devotion and heartache, friendship and deception, passion and obsession.
Martina Devlin’s enthralling novel re-envisions Charlotte’s pivotal time in Ireland, weaving back and forth through the novelist’s 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 Brontë's life—and its aftermath—as viewed through the eyes of her husband's second wife.
About the Author
Martina Devlin has written novels, plays and short stories. She has won the Royal Society of Literature’s V.S. Pritchett Prize, a Hennessy Literary Award, and been shortlisted three times for the Irish Book Awards. She writes a weekly current affairs column for the Irish Independent for which she has won a number of prizes, including National Newspapers of Ireland commentator of the year. She holds a PhD in literary practice from Trinity College Dublin.
Praise for Charlotte
‘An intriguing journey into the ghostly, distorted afterlife of Charlotte Brontë. Martina Devlin tells her story with great elegance, skill and delicacy. The result is utterly engrossing.’
- Kathleen Mac Mahon
‘Charlotte is elegant and sophisticated but also completely gripping. Martina Devlin brilliantly creates the world around this iconic writer, with characters who have the power to surprise and compel. I loved it.’
- Emily Hourican
‘In her fiction, Martina Devlin has a rare gift for reconstructing the past and bringing real historical figures to life on the page. In Charlotte she uses the substantial research her readers have come to expect from her in inventive and compelling ways, posing intriguing and unanswerable questions such as: If she hadn’t died so soon after her honeymoon visit to Ireland, might Charlotte Brontë have written an Irish novel?’
- Lia Mills
‘In Charlotte, the raw gold of Charlotte Brontë’s marriage to Arthur Nicholls has been wrought in a wonderful artefact; this is a beautiful novel full of mystery, intrigue and story.’
- Carlo Gébler
‘I was utterly enthralled by this fictional rendering of Charlotte Brontë’s life—and its aftermath—as 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 Brontë, and captivates the reader with its cleverness and eloquence.’
- Mary Costello
Publisher: The Lilliput Press
Date Published: 12 September 2024
Paperback, 272 pages
ISBN: 9781843519041
