‘Until now, I have shared the specifics of that first meeting between us with no one. If I let them, people would pore over every detail, handle each scrap. Shop-soiling with their touch. Strangers can be inclined to pry…once the link is made, they swamp me with questions.
Usually, I say she was Arthur’s wife a decade before he married me, that they lived in Yorkshire, and I was never there. It suggests I didn’t know her…’
– Charlotte
[ About Charlotte ]
Charlotte Brontë, who dazzled the world with some of literature’s most vital and richly-drawn characters, spent her brief but extraordinary life in search of love. She eventually found it with Arthur Bell, a reserved yet passionate Irishman. After marrying, the pair honeymooned in Ireland – a glimmer of happiness in a life shadowed by tragedy.
That moment of joy was destined to be short-lived however, as Brontë died just nine months into their marriage. Her genius, and the aura of mystery surrounding her, meant she’d been mythologised even within her own lifetime – a process which only intensified after her death. Observed through the eyes of Mary Nicholls – who encountered Charlotte on that fateful journey to Ireland, and who went on to wed her widower Arthur – Charlotte is a story of three lives irrevocably intertwined. Bound by passion and obsession, friendship and loss, loyalty and deception – this a story of Brontë’s short but pivotal time in Ireland as never before told.
Martina Devlin’s enthralling new novel Charlotte weaves back and forth through Charlotte’s life, reflecting on the myths built around her by those who knew her, those who thought they knew her, and those who longed to know her. Above all, this is a story of fiction: who creates it, who lives it, who owns it.
[ My Review ]
Charlotte by Martina Devlin publishes today, September 12th 2024, with Lilliput Press and is described by Emily Hourican, author of The Guinness Girls, as ‘elegant and sophisticated but also completely gripping’.
The writing of the Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, is internationally recognised in literary circles as being both powerful and quite evocative. With strong female protagonists, and ofttimes a gothic element, they explored the complexities of human emotions while always keeping a well-observed eye on the societal and cultural standards of the time. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë are three of their most recognised works.
In Charlotte, Martina Devlin explores the later life of Charlotte Brontë, narrated by Mary Nicholls, before her tragic death at just thirty-eight years old. Mary Nicholls was the cousin, and later wife, of Arthur Bell Nicholls who was briefly married to Charlotte. Intertwining the lives of these three individuals over different time periods, an incredible story presents itself of a woman whose influence stretched far beyond her death, especially on the lives of those closest to her.
Mary Nicholls grew up alongside her cousin Arthur Bell Nicholls and her mother always expected a marriage between the two, which was seemingly acceptable behaviour at that time. But one day a letter arrived to their home in Banagher, Co. Offaly, informing them that Arthur was arriving back for a visit with his new wife. Arthur had studied at Trinity College Dublin and had been working in the position of curate at Haworth, home to the Anglican minister Patrick Brontë and his children, one of whom was Charlotte. Over a period of time Arthur and Charlotte became more closely acquainted with each other, eventually marrying in 1854, followed by a honeymoon in Wales and Ireland.
“I knew her father Patrick was an Irishman, as was her husband Arthur Bell Nicholls – but I was surprised to discover that he brought her to Ireland on their honeymoon in 1854. Arthur, who was Patrick’s curate in Haworth, was proud of his homeland and keen to share its attractions with his famous novelist wife.”
– Martina Devlin, Books Ireland Magazine
Martina Devlin states from the outset that Charlotte is a blend of fact and fiction but, as the story weaves its way back and forth across the years, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two. This is completely attributed to the seamlessness of Martina Devlin’s narrative style and the amount of research that she clearly undertook before embracing the challenge of writing such an extraordinary tale.
When Charlotte arrived to the home of Mary Nicholls in Ireland, she was a breath of fresh air. Mary was enthralled by the manner in which she conveyed herself and with the views she held. Charlotte and her sisters were not stereotypical of that time, tackling the patriarchy and the injustice against women in society through their written word. Mary became quite infatuated with Charlotte and a bond sprang up between the two, with Charlotte treating Mary as a confidante, trusting her with her inner thoughts and secrets.
When Charlotte returned to her new married life in Yorkshire, her time was to be short, but her legacy lived on. Arthur carried a very deep love for Charlotte and felt her loss for many years but still remained at Haworth to look after Patrick Brontë until after his death. Arthur returned to Ireland, with the contents of the parsonage, and married Mary but he still carrying a torch for his lost love. Mary recounts the time she spent with Charlotte, while also giving us an insight into her married relationship in later years, one that struggled to survive in the shadow of its predecessor.
The legacy of Charlotte and her sisters still lives on today, but in the 1800s following the demise of all three, there was a sense of the mystical about them, with huge interest in any memorabilia associated with them. Martina Devlin imagines Mary Nicholls as the keeper of secrets and how her life must have been impacted by being the wife of Arthur Bell Nicholls, widower of Charlotte Brontë. In writing Charlotte from Mary’s perspective, we can imagine what Charlotte’s time in Ireland was like and the lasting impact her presence had on those left behind.
Charlotte is a striking interpretation of a period of time in the life of this iconic writer. With intriguing insights and alternate perspectives, Martina Devlin captures the person, the passion and the strength of Charlotte Brontë from a unique point of view. A captivating tale, Charlotte draws the reader into the world of its characters and is a stunning and compelling biographical fiction novel.
**Thank you to Lilliput Press for my advance copy of Charlotte in exchange for my honest review.
[ Bio ]
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.
X ~ @DevlinMartina
Love the sound of this one Mairead.
Joanne it’s a gorgeous novel. Beautifully reimagined