The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"I have written about the joys of love. I have, in my secret heart, long dreamt of an intimate connection with a man; every Jane, I believe, deserves her Rochester."

Though poor, plain, and unconnected, Charlotte Bronte possesses a deeply passionate side which she reveals only in her writings—creating Jane Eyre and other novels that stand among literature's most beloved works. Living a secluded life in the wilds of Yorkshire with her sisters Emily and Anne, their drug-addicted brother, and an eccentric father who is going blind, Charlotte Bronte dreams of a real love story as fiery as the ones she creates.

But it is in the pages of her diary where Charlotte exposes her deepest feelings and desires—and the truth about her life, its triumphs and shattering disappointments, her family, the inspiration behind her work, her scandalous secret passion for the man she can never have . . . and her intense, dramatic relationship with the man she comes to love, the enigmatic Arthur Bell Nicholls.

"Who is this man who has dared to ask for my hand? Why is my father so dead set against him? Why are half the residents of Haworth determined to lynch him—or shoot him?"

From Syrie James, the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, comes a powerfully compelling, intensely researched literary feat that blends historical fact and fiction to explore the passionate heart and unquiet soul of Charlotte Bronte. It is Charlotte's story, just as she might have written it herself.

About the Author

Syrie James is the author of the best-selling novel The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, which was named a Best First Novel of 2008 by Library Journal. A member of the Writers Guild of America, Syrie is also a screenwriter and lecturer. Syrie received a B.A. in English and Communications from the University of California, where she was awarded a departmental citation for outstanding accomplishment in English. Syrie lives with her husband and their two sons in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Avon A (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006164837X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061648373
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,866 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect summer read, July 22, 2009

By	Feathered Quill Book Reviews (Goshen, MA) - See all my reviews

While we know that Charlotte Bronte did not leave behind a secret diary, Syrie James' book offers a delightful portrait of this groundbreaking nineteenth century author. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte offers a compelling story that focuses on the lives of the Bronte sisters as told by Charlotte.

If you haven't heard of the Bronte's, here is your opportunity to learn about this amazing family that included three respected female authors, and one not so respected brother. The household was led by their father, Patrick Bronte, a clergyman in rural Haworth, England. Almost out of the womb, the three surviving sisters were destined to become authors, writing journals and stories from an extraordinarily early age into adolescence. In 1846, the sisters jointly issued a poetry collection that was published using pseudonyms, both to maintain their privacy and to hide their true gender. Though this first publication hardly saw the light of day, the three sisters continued their writing pursuits, finally earning positive literary criticism. Emily Bronte earned recognition with her torrid tale, Wurthering Heights, a book that became the talk of London; while Charlotte's Jane Eyre, a story of a plain, docile school teacher, caught the attention and imagination of the reading public. The least successful of the novels was Anne's radical story, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which depicted a woman who left her alcoholic husband - a farfetched theme for the time.

It is with this backdrop that James recreates Charlotte's life: her dreadful childhood experience at a parsonage, followed by her time at Roe Head, a school where she wrote her first novella, to the death of her siblings, and finally back to the marriage proposal and her untimely death. A critical juncture in the story comes when Charlotte assumes a teaching post in Brussels and falls in love with the head of the school, Constantin Heger. While it is unclear what actually transpired with Mr. Heger, we do know that Charlotte's relationship to Mrs. Heger was quite strained. In telling Charlotte's story, James makes the persuasive argument that all Charlotte's publications, but particularly Jane Eyre, were drawn directly from events in Charlotte's life.

When Charlotte died, Ms. Gaskill, a feminist writer of some renown, and a friend of the Bronte's, was persuaded to write a biography of Charlotte. In deference to the time, it was a somewhat sanitized version of events, especially relating to Charlotte's period in Brussels. The biography was also later criticized by reviewers for Ms. Gaskill's reliance on information from Charlotte's best friend, Ellen Nussey, a fellow "spinster," who felt abandoned when Charlotte's prospects for marriage became a reality.

With all the correspondence that abounds, Ms. James has done an excellent job of culling through the research and offering us another look at this fascinating family. James makes sense of the events of Charlotte's life, tells a story that captures the language and feel of the times, and keeps the novel moving at a fast pace. While most of the dialogue in Charlotte's Secret Diary is plausible, James sometimes goes a bit too far, such as her rendition of Charlotte's wedding night. This portion adds to the romantic angle, but is the least convincing. Despite these few exceptions, James' book is a captivating and entertaining read. James is so winning in her narrative style that by the end of the tale the reader will be convinced that she, in fact, has discovered Charlotte's secret diary.

Quill says: A well-written, if somewhat romanticized version, of the life of Charlotte Bronte. A perfect summer read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the Title; Read the Book!, July 30, 2009

By	Susan Higginbotham "boswellbaxter" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I admit that I was a little reluctant to pick up The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, mainly because of the title, because with the exception of Sandra Gulland's Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, I haven't been terribly impressed by most novels that take the form of diaries, secret or otherwise. But pick it up I did, because I wanted a paperback to take to the beach, and I was very pleasantly surprised.

The title of this book is actually somewhat misleading, in fact, because although the narrator (Charlotte, of course) occasionally refers to her writing as a diary, the story is not in the usual day-to-day journal format. "Secret Memoirs" would be a more apt title. So if you're not keen on the diary format, there's no need to avoid this novel.

The event that prompts Charlotte to write about her life is the unexpected proposal she receives from her father's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. As Charlotte wrestles with the question of whether to accept, she reflects about her evolving relationship with Nicholls, her infatuation with a married professor in Brussels, her career as an author, and her life with her siblings, all now deceased.

James has researched her subject thoroughly, and it shows without appearing pedantic. Her portrayals of Charlotte's friends and family are true to life and three-dimensional, and where the author fills in gaps and creates dramatic tension between Charlotte and her suitor, it seems plausible. Having read more than my fair share of feminist critics who treat Charlotte's marriage to Nicholls as a tragic example of a gifted female succumbing to male domination, I was pleased to see that James treats the marriage positively, and even romantically.

Though one might enjoy this book better if one has read Charlotte Bronte's novels (and those of her sisters), it's not necessary. James' book also contains a number of extras: besides the usual afterword, there's a question-and-answer section for the author, excerpts from some of Charlotte's letters, and some poems by the Bronte siblings.

As I liked this book so much, I'll be picking up James' first novel, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative reconstruction of a great author's inner life, July 15, 2009

By	Silicon Valley Girl (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Initially, I was a bit dubious about this book. The occasional awkward or anachronistic phrasing kept reminding me that this really was NOT Charlotte Bronte's secret diary. But by the time I was a few chapters in, I couldn't put it down. Based on detailed research, this is a fascinating and deeply involving portrait of what it might have felt like to be Charlotte Bronte. Now I'm excited to reread my favorite Bronte novels -- and to track down and read the ones I've missed, as well.