“A beautifully written, highly seductive debut….The chemistry between Branwell and Lydia positively crackles on the page….Masterful storytelling which is sure to delight fans of the Brontës and of historical fiction.” –Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter This dazzling debut novel for fans of Mrs. Poe and Longbourn explores the scandalous historical … and Longbourn explores the scandalous historical love affair between Branwell Brontë and Lydia Robinson, giving voice to the woman who allegedly corrupted her son’s innocent tutor and brought down the entire Brontë family.
Yorkshire, 1843: Lydia Robinson—mistress of Thorp Green Hall—has lost her precious young daughter and her mother within the same year. She returns to her bleak home, grief-stricken and unmoored. With her teenage daughters rebelling, her testy mother-in-law scrutinizing her every move, and her marriage grown cold, Lydia is restless and yearning for something more.
All of that changes with the arrival of her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, brother of her daughters’ governess, Miss Anne Brontë and those other writerly sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Branwell has his own demons to contend with—including living up to the ideals of his intelligent family—but his presence is a breath of fresh air for Lydia. Handsome, passionate, and uninhibited by social conventions, he’s also twenty-five to her forty-three. A love of poetry, music, and theatre bring mistress and tutor together, and Branwell’s colorful tales of his sisters’ elaborate play-acting and made-up worlds form the backdrop for seduction.
But Lydia’s new taste of passion comes with consequences. As Branwell’s inner turmoil rises to the surface, his behavior grows erratic and dangerous, and whispers of their passionate relationship spout from her servants’ lips, reaching all three protective Brontë sisters. Soon, it falls on Lydia to save not just her reputation, but her way of life, before those clever girls reveal all her secrets in their novels. Unfortunately, she might be too late.
Meticulously researched and deliciously told, Brontë’s Mistress is a captivating reimagining of the scandalous affair that has divided Brontë enthusiasts for generations and an illuminating portrait of a courageous, sharp-witted woman who fights to emerge with her dignity intact.
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Lydia Robinson entered history as the seducer of the much younger Branwell Bronte. More than a hundred years later, Finola Austin gives her the chance to tell her side of the tale.
Bronte’s Mistress is an outstanding book that takes historical facts and expands them into compelling fiction. The Bronte siblings and the Robinson family come to life in an entrancing and realistic way.
Branwell Bronte was the less-known brother of the famous Bronte sisters. He was a dreamer, a poet that drunk in excess and had difficulties staying employed.
Trying to keep him away from trouble, his family sent him to work at the same house as his younger sister Anne. Anne was the Robinson’s governess, and Branwell became tutor to their only son Ned.
While in this post, Branwell got acquainted with the lady of the house, Mrs. Lydia Robinson.
Lydia was facing a middle-age crisis. Her marriage was lukewarm at best, and she was possibly depressed. Branwell’s youth and energy made her feel restored and loved. She saw in his troubled temperament a reflex of her own internal turmoil.
The author did an excellent job describing Lydia’s personality and its numerous facets. She took the time to show the many tons of gray that lay in between the black and white facts.
Both Lydia and Branwell were very flawed, and the author did not make excuses for them. I like how she balanced the story showing their vulnerabilities, their reasoning, and the villainy that surrounded them.
Lydia was a force to be reckoned with. Finola Austin brings her to the spotlight and exorcizes the many prejudices she faced as a woman of her time. The result is fascinating and inspiring.
Bronte’s Mistress is a must-read debut. Highly recommended!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I’m not sure what to say about this book. I just didn’t care too much for the main character. She seemed more sex starved than anything else and that’s really all she cared about.
It was an interesting side story to the Brontes. I think historical fiction fans will enjoy this book. Especially Bronte fans
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Bronte’s Mistress by Finola Austin is an excellent historical fiction novel that stems from a possible relationship that had developed from actual, historical figures. The author does a remarkable job weaving a tale that involves many loved figures in history and creates a story that focusses on the younger brother, Branwell, of the Bronte sisters and his illicit relationship (affair if you will) with the older Lydia Robinson. Lydia is the mother to daughters that are under the care of their governess, Anne Bronte, and her son under the tutorage of Branwell. Lydia has experienced recent losses, is in a marriage of 20 years with a man that has seemed to wane of interest and desire to his wife, and it being 1843, Lydia is a woman trapped in a rut with a lack of options to improve her situation. Now enters Bramwell, and the affair develops. As affairs go, information is flushed out, and negative consequences ensue.
The author has obviously done her research, and has the added ability of creating an interesting story with a nice pace, plot, and literary terms. It was also nice to see what was fact vs fiction in the author’s own words included. As a huge fan of the Bronte sisters, I had knowledge of Bramwell, and let us just call it his “shortcomings” from other documentaries, so I was excited to read a book that focused more so on his life and exploits. Mrs. Robinson was a very unlikeable character, and to prove the author’s talent, she has created someone that definitely creates those feelings in the reader. One can only sympathize with her situation and rough experiences so much…
An excellent novel and I look forward to seeing more from this author.
5/5 stars.
Thank you Atria for this ARC copy and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
Dark and moody, Brontë’s Mistress unearths the secret love affair of Lydia Robinson and Branwell Brontë in all its shocking scandalousness. Anchored by meticulous research, Finola Austin has created a heart-tugging portrait of a passionate woman more akin to Emma Bovary than Jane Eyre, but equally trapped by the constraints of her era. Bittersweet and beautifully written.