“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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Finola Austin’s riveting debut novel presents a deftly rendered, complex heroine swept up in the allure of forbidden passion — and the heartrending consequences when the romantic illusion shatters. Beautifully detailed and richly atmospheric, Brontë’s Mistress portrays one of literature’s most famous families from an intriguing new perspective.
Bronte’s Mistress is a sumptuous novel and Finola Austin’s voice is superb. The tone, the setting and ruminations of a woman struggling with what she fears is her fading sexual agency is setting of this flawless debut. The events largely take place at Thorpe Hall, home to our protagonist, as well a few other standout characters, giving the book an unexpected, entertaining spark. My own favorites are a capricious daughter, a spiteful servant or two and a malevolent mother in law. Mixed together with the author’s impeccable research, it allows us to savor this story’s tantalizing spice in what has come down through the ages as the ruin of the only Bronte brother.
Brontë’s Mistress gives us a fascinating new perspective on one of literature’s most famous families. Smart and sexy, this captivating novel is true to the romantic spirit of the Brontës themselves, with a modern feminist twist. A delicious treat for Brontë fans!
Bronte’s Mistress is a beautifully written, highly seductive debut in which Finola Austin delves into the life of a relatively unknown member of the Brontë family. The chemistry between Branwell and Lydia positively crackles on the page, and while Lydia emerges as a delicious heroine in her own right, the better-known Brontë sisters are portrayed with wit and care. Masterful storytelling which is sure to delight fans of the Brontës and of historical fiction. Brontë’s Mistress comes highly recommended by this Yorkshire lass.
Fiona Austin’s novel is a joy to read for fans of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and all the books by the Brontes. I felt as if I was reading a novel written by any one of them, the voice and phrases perfect for the period of time. I was captured by the titillating story of Mrs. Robinson and Mr Bronte and enjoyed the little slips of feminism Austin dropped in to Mrs. Robinson’s character. Brava to this debut author.
If you’re a Bronte fan or a historical fiction fan, you must get in here and read this stunning book!
What a lovely surprise! This fictionalized account of the alleged affair between Lydia Robinson and her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, gives life to the whisperings of an illicit May-December romance between the two. Thoroughly researched, it’s written with a Brontë-esque voice but modern twist. Finola Austin has created sympathetic characters when history has been less kind.
I read this one quickly, surprised by how fast I was consumed by the story. While the characters are not very likable upon first glance, I soon found myself empathizing with Lydia’s circumstances. A woman who has lost her youngest child, whose husband will no longer show her any affection, and who imagines her happiest years are behind her. It’s a compelling argument for why a woman such as Lydia might seek comfort in the arms of Branwell.
Reading Brontë’s Mistress was also a great reminder that while we like to quickly pass judgement on people and their decisions, we rarely truly know what is going on in their minds, their hearts, and behind closed doors. It’s easy to say Lydia was a bad mother, a bad wife, a bitter person, but Austin provides the reader with possible conclusions to how Lydia may have arrived at those labels.
The same can be said of Branwell, who history has labeled as a rogue, a drunkard, and a drug addict. Austin brings his tragic story to life, helping the reader to see a different side of the young, tortured artist.
Finola Austin’s debut novel is an impressive one, and I’ll be anxious to see what she does next!
I was enthralled by this peek into a little-known part of the Bronte family history. It was so refreshing to read about a woman from that era who wasn’t afraid to defy the conventions of her!
Bronte’s Mistress, the story of the alleged affair between Branwell Bronte and Lydia Robinson, his employer’s wife, is a flawlessly written and meticulously researched novel that allows its readers to feel both the passion and frustration of the time period.
Lydia, a woman born well before her time, was a passionate creature seeking all of life’s pleasures. She refused to be hindered by a society that preferred its women seen but not heard, and sometimes not even heard. She suffered at the hands of a husband who didn’t know how to love her, and in seeking a life filled with passion made some poor choices. But could she have done any better?
I found this novel spot-on, a worthy read, and just a little bit scary. I fear society is still not entirely comfortable with a woman willing to take life by the horns.
I highly recommend this book!
In 1843 Yorkshire, there is a scandal brewing, and author Finola Austin uses that scandal as the basis for her debut novel, Bronte’s Mistress. Put down that People Magazine, and grab this delicious and scintillating novel!
Lydia Robinson represents women of her era well. She was raised to be a good wife and mother, but she finds that life running a household is unfulfilling. Her husband provides well financially, but when it comes to anything else, he is a bit of a bore. In other words, he is not the “new-age, sensitive guy” that Lydia wants.
When her daughters’ tutor, Anne Bronte, recommends her brother as a tutor for the Robinson’s son, Lydia’s life becomes more enlightened. Bronte’s Mistress has all the broody romance of a, well, Bronte novel with the addition of some modern-day woman wants and issues. Lydia is clearly portrayed as a woman with opinions and the burning passion for life as any 20th century cougar. However, she didn’t have the same breadth of choices as today’s women. Bramwell Bronte is a young man who is eager to please. He not only listens attentively to Lydia, but eagerly fulfills her every want and need. Bramwell is frequently portrayed as a drunk or mentally unstable, and in Ms. Austin’s book, his issues are realized as neediness, which later cause Lydia to reassess their relationship.
Beyond the affair, Bronte’s Mistress is an excellent examination of women’s lives in that era. As for Lydia, she relies on her wit and cunning to get by as her domestic situation changes. Neither she nor Bramwell are particularly endearing characters, but their story is compelling. Ms. Austin’s storytelling is enthralling and descriptive without being “Thomas-Hardingesque”.
The character of Lydia Robinson hovers around the edges of many historical discussions of the Brontes. Branwell Bronte was the only brother of the gifted authors, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, and was a disappointment to his family. He was thought to be a heavy drinker and unable to keep a job long enough to support his sisters. Anne worked as a governess for the Robinson family and arranged for Branwell to be the tutor for the young boy in that family. Lydia Robinson was the mother of Branwell’s young student and is purported to have an affair with Branwell. As an avid reader of the Brontes, I was intrigued to read about Branwell’s life beyond his sisters. Bronte’s Mistress is a sympathetic telling of Lydia Robinson’s story.
At the opening of the novel, Lydia is starved for affection. She is reeling from the deaths of her mother and youngest child, is in a loveless marriage, and feels disconnected from her other three children. Like most women at the time, she has little control over of her life. She lives only in her relationships to her husband, children, and extended family. She has little to keep her occupied so when Branwell Bronte joins the household, she is intrigued by the passionate young man. They fall into a tawdry affair that brings some excitement to Lydia’s life. Unfortunately, the affair does not remain a secret.
Finola Austin has brought Lydia Robinson to life as a deeply flawed and unhappy woman. I found myself routing for her to find a way to overcome her situation and find some happiness in life. This debut novel was well researched and adeptly brings the plight of women 1840’s to life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a review copy of the novel.
This will come down as one of my favorite historical fiction novels that I have read this year – to be honest probably ever. I gave this amazing historical novel all the stars it deserved and more. I enjoyed every page of this book and I just could not devour this fast enough, only to reread it again and again.
Brontë’s Mistress is a debut novel by Fiona Austin that is flawlessly written and meticulously researched historical fiction about the alleged affair between Branwell Bronte – the lesser known Bronte, and his employer’s wife, Lydia Robinson. Branwell was employed by the Robinsons as a tutor to their young son Ned, and came highly recommended by his sister Anne Brontë, the governess for the Robinsons’ daughters, Lydia, Bessy and Mary.
What I find amazing about the story is the gender role reversal where in this time period of early 1840’s, portrays the woman as the temptress and the man the victim. This affair between Lydia, who was forty-three and Branwell twenty-five was known to have brought the Brontë family down to its demise with premature deaths for all the Brontë siblings.
Lydia is a strong woman who has suffered significant loss. First though the death of their youngest daughter Georgina, and most recently her mother who has succumbed to illness, and a lifeless and dispassionate marriage to an older husband. Lydia is a complex character and certainly a woman ahead of her time full of passion and restless discontent.
Austin beautifully delivered through the use of language and dialogue, a novel that transported me right in the middle of the Victorian countryside into the lives of the Robinsons and the Brontë’s that I never want to leave. In true style, the story touched on the themes of women’s struggles of being trapped, lacking choices and with passion just bubbling beneath the surface. I enjoyed reading Lydia’s story, and reading her story in her point of view was a wonderful perspective – her thoughts and feminist point of view was refreshing.
This was a story that needed to be told, and I am glad Finola Austin took this to task, and delivered with nothing short than utmost reverence to this story.
In the end, I was compelled to reread again not wanting to leave the characters Austin dazzingly portrayed in these pages. I highly recommend this book.
The Bronte family history is filled with so much drama it would make a bingeable television mini-series. Charlotte, Emily and Anne are well known. Their only brother Branwell is not.
Branwell felt the loss of his mother and two older sisters keenly. Branwell and his younger sisters created an alternate reality, detailed in books and drawings. His father homeschooled him with a Classical education while his sisters went away to school.
Branwell was a product of the Romantic Era, and inspired by poets and painters, he hoped to make his mark as a poet or artist.
As too often happens to precocious geniuses, Branwell never achieved his best at anything. In fact, he failed in everything. His last years were spent in ill health, alcohol and drug addiction complicating his tuberculosis, despairing over unrequited love while his sisters cared for him. Charlotte Brontë wrote in a letter, ‘the faculty of self-government is, I fear almost destroyed in him.’
Branwell’s last position was as a tutor for the family where his sister Anne was governess. Over those 30 months, Branwell and his charge’s mother, Lydia Robinson, had a love affair. Her husband was sickly and she was a charming woman of 43. Branwell, like his famous sisters, was small, fair with red hair, a prominent nose on which sat spectacles–nothing like the typical romantic hero.
In her biography of Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskill paints Mrs. Robinson as a wicked women. After her husband’s death, she did not run to Branwell’s arms. She married a wealthy man of 75. Whatever she may have felt for Branwell, money and a safe social status was more important. Branwell died heartbroken.
In Bronte’s Mistress , Finola Austin imagines Mrs. Robinson telling the story of her love affair with Branwell.
In the novel, Lydia Robinson sought the attention and affection of the man she married and gloried in their early passionate affection. Throughout the novel, she still seeks his attention. Lydia struggles with aging, and worried about the loss of her beauty, she craves affirmation of her continued attractiveness.
To complicate her life, Lydia has contentious relationships with her teenage daughters and her overbearing mother-in-law.
Lydia can be cold and imperious toward her daughters. She married for love but does not countenance her daughters doing the same; she knows how unreliable love is, while money lasts.
Mr. Robinson treats governess Anne Bronte with dignity, but Lydia does not care for her. The feeling is mutual. Anne thinks her mistress is vain and shallow and ill-tempered.
When Mr. Robinson hires Anne’s brother Branwell to tutor their son, Lydia notes his spirit, his intelligence, and his good looks. Attraction grows between them, and Branwell being a true Romantic, throws himself into the fire of love. Lydia revels in the attention, teaching her young lover how to please her.
Austin’s portrait of Lydia Robinson is interesting and complex. Austin uses the character of Lydia Robinson to explore the constraints the Victorian Age placed on women, particularly their sexuality. In seeking their own destiny, the daughters show they share their mother’s spirit if not her values.
Austin’s portrayal of Branwell portrays his charms and his demons, and his inexperienced naivety. She incorporates his poetry into the novel. Lydia comes to realize that Branwell is weak, unreliable, and not as great a talent as he made out.
I wish that Mr. Robinson’s motives were clarified. Why has he rejected Lydia’s advances? Was it the death of their youngest child? Did he want to avoid another pregnancy, knowing he was ill? Did his illness affect his ability to fulfill his wife’s needs? Clarification would turn him from cold villain to frail human.
Austin shows Anne incorporating her experiences into her novels, and imagines Lydia Robinson’s second marriage as inspiration for Charlotte Bronte.
Austin’s deeply flawed characters are desperate for love. In his time, Branwell’s addictions would have been considered character flaws, weakness. And Lydia’s sexual desire an aberration.
As someone who loves 19th c fiction and the Bronte’s novels, I enjoyed Bronte’s Mistress. I look forward to reading more by the author.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Finola Austin’s Brontë’s Mistress is a page-turning read full of passion and fire. The life stories of the famous Bronte siblings, Charlotte, Emily, Branwell, and Anne, have been chronicled in depth by countless biographers, and now and then in works of fiction. But an important aspect of Branwell Bronte’s life—his life-altering, doomed love affair with the infamous Mrs. Robinson, an older woman whose son he was tutoring—has never been examined in such depth before, and makes a tantalizing read.
Lydia Robinson, the married woman with whom Branwell Brontë allegedly had an affair, tells her own side of the story in Finola Austin’s beautifully written and meticulously researched novel, Brontë’s Mistress. Austin’s Lydia — unhappily married, affection-starved, and unfulfilled — is exquisitely nuanced. I felt deeply for her, even as I was frustrated by some of her choices. The affair with Branwell is merely one facet in a finely-cut gem of a larger story. Austin’s great strength is that she is able to write so that both Lydia’s own strengths and weaknesses seamlessly coexist, creating a thoroughly, beautifully, complicatedly human character. Brontë’s Mistress gives voice to a woman who, until now, has been voiceless; and, indeed, to thousands of women whose lives, like Lydia’s, were so terribly suffocating.
A richly atmospheric, compelling portrait of a woman torn between expectation and the wish for more. Brontë’s Mistress stayed with me long after I put it down.
A mysterious manuscript, a passionless marriage, a dazzling but dissolute tutor — Finola Austin’s richly imagined historical novel tells the tale of Lydia Robinson, of Thorp Green Hall, and Branwell, the beloved brother of the brilliant Bronte sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Wonderfully engaging and clever, Bronte’s Mistress captures the tragic claustrophobia of women’s limited lives in nineteenth century England.
Rich in heart and detail, Finola Austin’s novel Bronte’s Mistress is a beautifully created tour-de-force. This tightly-woven novel could reflect the life any number of middle- and upper-class Victorian women bound by English society’s rules, but it happens to concern the woman whose extra-marital affair with Charlotte Bronte’s brother, Branwell Bronte, rocked not only their own lives but the closely-knit society in which they lived. Using a plethora of research sources, Austin has written a beautifully-created novel whose every character (save for a horse!) is based on the actual historical persons involved in the events.
Confident, convincing and engrossing, and with a sure historical touch, it illuminates another dark corner in the Brontës’ story.
Finola Austin’s debut novel is a stunner. Anyone who has ever thrilled to a Brontë novel needs to read this glorious historical novel about the Brontë sisters and their brother, Branwell, and his affair with the outrageous, scandalous woman who broke all conventions. Atmospheric and beautifully imagined, this is a must-read for lovers of great historical fiction.