Bronte's Mistress: A Novel

(Paperback)

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[A] meticulously researched debut novelIn a word Juicy. O, The Oprah Magazine

The scandalous historical love affair between Lydia Robinson and Branwell Bront, brother to novelists Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, gives voice to the woman who allegedly brought down one of literatures most famous families.

Yorkshire, 1843: Lydia Robinson has tragically 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 sons tutor, Branwell Bront, brother of her daughters governess, Miss Anne Bront and those other writerly sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Branwell has his own demons to contend withincluding living up to the ideals of his intelligent familybut his presence is a breath of fresh air for Lydia. Handsome, passionate, and uninhibited by social conventions, hes also twenty-five to her forty-three. A love of poetry, music, and theatre bring mistress and tutor together, and Branwells colorful tales of his sisters imaginative worlds form the backdrop for seduction.

But their new passion comes with consequences. As Branwells inner turmoil rises to the surface, his behavior grows erratic, and whispers of their romantic relationship spout from Lydias servants lips, reaching all three Bront sisters. Soon, it falls on Mrs. Robinson 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.

Reviews

"Bront's Mistress may speculate, but it does so delightfully."Christian Science Monitor
"A beautifully written, highly seductive debut... Masterful storytelling which is sure to delight fans of the Bronts and of historical fiction." Hazel Gaynor, New York Timesbestselling authorof The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter

Author Bio

Finola Austin, also known as the Secret Victorianist on her award-winning blog, is an England-born, Northern Ireland-raised, Brooklyn-based historical novelist and lover of the 19th century. By day, she works in digital advertising.Find her online at FinolaAustin.com.