Historical
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte
By Chris
Jan 1, 2010 - 10:37:19 PM

Unbeknownst to many avid Brontë readers is that Charlotte Brontë’s actual life was fraught with as much love and tragedy as compellingly depicted in her novels.  Her sheltered life in Yorkshire with her fellow author sisters, Emily and Anne, coping with her alcohol and drug-addicted brother, and sharing in the care of her near blind father, belies the passionate heart locked within.  Through Charlotte’s diary, the reader is privy to her inspirations and heartaches, her secret jealousies and more importantly, her muse, all of which culminate in novels that have become English literary standards.

The Brontë sisters’ original hesitation and destined ambition to become published authors is plausibly done, as were the backdrop of their inconsolably heartbroken, erratic brother and the wrenching pain of a father helplessly watching his son fall into oblivion.  The revelation of Charlotte’s romantic relationships – her shocking infatuation with a married man and the evolution of her relationship with her father’s curate and future husband, Arthur Bell Nichols – is fascinating, especially when coming from a persona initially considered so subdued and controlled.  But it is Charlotte’s relationship with her sisters that is most arresting.  Their camaraderie, arguments, and private confidences all touched genuine, so much so that by the time the expected tragedies befell the Brontë household, the poignancy was not only incredibly believable, but its intensity will assail the reader.  

Written with such precision so as to seamlessly weave extremely thorough historical research with dramatic fiction, the reader is at a loss to discern between fact and fiction.  No, there were no diaries left behind (that we know of), but the reconstruction of Ms. Bronte’s life is done with such creativity and realism that it’s hard to imagine this is “not” what happened.  With much of Charlotte Brontë’s life already well published, Ms. James aptly “fills in the blanks” in a way that only she can; and thankfully so because it lends such humanity to the author that by the end, the reader feels a real kinship with not only Charlotte, but all of the Brontë’s.  

Charlotte Brontë’s life and imagination are revived anew in Syrie James’ THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE.   A “must buy” for Brontë-ites!


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