Stephanie Cowell

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the writing style...it flowed beautifully and was quite beautiful at times. I struggled with the content. The main characters enter into a relationship that has a distinct power imbalance because of age and social status. There were times when the relationship made me feel very uncomfortable. I can't speak to whether that was the author's intent as the imbalance is partially addressed later in the book.

There were some twists and show more turns that seemed more for shock value rather than plot advancement. I recognize that the author was addressing the political issues of the time especially with respect to being gay but it felt a little forced.

Please be aware there is a horrendous sexual assault that is just sort of casually thrown in about a quarter of the way into the book. I was quite taken aback.

The ending made me throw the book across the room. show less

The newest historical fiction from writer Stephanie Cowell is less about a man who lives in a stone cottage (though he does play a role) and much more about the Brontë family, especially the lives of the three famous sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) during the years 1843-1853 - including how they managed to become respected writers during the 19th century in Britain.

I knew little about the lives of the Brontes before reading this book, though I have read JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. show more The factual information in the novel seems to follow closely what is known about the family, though certainly author Stephanie Cowell has taken liberties adding her own conjecture, especially around Anne, the least well known of the author trio.

It's a story with much tragedy. The Brontë family is perpetually impoverished. To further add to their family pathos, mother Maria Branwell Brontë (1783-1821) dies early, when all six of her children are under eight years of age. Their father, Patrick Brontë (1777-1861), is the minister of a small church in Haworth, Yorkshire, England and barely scrapes by, having absolutely no skill in financial management. The two eldest sisters (Maria and Elizabeth) die within three months of each other in 1825, leaving four surviving children:

Charlotte (1816-1855) - practical in nature, she assumes a mother's responsibility for her younger siblings. She is the author of JANE EYRE and three other novels.

Branwell (1817-1848) - the family's much-beloved only son, a sometimes painter and writer, who can't seem to get his act together.

Emily (1818-1848) - the homebody who wants nothing more than to remain in her father's home among her much-loved family. She is the author of the gothic novel WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

Anne (1820-1849) - highly imaginative but with a quiet nature, she is the author of AGNES GREY and THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL.

Chapters are voiced by different sisters and much of the plot initially centers on the sisters understanding that it is up to them to figure out some way to make more money for the household. Writing eventually provides their greatest success, though notably all their works were originally published using male pseudonyms. (Publishing anything written by a woman at this time was virtually impossible.)

The novel had a slow start for me and I occasionally found the writing maudlin. For much of the book I was thinking I'd award three stars. But the pace picks up mid-way through and I became much more engrossed, enthusiastically awarding four stars by the end.

I must say the Brontes have an interesting history! Because how, after all, DO you wind up with three successful writers in a single family? show less

Claude Monet, Frédéric Bazille, Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, and Alfred Sisley were their names, and though they are instantly recognizable to us today, there was once a time when these great artists had to sell off their bed linens to purchase paint, removing the wooden stretchers from their canvases to use as fuel to keep their fires burning for just an hour longer in the dead of winter. It amazes me that they struggled together for so long, sharing a show more tattered studio space and attempting to get people to see past the old-fashioned classical styles of painting and learn to appreciate their unique, stylized methods, which people of the hoity-toity 19th century art world referred to as “unfinished.”

I love books that deal with artists and art history, but my reading in the past has focused more on Renaissance artists (and any regular readers of this blog will already know my great fascinating with all things Leonardo da Vinci). I knew a little bit of background on the Impressionists but this book brought all my imaginative assumptions to life with in-depth dialogue and characterization. I had no idea the extent of the camaraderie that existed between these artists; the enormous support they provided for each other artistically, emotionally and financially. As Camille states later on in the book, the way these men lived was “un pour tous, tous pour un,” —all for one and one for all.

I was fully and completely captivated by this book. It totally changed everything I thought I knew about Monet's work. An amateur artist myself, I can somewhat appreciate the mental tug-of-war that can go on inside an artist’s head when creating a composition. “Am I capturing the light just right? Is that tone correct for the mood I am attempting to portray?” – It can be frustrating, to say the least. Granted, I’ve never reached the point of frustration whereby nothing short of ripping my work down off its canvas will cleanse my lack of satisfaction (as Monet did). But it was fun for me to get inside Monet’s head a bit and rehash that feeling of never being quite pleased with one’s own work, despite what praise others may give it. Stephanie Cowell grew up among a family of artists, so I’m sure that it is no small coincidence that she really nailed the artist mentality in this book.

The way the characters’ personalities progressed throughout the novel was very endearing, and I especially liked the “Interludes” scattered throughout the book, which transitioned from Claude as a young starving artist to him at an old age looking back on his life. As I learned at a recent Stephanie Cowell book signing and talk the evening of publication day (more on that to follow!), very little—essentially nothing—is known about Camille. So the fact that Ms. Cowell was able to fill in those blanks so believably and with enough restraint that Camille, a rebellious upper class gentlewoman, could plausibly fit into her restrictive time period is very impressive to me. Camille’s character is complex, though. While at first it appears that she is simply adventurous, yearning to shun rigid society life and pursue a career as an actress (an absolute nightmare to her parents, who see acting as no more modest a profession than prostitution), we later find out that there is more to “The Parisian Queen” than just the charming young muse in the green opera dress.

I'll never look at a Monet painting the same way again!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review. show less

‘’What will we do with this paper, sir? Why, we’ll write great books. We’ll grow up and never marry.’’

Emily Brontë wrote only one novel. Just one novel. One. This novel became the measure by which every book of the Gothic genre is rated. It became controversial due to the mistaken, feminist approach of the Meanads who declared Heathcliff “ a monster”. It is worshipped on the altar of the literary masterpieces by the lovers of literature who know HOW to read. Her novel became show more one of the best novels ever written. For me, it is THE best novel ever written.

And The Man in the Stone Cottage is undoubtedly the finest novel about the Brontë family.

The West Yorkshire setting reflects the emotional and thematic core of the novel, mirroring the solitude and elemental strength that define Emily Brontë. Emily remains faithful to the stones, the moonlight, and the cold winds—guardians of memory, bearing the voices of the dead. In contrast, Charlotte’s spirit longs to soar beyond the moors, drawn to the vitality of London and its intellectual allure. Yet, the novel continually returns us to Emily: her solitude, her mystery, her quiet defiance.

‘’Why don’t people leave me alone?’’

Many have wondered how Emily could portray such a powerful, dark, and intimate relationship without ever having known love herself. Stephanie Cowell imagines a Scottish shepherd who melts the frost around Emily’s heart and temporarily draws her away from the world she so fiercely clings to. Though Charlotte’s story occupies much of the narrative, it is Emily’s presence that dominates. She exists not only in her own story, but in her sister’s thoughts and ambitions. It is Emily’s feral, mystical energy that haunts the pages of this remarkable novel.

‘’Where did this story come from? She thought of leaves against a corner of the church, a homeless boy she had once seen wth huge, dark eyes. And there was than ancient book of poems, particularly the poem about a wanderer. He was exiled from all he loved and roamed the cold seas and walked the paths of exile, just like the man in the stone cottage who had aroused such strange feelings in her.’’

The writing is truly exquisite. We can hear the winds howling, the branches knocking on the windows, the church bells, the leaves under the boots. We can see the stone cottage, Haworth, the moss on the graves, the silence of the empty church. The dialogue is beautiful, rich and elegant, poetic and moving. When you are as familiar with Wuthering Heights as I am, you understand that Cowell’s work is full of subtle nods and literary echoes—Easter eggs that deepen the experience and draw a clearer emotional thread between the two works.

‘’Because,’’ she mumbled slowly, her fingers peeling the polished bannister, ‘’the poems are from the inside of me. What all of you see isn’t the real me; it’s a shadow. If I don’t hold on, what’s real will be taken from me. Who I really am would be thrown away.’’

I have the audacity to confess that I’ve always felt a deep connection with Emily. In her silence, I saw my own aversion to the empty exchanges and performative interactions that fill our daily lives. In her rage, I recognised my own frustration. In her fierce privacy, I saw my own unwillingness to expose the intimate details of my life, because it’s nobody’s business.
After reading Stephanie Cowell’s novel, that connection felt even more profound. I felt it in my core—as if, through these pages, Emily had shared her deepest secrets with me. And now, I love her even more. This little heathen who wrote wonders…
‘’Ancient drystone walls ran far into the distance on the Yorkshire moor, and now last autumn’s heather and grass were covered with a light frost. A red grouse cackled from a wall and leaped into the air.’’

Lyrical and melancholic, sacred and bittersweet, this beautiful novel is a treasure for anyone who adores Emily Brontë. And for those unfamiliar with the Brontë family, it may spark a deeper curiosity, prompting them to explore the sisters’ works and extraordinary lives. If I sound opinionated—or even elitist—it’s only because years of encountering misreadings and shallow commentary about Emily Brontë have made me unapologetic. I can’t wait to own a physical copy of this book and place it among my most treasured volumes.

‘’We have always been here, they murmured. We are more real than you are. We are more real than he is, your man in his stone cottage, and he is dangerously real.
Live for us alone.
I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always. Take any form, drive me mad, only do not leave me in this dark alone where I cannot find you. I cannot live without my life! I cannot die without my soul.’’

Many thanks to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less