The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë

A fun read, sometimes overly overwrought, but exciting at the end. Charlotte gets to reconcile nicely with her real professor in Brussels and experience reciprocal love. I think her real-life husband appears briefly as an annoying guy. The author's note at the end says who is historically real and who is make believe.
The only book I've read by Charlotte Brontë is Jane Eyre. It seems to me that the relationship there that is most like the relationship between Charlotte and John Slade is the one between St. John Rivers and the woman he loves but will never marry. Charlotte's decision to not marry John Slade is perhaps very modern and feminist, but also, sadly, quite wise. Like St. John, she realizes that the lives they want are just too show more different. The quote from The Rainmaker by Lizzie that she can be Melisande for a night, but Lizzie for her whole life seems apt. A nice touch is Charlotte saying "Reader, I let him go." It's reminiscent of Jane Eyre saying, "Reader, I married him." (The exhibit I saw at the British Library with the original manuscript was opened to this page.) show less

I have a weakness for Stephanie Barron's mystery series starring Jane Austen, so I was fairly excited to see a Charlotte Bronte spin-off. However, Laura Joh Rowland should have stuck with Japan. It is possible that she's too Charlotte Bronte in this one, as she captures all the things I find irritating in Bronte writing: too obvious intimations of dire happenings, stiff writing and a tendency toward misery, but I would have expected Emily Bronte rather than Charlotte. It's definitely more Wuthering Heights than Jane Eyre. I fault LJR, though, for the horrible pacing and the less-than-engaging main character. It was boring and eventually irritating, so I stopped reading it. The fact that it was a mystery and I didn't care what happened show more should tell you something right there. show less

Rowland, author of a series of detective novels that take place in Japan (which I haven’t read), now conquers new territory in turning Charlotte Bronte into a detective. What could have turned into a disaster is actually a delightful mystery. The story begins when Charlotte and her sisters receive a letter from Charlotte’s publisher, in which the publisher believes that the same man wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey. Charlotte and Anne go to London to clear things up. On their way there, they run into a woman name Isabel White, whose strange behavior leads to Charlotte witnessing her murder in a London alley later. When the police decide that the former governess’s murder was a chance happening, Charlotte realizes show more that it wasn’t, and she sets off in pursuit of the real murderer, prompted by an account written by Isabel in the margins of a book. We are introduced to John Slade, who Charlotte finds herself attracted to. But is he one of the good guys, or the bad?

Charlotte’s adventures lead her across Europe, from London to the English countryside, to Scotland and beyond, eventually engulfing her in the opium wars of the 1840s. Charlotte comes across as an adventurous and brave woman, resourceful and intelligent. She’s also very passionate, and devoted to her cause. I was enthralled by the mystery, which unfolded perfectly, and did not want this book to end. It’s a must read for anyone who enjoys the works of the Bronte sisters, and the book made me want to re-read Jane Eyre. show less

Charlotte Bronte is in London with her sister Anne to rectify a misunderstanding between their respective publishers when Charlotte is slipped a book that draws her into a murderous intrigue. Even with the help of a dashingly handsome operative, Mr John Slade, the situation becomes more dangerous each time Charlotte tries to extricate herself. Service to Queen and country notwithstanding, she just wants to find her way back to Haworth.

This is a fantastic Bronte-inspired romp through Londontown and beyond. Of course, such an adventure is not life-like in the least (that would be boring) and if the liberties taken with historical figures bothers you, you should probably stay away. I, however, am thrilled to see the Bronte girls getting show more the 'Jane Austen treatment'. There is a sequel and I will be reading it. I recommend this to those who enjoy Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. show less

It's a good thing I listened to this on audio instead of reading a print book. I'm not generally a book flinger, but had I been reading this one in print, there were several points in the book that would have found me hurling the book across the room. I was tempted to abandon this several times, but my stubbornness kept me listening to the end.

I love Stephanie Barron's series of Jane Austen mysteries based on the idea that Austen's letters to her sister weren't destroyed but hidden. The premise of this book sounded similar, but its execution is very different. Barron sets her Jane Austen mysteries in locations where Austen was known to have been at the time, and her Jane seems to be consistent with Jane Austen's personality as revealed show more in her writings and by her biographers. I can't say the same about Laura Joh Rowland's Charlotte Brontë. Her Charlotte is impulsive, lacks willpower, and is a poor judge of character. Most of the time I didn't like her very much.

I might have liked this one a bit more if I had read it rather than listened to it. I think the reader went too far with the melodrama. It would have been fine in its place, when the characters are faced with immediate danger. The constant tension in the reader's voice was just tiresome.

There is a second book in this series, but I won't be reading it. One is more than enough for me. show less

Since I know that in reality Charlotte Bronte lived a somewhat sad life and died young, it was nice to fantasize through this novel about one of my favorite authors having a few adventures of her own. Charlotte's adventures are somewhat contrived - she witnesses a murder on the streets of London and gets pulled into the case, which ends up involving England's royal family. Despite the far-fetched plot, it was fun to imagine Charlotte solving mysteries and finding love with a mysterious gentleman.

Where to begin? This is one of the best bad books I've listen to since The Wild Baron by Catherine Coulter. If the heroine were not Charlotte Bronte, it would have been a simple overly-melodramic adventure/romance. But adding to escapist's ultimate cou de gras is Ms. Bronte leaving the vicarage to become a victorian dectective being plunged into a nefarious kidnapping of the Queen's children and falling from virtue at the hands of a dreamboat fighting the opium wars. Ugh from me, but romance lovers will find this a treasure. I only finished it to see how the author finished it.