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The Man in the Stone Cottage
In 1846 Yorkshire, the Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Anne, and Emily—navigate precarious lives marked by heartbreak and struggle. Charlotte faces rejection from the man she loves, while their blind father and troubled brother add to their burdens. Despite their immense talent, no one will publish their poetry or novels. Amidst this turmoil, Emily encounters a charming shepherd during her solitary walks on the moors, yet he remains unseen by anyone else. After Emily's untimely death, Charlotte—now a successful author with Jane Eyre—stumbles upon hidden letters and a mysterious map. As she stands on the brink of her own marriage, Charlotte is determined to uncover the truth about her sister's secret relationship.
The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another.
The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another.
266 pages, Paperback
Published September 16, 2025
13 people are currently reading
4320 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Cowell
12 books339 followersTHE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE, a novel of the Brontë sisters, is set in 1846 Yorkshire, where the three sisters - Charlotte, Anne and Emily - navigate precarious lives marked by heartbreak and struggle. Charlotte faces rejection from the man she loves, while their blind father and troubled brother add to their burdens. No one will publish their poetry or novels. Amidst this turmoil, Emily encounters a charming shepherd on her solitary walks on the moor, yet no one else has ever seen him. Several years later, Charlotte, who is now the successful author of Jane Eyre, sets out to find him. THE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another.
My previous novel, THE BOY IN THE RAIN, set in Edwardian England 1903, is a love story between two men, a shy young artist and a rising socialist speaker, as they struggle to build a life together against personal obstacles and the dangers of prosecution under the gross indecency laws. CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF CLAUDE MONET is the story of Monet in his 20s and 30s as he struggles to sell his work and manage his love for the beautiful, elusive Camille who would die young and forever remain his muse.
My other novels MARRYING MOZART, THE PLAYERS, THE PHYSICIAN OF LONDON AND NICHOLAS COOKE all continue to find readers. They were translated into several languages and MARRYING MOZART was turned into an opera.
I was born in New York City and have lived in the same apartment for 50 years. My heart is half in England/Europe where I have family and consider myself an emotional citizen there.
Please do visit my website StephanieCowell.com
My previous novel, THE BOY IN THE RAIN, set in Edwardian England 1903, is a love story between two men, a shy young artist and a rising socialist speaker, as they struggle to build a life together against personal obstacles and the dangers of prosecution under the gross indecency laws. CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF CLAUDE MONET is the story of Monet in his 20s and 30s as he struggles to sell his work and manage his love for the beautiful, elusive Camille who would die young and forever remain his muse.
My other novels MARRYING MOZART, THE PLAYERS, THE PHYSICIAN OF LONDON AND NICHOLAS COOKE all continue to find readers. They were translated into several languages and MARRYING MOZART was turned into an opera.
I was born in New York City and have lived in the same apartment for 50 years. My heart is half in England/Europe where I have family and consider myself an emotional citizen there.
Please do visit my website StephanieCowell.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
October 12, 2025
THE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE
By Stephanie Cowell
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I found it to be a deeply insightful look into the secluded lives of the Brontë family. Set in 1846 Yorkshire, we witness the struggles and heartbreaks that shaped the lives of Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell, along with their father, Patrick.
I was particularly intrigued by why the sisters chose to publish their novels—Jane Eyre by Charlotte and Wuthering Heights by Emily. The decision to use male pen names fascinated me, but it was also understandable, considering the societal pressures they faced. Wuthering Heights is an all-time favorite classic of mine.
Emily’s story stood out the most to me. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the man living in a stone cottage whom she encounters while walking the moors is real or merely a product of her imagination. There’s a childlike quality to Emily—she’s happiest surrounded by her family and the moors, while Charlotte is the more pragmatic one, often insecure and longing for love and adventure beyond her familiar surroundings.
The novel blends realism with mysticism in a beautifully written, character-driven narrative featuring complex characters. It’s an intimate, historical read that delves deep into the emotional lives of the Brontë family.
This is a first read for me by, Stephanie Cowell, and I look forward to reading more by her. I think this would be an excellent choice for book clubs, as there’s so much to discuss.
Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for providing the e-ARC.
By Stephanie Cowell
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I found it to be a deeply insightful look into the secluded lives of the Brontë family. Set in 1846 Yorkshire, we witness the struggles and heartbreaks that shaped the lives of Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell, along with their father, Patrick.
I was particularly intrigued by why the sisters chose to publish their novels—Jane Eyre by Charlotte and Wuthering Heights by Emily. The decision to use male pen names fascinated me, but it was also understandable, considering the societal pressures they faced. Wuthering Heights is an all-time favorite classic of mine.
Emily’s story stood out the most to me. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the man living in a stone cottage whom she encounters while walking the moors is real or merely a product of her imagination. There’s a childlike quality to Emily—she’s happiest surrounded by her family and the moors, while Charlotte is the more pragmatic one, often insecure and longing for love and adventure beyond her familiar surroundings.
The novel blends realism with mysticism in a beautifully written, character-driven narrative featuring complex characters. It’s an intimate, historical read that delves deep into the emotional lives of the Brontë family.
This is a first read for me by, Stephanie Cowell, and I look forward to reading more by her. I think this would be an excellent choice for book clubs, as there’s so much to discuss.
Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for providing the e-ARC.
September 3, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I absolutely adored The Man in the Stone Cottage by Stephanie Cowell. I’ve always loved the Brontës, and this book felt like stepping right into their world, full of heartbreak, creativity, and those haunting Yorkshire moors.
What struck me most was how vividly Cowell brings the sisters to life. You can feel Charlotte’s frustration at rejection, Anne’s quiet resilience, and Emily’s wild, solitary spirit. Emily’s mysterious relationship with the shepherd on the moors was both tender and heartbreaking. I found myself questioning right along with her sisters: was he truly real, or only real to her? The fact that Cowell doesn’t give us easy answers makes it even more powerful.
Charlotte’s part of the story especially resonated with me. After Emily’s death, her discovery of the hidden letters and map, and her determination to understand her sister’s secret life, felt so raw and human. It’s about more than solving a mystery, it’s about the ache of missing someone you love, the longing to know them completely, and the bittersweet reality that sometimes we never can.
The writing itself is gorgeous, atmospheric and lyrical without ever feeling heavy. The moors felt alive, and I often had to pause just to savor a sentence. Cowell doesn’t just tell a story; she makes you feel it, like you’re walking alongside the sisters, sharing their grief, their triumphs, and their deep, complicated bond.
This is one of those books that lingers. Even after finishing, I keep thinking about Emily’s secret shepherd and Charlotte’s search for truth.
For anyone who loves the Brontës, historical fiction, or stories that explore the blurry line between imagination and reality, this book is a gift.
I absolutely adored The Man in the Stone Cottage by Stephanie Cowell. I’ve always loved the Brontës, and this book felt like stepping right into their world, full of heartbreak, creativity, and those haunting Yorkshire moors.
What struck me most was how vividly Cowell brings the sisters to life. You can feel Charlotte’s frustration at rejection, Anne’s quiet resilience, and Emily’s wild, solitary spirit. Emily’s mysterious relationship with the shepherd on the moors was both tender and heartbreaking. I found myself questioning right along with her sisters: was he truly real, or only real to her? The fact that Cowell doesn’t give us easy answers makes it even more powerful.
Charlotte’s part of the story especially resonated with me. After Emily’s death, her discovery of the hidden letters and map, and her determination to understand her sister’s secret life, felt so raw and human. It’s about more than solving a mystery, it’s about the ache of missing someone you love, the longing to know them completely, and the bittersweet reality that sometimes we never can.
The writing itself is gorgeous, atmospheric and lyrical without ever feeling heavy. The moors felt alive, and I often had to pause just to savor a sentence. Cowell doesn’t just tell a story; she makes you feel it, like you’re walking alongside the sisters, sharing their grief, their triumphs, and their deep, complicated bond.
This is one of those books that lingers. Even after finishing, I keep thinking about Emily’s secret shepherd and Charlotte’s search for truth.
For anyone who loves the Brontës, historical fiction, or stories that explore the blurry line between imagination and reality, this book is a gift.
September 18, 2025
What a beautifully written story! The Man in the Stone Cottage by Stephanie Cowell took me back to days of reading JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I loved reading of the Brontës during my teens, and this novel spun me right back into the writing style and the scene of those stories. What I wouldn’t have given to walk beside them through the moors and join their story-telling.
Wrapped in the tale of Emily, Charlotte, and Annes’ lives, is the mystery of the man in the stone cottage. I purposely slowed my reading pace because the narrative was so beautiful. I did not want the story to end. You won’t either.
Wrapped in the tale of Emily, Charlotte, and Annes’ lives, is the mystery of the man in the stone cottage. I purposely slowed my reading pace because the narrative was so beautiful. I did not want the story to end. You won’t either.
September 26, 2025
The Man in the Stone Cottage is a beautiful, fictionalized story about the Brontë sisters. I have to admit I’ve not read much of their work, but I still quite enjoyed this sisterly tale, and now have renewed interest in checking out their collective works. I imagine it would be even more gorgeously moving for a longtime fan.
Thank you Stephanie Cowell, Regal House Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
Thank you Stephanie Cowell, Regal House Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
July 22, 2025
A very, very odd book. Kind of depressing, but that's what I expected going into it. The Brontë sisters lived hard lives and died too young.
The book is very slow paced. It follows Charlotte and Emily (obviously we see Anne, as they interact with her, as well as the useless drunken brother Branwell) as they write poetry and novels and try to find some financial security. The premise of this book is Emily falls in love with a shepherd on the moors. As far as we know, this was an invention of the author, though it would be nice for Emily if it were true!
Overall, it's historically accurate, so the ending is quite sad. If you're an ardent Brontë fan, I'd recommend it, but it you don't love their work, it might be a tough read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free review copy.
The book is very slow paced. It follows Charlotte and Emily (obviously we see Anne, as they interact with her, as well as the useless drunken brother Branwell) as they write poetry and novels and try to find some financial security. The premise of this book is Emily falls in love with a shepherd on the moors. As far as we know, this was an invention of the author, though it would be nice for Emily if it were true!
Overall, it's historically accurate, so the ending is quite sad. If you're an ardent Brontë fan, I'd recommend it, but it you don't love their work, it might be a tough read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free review copy.
July 24, 2025
This was an ARC from NetGalley. This was an interesting look into the possible lives of the Brontë sisters. It expressed the love the sisters had for each other and their family and gave the reader insight into the death and sadness of their lives. While I am sure it had some historical facts, I am sure much was fiction. Unfortunately, it seemed to drag on and was a struggle to finish.
September 15, 2025
The Man in the Stone Cottage,” a novel by Stephanie Cowell, transported me to 1846 Yorkshire, where the lives of the Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Anne, and Emily—are vividly portrayed. Cowell’s gave a realistic portrayal of their lives which were filled with heartbreak and struggle. I was immersed in their predicament and choices. The author’s had a beautiful writing style that kept me engaged and captivated. She made it a beautifully tragic tale that lingers in my mind long after the last page is turned.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in the Brontë sisters or in exploring the complexities of the human heart.
Thanks, Regal House Publishing via NetGalley.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in the Brontë sisters or in exploring the complexities of the human heart.
Thanks, Regal House Publishing via NetGalley.
September 8, 2025
dnf'd at 10%. I LOVED Jane Eyre but this book made me want to hate Charlotte Bronte. I know I didn't get far in the story and maybe it got better, but I couldn't for the life of me get past the beginning of her loving a married man and then being a coward and fleeing when she told him how she felt (and then her sister telling her how wonderful it would have been if she would have become his mistress)...if that's how she was in real life then no wonder she was a spinster.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The review I'm about to write now may seem a bit crazy but, it is what it is 🤷🏻♀️
Have you ever enjoyed a book with infuriating characters? Characters you loathed so much, you wanted to shoot on the spot? Well, I just did.
To be honest, I'm not familiar with the lives of the Brontë sisters, I own their books, but still haven't read them (I can feel your judging stares people), and I can tell you that they didn't lead easy ones, I guess all the women through centuries, writer or not, faced as much trouble as the Brontë sisters.
I felt the title was a bit misleading, as, throughout my reading, I wasn’t even sure the man in the stone cottage really existed, but I guess it’s up to the reader to decide on that, and I chose “the man existed”.
We’re coming to my main problem with this book, its characters 😅
Starting with the father, unlike Mr. Bennet, Mr. Brontë didn’t win my heart, I hated him for being such a selfish person, caring only about his son and letting that useless excuse of a man create more troubles and more heartbreak for his daughters. And for a man who grew up poor, belittling another just to make sure he’ll be well taken care of when old, come on!
Emily, I got to admit, when she said she was 26, I was surprised, as she seemed twelve according to her behaviour and fits of rage, I think she spent too much time in her own world and in unhealthy way.
Ann, just a ghost throughout the pages, her presence was fleeting. I haven’t much to say about her.
The brother, you already know what I think about him 😒, he was a huge mess and his family’s attitude towards him, always protecting and finding excuses for him, didn’t at all.
Charlotte, I have mixed feeling about her, as she had to take care of everything when her mom passed away, being the way she was the only option not to break, and this, I can understand.
To the story and the audio version now.
Even if I disliked almost all the characters, I found myself pleasantly entangled in the web of events, sorrows, hopes, losses and love that the author wove throughout the eight hours of this story. I surprised myself seething, shouting, slapping my forehead in indignation for badly made decisions and moved beyond words when it came to the siblings’ relationship when they were young. The narrator, Billie Fulford-Brown has a huge part in me enjoying this book, she brought not only the characters to life, but also the landscapes, the weather, the atmosphere and the huge amount of emotions as well. She really delivered a great performance.
I’m giving this book four stars because it took me where the Brontë sisters lived, I shared their daily struggles, watched them try and fail, was bereaved by their departure and shed some tears of joy in the end. And this, for me at least, is what enjoying a book is all about.
Thank you NetGalley, the author and Brilliance Audio for the advanced copy and the beautiful experience.
Have you ever enjoyed a book with infuriating characters? Characters you loathed so much, you wanted to shoot on the spot? Well, I just did.
To be honest, I'm not familiar with the lives of the Brontë sisters, I own their books, but still haven't read them (I can feel your judging stares people), and I can tell you that they didn't lead easy ones, I guess all the women through centuries, writer or not, faced as much trouble as the Brontë sisters.
I felt the title was a bit misleading, as, throughout my reading, I wasn’t even sure the man in the stone cottage really existed, but I guess it’s up to the reader to decide on that, and I chose “the man existed”.
We’re coming to my main problem with this book, its characters 😅
Starting with the father, unlike Mr. Bennet, Mr. Brontë didn’t win my heart, I hated him for being such a selfish person, caring only about his son and letting that useless excuse of a man create more troubles and more heartbreak for his daughters. And for a man who grew up poor, belittling another just to make sure he’ll be well taken care of when old, come on!
Emily, I got to admit, when she said she was 26, I was surprised, as she seemed twelve according to her behaviour and fits of rage, I think she spent too much time in her own world and in unhealthy way.
Ann, just a ghost throughout the pages, her presence was fleeting. I haven’t much to say about her.
The brother, you already know what I think about him 😒, he was a huge mess and his family’s attitude towards him, always protecting and finding excuses for him, didn’t at all.
Charlotte, I have mixed feeling about her, as she had to take care of everything when her mom passed away, being the way she was the only option not to break, and this, I can understand.
To the story and the audio version now.
Even if I disliked almost all the characters, I found myself pleasantly entangled in the web of events, sorrows, hopes, losses and love that the author wove throughout the eight hours of this story. I surprised myself seething, shouting, slapping my forehead in indignation for badly made decisions and moved beyond words when it came to the siblings’ relationship when they were young. The narrator, Billie Fulford-Brown has a huge part in me enjoying this book, she brought not only the characters to life, but also the landscapes, the weather, the atmosphere and the huge amount of emotions as well. She really delivered a great performance.
I’m giving this book four stars because it took me where the Brontë sisters lived, I shared their daily struggles, watched them try and fail, was bereaved by their departure and shed some tears of joy in the end. And this, for me at least, is what enjoying a book is all about.
Thank you NetGalley, the author and Brilliance Audio for the advanced copy and the beautiful experience.
July 25, 2025
Wow, what a great book. It took a little bit of time to really get going but once it did, I was hooked. The title and description really don't do it justice. Only a very small part of the book is really about the man in the stone cottage and Charlotte's search for him. I was under the impression that Emily would die fairly early in the novel and a huge percentage of the book would be Charlotte tracing Emily's steps, trying to figure out if this man actually existed or was one of the Gothic figures that make all Brontë books so creepy. However, Emily is one of the main characters and doesn't die until about 3/4 of the way through the book. Even Branwell has a much bigger part than the man in the stone cottage.
More than anything, this book explores the lives of the Brontës, but it thankfully omits their childhoods and starts when they're all in their mid or late twenties. The characters all were beautifully drawn and felt incredibly real to me. Charlotte was a bit of a sourpuss, too serious for her own good at times. And Emily was strange and wild and lovable and infuriating. Anne was sweet and down-to-earth and reliable. Branwell was a bit of a nutter who squandered every opportunity to fall into the ditch right in front of him that he somehow couldn't see. Even their father, Papa Brontë, felt completely realized and behaved in ways that always felt accurately to me.
Anyone with any interest in the Brontës will find something to love about this book. You don't have to have read every book by them to enjoy it (I have only read some of their novels) but having a broad knowledge of their books will come in handy. Knowing at least a bit about how Heathcliff is portrayed and the main plot of Jane Eyre will likely make this book more enjoyable.
I really was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and the main reason was because of the characters. It's been a long time since I read a book with such believable, unique characters, when I could tell who was narrating even if it didn't say since their voices were so different. I think I'm going to go check out other books by this author. If they're anywhere near as good as this book, I'm sure I'll be a fan.
More than anything, this book explores the lives of the Brontës, but it thankfully omits their childhoods and starts when they're all in their mid or late twenties. The characters all were beautifully drawn and felt incredibly real to me. Charlotte was a bit of a sourpuss, too serious for her own good at times. And Emily was strange and wild and lovable and infuriating. Anne was sweet and down-to-earth and reliable. Branwell was a bit of a nutter who squandered every opportunity to fall into the ditch right in front of him that he somehow couldn't see. Even their father, Papa Brontë, felt completely realized and behaved in ways that always felt accurately to me.
Anyone with any interest in the Brontës will find something to love about this book. You don't have to have read every book by them to enjoy it (I have only read some of their novels) but having a broad knowledge of their books will come in handy. Knowing at least a bit about how Heathcliff is portrayed and the main plot of Jane Eyre will likely make this book more enjoyable.
I really was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and the main reason was because of the characters. It's been a long time since I read a book with such believable, unique characters, when I could tell who was narrating even if it didn't say since their voices were so different. I think I'm going to go check out other books by this author. If they're anywhere near as good as this book, I'm sure I'll be a fan.
July 28, 2025
(I was given an advance copy of this book by the author, but I was a big fan of her work before I knew her personally!)
All of Stephanie Cowell’s historical fictions are worth reading, and her most recent two, The Boy in the Rain and The Man in the Stone Cottage, particularly capture the atmosphere and emotional tenor of their eras – two times in which English society seemed outwardly calm and prosperous but for most people was anything but. Ye gods, the Brontës had a hard time, and this book doesn’t shy away from it. Short of war and the literal workhouse, they got hit with the worst stuff the early/mid Victorian era had to offer – maternal death, “respectable” poverty, bad education, moralistic religion, self-medicated mental illness, and tuberculosis above all, right down to the worst women’s hairstyles known to history and the smell of wet sheep. Yet the power of creativity as a spark amidst much darkness – and the sense of burning brightest and burning out soonest – do so much to redeem the grief. Protagonist Emily is just as strange and appealing here as you’d think from her work, and Charlotte, seemingly more conventional, has a gripping and nuanced emotional depth. Warning: you will come away wanting to read or re-read Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and more.
All of Stephanie Cowell’s historical fictions are worth reading, and her most recent two, The Boy in the Rain and The Man in the Stone Cottage, particularly capture the atmosphere and emotional tenor of their eras – two times in which English society seemed outwardly calm and prosperous but for most people was anything but. Ye gods, the Brontës had a hard time, and this book doesn’t shy away from it. Short of war and the literal workhouse, they got hit with the worst stuff the early/mid Victorian era had to offer – maternal death, “respectable” poverty, bad education, moralistic religion, self-medicated mental illness, and tuberculosis above all, right down to the worst women’s hairstyles known to history and the smell of wet sheep. Yet the power of creativity as a spark amidst much darkness – and the sense of burning brightest and burning out soonest – do so much to redeem the grief. Protagonist Emily is just as strange and appealing here as you’d think from her work, and Charlotte, seemingly more conventional, has a gripping and nuanced emotional depth. Warning: you will come away wanting to read or re-read Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and more.
August 5, 2025
(ARC reçu par le biais de NetGalley, sort début septembre en VO)
je suis de base très très fan des fictions historiques qui target des personnes de mouvances artistiques (littéraires principalement), alors j’avais aucun doute sur le fait que j’allais aimer celui-là. très très fan aussi et surtout de l’approche prise ici, celui d’une tiers personne et un pdv plus émotionnel et humain sur les trois sœurs Brontë plutôt qu’uniquement artistique, biographique et informatif. tous sont étroitement liés quand même évidement, c’est tout le but, mais profiter d’histoires comme ça avec un ton plus léger, moins académique, 100% prenant et crève-cœur avec toute l’immersion du contexte historique (et gonflée par l’attachement aux autrices forcément) c’était vraiment trop bien.
te donne envie de ressortir Wuthering Heights et Jane Eyre des placards, celui qui me manque moi c’est The Tenant of Wildfell Hall et je pense que j’ai le terrain préparé pour enfin me lancer. trop contente de l’avoir lu, trop contente d’avoir eu un accès anticipé aux épreuves non-corrigées, merci x1000 NetGalley, j’ai vu que l’autrice en a aussi écrit un sur Monet, superbe découverte.
je suis de base très très fan des fictions historiques qui target des personnes de mouvances artistiques (littéraires principalement), alors j’avais aucun doute sur le fait que j’allais aimer celui-là. très très fan aussi et surtout de l’approche prise ici, celui d’une tiers personne et un pdv plus émotionnel et humain sur les trois sœurs Brontë plutôt qu’uniquement artistique, biographique et informatif. tous sont étroitement liés quand même évidement, c’est tout le but, mais profiter d’histoires comme ça avec un ton plus léger, moins académique, 100% prenant et crève-cœur avec toute l’immersion du contexte historique (et gonflée par l’attachement aux autrices forcément) c’était vraiment trop bien.
te donne envie de ressortir Wuthering Heights et Jane Eyre des placards, celui qui me manque moi c’est The Tenant of Wildfell Hall et je pense que j’ai le terrain préparé pour enfin me lancer. trop contente de l’avoir lu, trop contente d’avoir eu un accès anticipé aux épreuves non-corrigées, merci x1000 NetGalley, j’ai vu que l’autrice en a aussi écrit un sur Monet, superbe découverte.
September 7, 2025
4.5/5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
If you love the Brontës, this one is a must. You don’t need to know their novels to enjoy it, but if you do, the little nods feel like hidden treasures. As someone who rereads Jane Eyre almost every year, this was such a treat. It even made me want to pick up The Tenant of Wildfell Hall again which I haven’t read in a long time.
The novel brings Charlotte, Emily, and Anne to life in a way that feels both intimate and haunting. Their struggles as sisters and writers are woven with a thread of mystery. Emily’s secret connection to someone who seems both real and not, a bond that continues to echo even after her death.
What I loved most was the atmosphere-the moors, the closeness of the sisters, the sense of stepping into their world. It left me wanting to return to their own novels with fresh eyes.
f you already adore the Brontës, this deepens that love. If you haven’t read them yet, this might be the push to start.
If you love the Brontës, this one is a must. You don’t need to know their novels to enjoy it, but if you do, the little nods feel like hidden treasures. As someone who rereads Jane Eyre almost every year, this was such a treat. It even made me want to pick up The Tenant of Wildfell Hall again which I haven’t read in a long time.
The novel brings Charlotte, Emily, and Anne to life in a way that feels both intimate and haunting. Their struggles as sisters and writers are woven with a thread of mystery. Emily’s secret connection to someone who seems both real and not, a bond that continues to echo even after her death.
What I loved most was the atmosphere-the moors, the closeness of the sisters, the sense of stepping into their world. It left me wanting to return to their own novels with fresh eyes.
f you already adore the Brontës, this deepens that love. If you haven’t read them yet, this might be the push to start.
August 1, 2025
I have enjoyed several of the Bronte sister's books so when I saw this historical fiction about their lives, I was very intrigued. The author did a great job presenting what is known about the Bronte family but also speculating in a way that was very realistic. She has an chapter at the end laying out what and why she speculated, which I found helpful.
This book has done a good job to bring the Bronte family to life for me.
Recommended to all Bronte fans and those who would like to be.
Thank you to Net Galley and Regal House Publishing for my advanced reader copy.
This book has done a good job to bring the Bronte family to life for me.
Recommended to all Bronte fans and those who would like to be.
Thank you to Net Galley and Regal House Publishing for my advanced reader copy.
April 27, 2025
The man in the stone cottage seamlessly blends historical fact with fiction. Cowell manages to create a haunting and often heart-breaking reality to the lives of these brave young women, who wrote so beautifully buy died so young.
Offering us a scenario that informed Emily in her writing of Wuthering Heights, and inspired her character, Heathcliff. She meets a man whilst out walking on the moors, growing a friendship and visiting him at his cottage, but keeping him secret from the rest of her family. His existence is only uncovered by Charlotte after Emily’s death. The book also explores Charlotte’s heart break and rejection, their brothers struggles and the ailing health of their father.
This book is stunning, you can feel the isolation and bleakness of the West Yorkshire countryside, damp streets of Howarth and the contrasting bustle of London. The love felt between the siblings and their father is palpable, and whilst the ending was no surprise, it was no less tragic.
Offering us a scenario that informed Emily in her writing of Wuthering Heights, and inspired her character, Heathcliff. She meets a man whilst out walking on the moors, growing a friendship and visiting him at his cottage, but keeping him secret from the rest of her family. His existence is only uncovered by Charlotte after Emily’s death. The book also explores Charlotte’s heart break and rejection, their brothers struggles and the ailing health of their father.
This book is stunning, you can feel the isolation and bleakness of the West Yorkshire countryside, damp streets of Howarth and the contrasting bustle of London. The love felt between the siblings and their father is palpable, and whilst the ending was no surprise, it was no less tragic.
September 24, 2025
At first I didn’t know if this book was for me and then I found myself immersed in each sister’s life and their codependent family. The author transported me to their home and painted the picture so vividly of everything they were experiencing and seeing. Not usually one for sad books but this one felt more of a sign of the times with loss and death being common due to various health ailments. My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2025
I really enjoyed this imagining of the life and desperation that led to some great literature. I forgot how young they all were and what a loss it was.
July 24, 2025
"The world cannot know what to do with a brilliant woman. A brilliant, penniless one is worse."
This book transported me to the brooding Yorkshire moors just as Wuthering Heights did almost 60 years ago. The Man in the Stone Cottage is beautifully written, giving more life to the Brontë sisters than historians recorded for us. Charlotte's longing for passion and a soul mate gave us Jane Eyre, who reflected the only respectable career for a highly educated woman, a teacher or a governess. The three Brontë sisters chafed at the restrictions society imposed on them, pouring their souls into their poetry and novels. Stephanie Cowell has put a spotlight on their brilliance in a time when women's value came solely from their bodies and housekeeping. Life was difficult for the Bronte sisters, but their books are timeless. Ms. Cowell's The Man in the Stone Cottage made me appreciate them in new ways, and I am grateful.
I look forward to rereading it once it's published.
My thanks to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for the opportunity to read the ARC. All opinions and the review are entirely my own.
This book transported me to the brooding Yorkshire moors just as Wuthering Heights did almost 60 years ago. The Man in the Stone Cottage is beautifully written, giving more life to the Brontë sisters than historians recorded for us. Charlotte's longing for passion and a soul mate gave us Jane Eyre, who reflected the only respectable career for a highly educated woman, a teacher or a governess. The three Brontë sisters chafed at the restrictions society imposed on them, pouring their souls into their poetry and novels. Stephanie Cowell has put a spotlight on their brilliance in a time when women's value came solely from their bodies and housekeeping. Life was difficult for the Bronte sisters, but their books are timeless. Ms. Cowell's The Man in the Stone Cottage made me appreciate them in new ways, and I am grateful.
I look forward to rereading it once it's published.
My thanks to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for the opportunity to read the ARC. All opinions and the review are entirely my own.
September 15, 2025
This novel will appeal to lovers of the Brontë sisters.
In the 1840s, Charlotte, Anne, and Emily live with their father Patrick and brother Branwell in the parsonage in Haworth. Life is not easy: their elderly father is losing his vision and Branwell is troubled, drifting from job to job and squandering money on alcohol and drugs. There are also constant financial worries. The three women want to publish their poetry and novels in order to provide financial security for the family but have difficulty finding a publisher. In the meantime, Emily, in her wanderings across the moors, meets a man living in a once-abandoned cottage. She visits him periodically and the two become intimate friends.
A mystery in the novel is whether the man in the cottage, Jonathan MacConnell, is real or a product of Emily’s imagination. The entire time Emily spends with him no one else sees him. It’s emphasized that Emily lives in a world of her own, and she thinks, “He hadn’t seemed real to her, and then he was so real she could feel his breath.” During one encounter, “Her vision blurred for a moment, and this kind, redeemed man also blurred before her as if he dissolved into the air.” All the sisters seem to believe “that the things we imagine are as real to us as the things that everyone else can see; if we love them enough, we give them life.” So did Emily really have a love life unbeknownst to her sisters or did she create him just as she created Heathcliff? In the end, though, it hardly matters.
The title is actually misleading. Jonathan is actually not present in that much of the novel. The focus is on the women, Emily and Charlotte in particular, so surely they should be given prominence. By naming the novel after Jonathan, the author is giving him a prominence he doesn’t deserve and the women do – another example of women being treated as subordinates to men!
The three sisters are clearly differentiated. Charlotte is the one who takes charge; after her mother’s death, she was tasked with being the mother in the family. Emily complains that Charlotte will “’be directing us how we should have our lives. You’ve done it since you were a child.’” Her intelligence is obvious, but we also see her loneliness and desire to be loved despite her plain appearance. Emily is an interesting character. Solitary and introverted, with an aversion to social situations and a dislike of being touched, Emily has traits that today might identify her as being on the autism spectrum. Both Charlotte and Emily are described as being virtually possessed when they write: “Something touched the small of [Charlotte’s] back and gently pushed her into the chair” and she begins Jane Eyre; and Emily writes Wuthering Heights in a type of frenzy after “her novel woke her like something shaking her arm,” and when she tries to rest from writing she has to pull the pillow over her head “against the strange people in her room and whispers from the corners.” Anne receives the least attention; she seems a quiet and gentle soul. Though they possess different personalities and sometimes annoy each other, there is no doubt of a strong bond among them. The novel shows their joys, sorrows, struggles, and hopes and dreams.
Branwell is not particularly likeable. He is self-pitying and has a tendency towards histrionics. Anne seems to understand her brother’s failings well: in a letter to her sisters, she writes, “’he sees great things he could be but has no idea of the patience it needs to get there. . . . He wants to step into greatness as if he opened a tower door. . . . He feels he ought to be above such mundane clambering.’” The sisters are enablers. Emily, for instance, regards Branwell as a “little god” who when he shows himself to be very human, she thinks of as “broken bits of a tiny statue . . . she knew she would work to put together once more. . . . From the time she was small, trying to mend his hurt feelings, his insecurities, while at the same time, convincing him of his greatness.” He is constantly being rescued by his father or sisters, yet he embarrasses his family by having an affair with a married woman, drinking, and accumulating debts.
The writing style is flat and doesn’t flow. For instance, in one sentence Charlotte is looking at Emily’s cabinet piano and in the next sentence she is thinking about how a man she loved said “her name ponderously with his French accent as if giving it serious thought.” What is the connection? Dialogue often sounds disjointed. For instance, Emily says, “’I sometimes watch the stars at night too and think I hear voices from centuries ago. My two eldest sisters died when I was young.’” Charlotte says, “’Emily, no one speaks more clumsily than you do,’” but they all seem to speak in a disordered way, often with a long series of questions. Charlotte speaks this way (“’Why are you here? How was he caught? What did he do?’”) and so does Emily (“What do you mean it’s ended? Oh, dear God, what has happened? Are you well? . . . What is it? What can I do?’”) and so does Jonathan (“’You have the book still? Good. And your brother’s come back after all? And your sister as well?’”)
As I stated at the beginning, this book will probably appeal to lovers of the Brontës. I enjoyed their novels, but this one about them not so much. The style is unimpressive and the magic realism elements are not to my liking either.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,200 of my book reviews.
In the 1840s, Charlotte, Anne, and Emily live with their father Patrick and brother Branwell in the parsonage in Haworth. Life is not easy: their elderly father is losing his vision and Branwell is troubled, drifting from job to job and squandering money on alcohol and drugs. There are also constant financial worries. The three women want to publish their poetry and novels in order to provide financial security for the family but have difficulty finding a publisher. In the meantime, Emily, in her wanderings across the moors, meets a man living in a once-abandoned cottage. She visits him periodically and the two become intimate friends.
A mystery in the novel is whether the man in the cottage, Jonathan MacConnell, is real or a product of Emily’s imagination. The entire time Emily spends with him no one else sees him. It’s emphasized that Emily lives in a world of her own, and she thinks, “He hadn’t seemed real to her, and then he was so real she could feel his breath.” During one encounter, “Her vision blurred for a moment, and this kind, redeemed man also blurred before her as if he dissolved into the air.” All the sisters seem to believe “that the things we imagine are as real to us as the things that everyone else can see; if we love them enough, we give them life.” So did Emily really have a love life unbeknownst to her sisters or did she create him just as she created Heathcliff? In the end, though, it hardly matters.
The title is actually misleading. Jonathan is actually not present in that much of the novel. The focus is on the women, Emily and Charlotte in particular, so surely they should be given prominence. By naming the novel after Jonathan, the author is giving him a prominence he doesn’t deserve and the women do – another example of women being treated as subordinates to men!
The three sisters are clearly differentiated. Charlotte is the one who takes charge; after her mother’s death, she was tasked with being the mother in the family. Emily complains that Charlotte will “’be directing us how we should have our lives. You’ve done it since you were a child.’” Her intelligence is obvious, but we also see her loneliness and desire to be loved despite her plain appearance. Emily is an interesting character. Solitary and introverted, with an aversion to social situations and a dislike of being touched, Emily has traits that today might identify her as being on the autism spectrum. Both Charlotte and Emily are described as being virtually possessed when they write: “Something touched the small of [Charlotte’s] back and gently pushed her into the chair” and she begins Jane Eyre; and Emily writes Wuthering Heights in a type of frenzy after “her novel woke her like something shaking her arm,” and when she tries to rest from writing she has to pull the pillow over her head “against the strange people in her room and whispers from the corners.” Anne receives the least attention; she seems a quiet and gentle soul. Though they possess different personalities and sometimes annoy each other, there is no doubt of a strong bond among them. The novel shows their joys, sorrows, struggles, and hopes and dreams.
Branwell is not particularly likeable. He is self-pitying and has a tendency towards histrionics. Anne seems to understand her brother’s failings well: in a letter to her sisters, she writes, “’he sees great things he could be but has no idea of the patience it needs to get there. . . . He wants to step into greatness as if he opened a tower door. . . . He feels he ought to be above such mundane clambering.’” The sisters are enablers. Emily, for instance, regards Branwell as a “little god” who when he shows himself to be very human, she thinks of as “broken bits of a tiny statue . . . she knew she would work to put together once more. . . . From the time she was small, trying to mend his hurt feelings, his insecurities, while at the same time, convincing him of his greatness.” He is constantly being rescued by his father or sisters, yet he embarrasses his family by having an affair with a married woman, drinking, and accumulating debts.
The writing style is flat and doesn’t flow. For instance, in one sentence Charlotte is looking at Emily’s cabinet piano and in the next sentence she is thinking about how a man she loved said “her name ponderously with his French accent as if giving it serious thought.” What is the connection? Dialogue often sounds disjointed. For instance, Emily says, “’I sometimes watch the stars at night too and think I hear voices from centuries ago. My two eldest sisters died when I was young.’” Charlotte says, “’Emily, no one speaks more clumsily than you do,’” but they all seem to speak in a disordered way, often with a long series of questions. Charlotte speaks this way (“’Why are you here? How was he caught? What did he do?’”) and so does Emily (“What do you mean it’s ended? Oh, dear God, what has happened? Are you well? . . . What is it? What can I do?’”) and so does Jonathan (“’You have the book still? Good. And your brother’s come back after all? And your sister as well?’”)
As I stated at the beginning, this book will probably appeal to lovers of the Brontës. I enjoyed their novels, but this one about them not so much. The style is unimpressive and the magic realism elements are not to my liking either.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,200 of my book reviews.
August 7, 2025
🌅The author’s note sums nicely the purpose of this book – “For nearly a hundred seventy-five years, the literary world has been fascinated by the Brontë sisters. Everyone sees their story a little differently. This is how it came to me.” There were no surprises about who lived and who died. But what was attention-grabbing was the author’s style and ability to transport the reader as the Brontë sisters did. From the first page, The Man in the Stone Cottage lures you into the wild, windswept moors of 1840s Yorkshire and the intimate, stormy world of the Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne—whose literary brilliance burns against the backdrop of poverty, illness, and emotional isolation. The novel breathes life into these iconic women not as historical relics, but as complex, breathing souls wrestling with ambition, grief, and the limits of reality.
The story centers on Emily’s secretive connection with a mysterious shepherd she encounters during her solitary walks—an enigmatic figure no one else has seen. Their hidden relationship becomes a quiet, haunting thread that weaves through the sisters’ daily lives, marked by artistic frustration, family burdens, and emotional longing. This isn't a ghost story, nor is it a romance in the conventional sense—it’s a meditation on imagination, grief, and the blurry line between what we dream and what we touch.
Cowell’s writing is poetic and immersive, grounding readers in candlelit rooms, wind-whipped moors, and the damp solitude of the Yorkshire countryside. She deftly captures the sisters’ personalities—Charlotte’s intellectual steeliness, Emily’s wild mysticism, Anne’s grounded gentleness, and Branwell’s chaotic descent—with dialogue and detail that feel so natural, it’s easy to forget where history ends and fiction begins. Emily especially stands out as an almost mythic figure—odd, unyielding, compelling—and her relationship with the shepherd evokes echoes of Heathcliff without ever leaning into cliché.
What makes the novel remarkable is not just its historical accuracy but the emotional clarity with which it portrays the bond between the sisters. Their love is fierce and flawed, filled with both unspoken devotion and the painful silences that often come from people who understand each other too well. And while the “man in the stone cottage” might not be the central focus the title implies, his presence casts a long, shadowy echo over the entire book.
The pacing is slow, intentionally so—it dwells in long walks, shared glances, private tears, and the kind of quiet despair that comes from watching loved ones fade away. Readers looking for a fast-paced or mystery-heavy plot may find the tempo languid. And while the blending of fact and fiction might unsettle some Brontë purists, Cowell never claims to rewrite their history; instead, she fills in the emotional spaces history left blank.
Ultimately, The Man in the Stone Cottage is a deeply atmospheric, melancholic, and moving portrait of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the ache of artistic creation. It doesn’t just honor the Brontës’ legacy—it invites you to feel the wind on the moors, to listen for whispered secrets, and to wonder, as Charlotte did, whether love that exists only in the heart can still leave its mark on the world. It is definitely for fans of the Brontës.
The story centers on Emily’s secretive connection with a mysterious shepherd she encounters during her solitary walks—an enigmatic figure no one else has seen. Their hidden relationship becomes a quiet, haunting thread that weaves through the sisters’ daily lives, marked by artistic frustration, family burdens, and emotional longing. This isn't a ghost story, nor is it a romance in the conventional sense—it’s a meditation on imagination, grief, and the blurry line between what we dream and what we touch.
Cowell’s writing is poetic and immersive, grounding readers in candlelit rooms, wind-whipped moors, and the damp solitude of the Yorkshire countryside. She deftly captures the sisters’ personalities—Charlotte’s intellectual steeliness, Emily’s wild mysticism, Anne’s grounded gentleness, and Branwell’s chaotic descent—with dialogue and detail that feel so natural, it’s easy to forget where history ends and fiction begins. Emily especially stands out as an almost mythic figure—odd, unyielding, compelling—and her relationship with the shepherd evokes echoes of Heathcliff without ever leaning into cliché.
What makes the novel remarkable is not just its historical accuracy but the emotional clarity with which it portrays the bond between the sisters. Their love is fierce and flawed, filled with both unspoken devotion and the painful silences that often come from people who understand each other too well. And while the “man in the stone cottage” might not be the central focus the title implies, his presence casts a long, shadowy echo over the entire book.
The pacing is slow, intentionally so—it dwells in long walks, shared glances, private tears, and the kind of quiet despair that comes from watching loved ones fade away. Readers looking for a fast-paced or mystery-heavy plot may find the tempo languid. And while the blending of fact and fiction might unsettle some Brontë purists, Cowell never claims to rewrite their history; instead, she fills in the emotional spaces history left blank.
Ultimately, The Man in the Stone Cottage is a deeply atmospheric, melancholic, and moving portrait of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the ache of artistic creation. It doesn’t just honor the Brontës’ legacy—it invites you to feel the wind on the moors, to listen for whispered secrets, and to wonder, as Charlotte did, whether love that exists only in the heart can still leave its mark on the world. It is definitely for fans of the Brontës.
August 26, 2025
My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing. All opinions are my own, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. "The Man in the Stone Cottage" by Stephanie Cowell is a historical fiction work set in Yorkshire from early Summer 1831 to Winter 1853, and follows the lives of the Brontë siblings - Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne - as they navigate the complexities of love, heartbreak, faith, secrets, family, grief, societal expectations, and realizing their dreams.
The characters are written with such depth and description that the reader goes beyond merely picturing them, but instead feels as if they personally know them, and is right there on the rollercoaster ride of emotions and experiences. The main themes explored in the work are love, loss, religion, autonomy and agency, and societal norms. The publisher's description of the main argument and key ideas in the work is that "The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another." I enjoyed the ongoing mystery of the relationship between Emily and MacConnell, and appreciated the turmoil of whether or not she should reveal him to her family, and abandon all other expectations of her in exchange for marrying. Did the relationship feel like more than it was owing to it being clandestine?
Cowell has done a beautiful job of wefting and warping historical facts with fictional events, and bringing a great emotional understanding of the world the Brontës lived in - their struggles, their triumphs, their hopes, and their defeats.
The work is easy to read and keeps the reader engaged until the end.
That said, the title and the premise of the book had me expecting the read to be more about, well, the man in the stone cottage. I was half expecting it to have a paranormal flair to it, and at times it seemed it was going to, but that climax never arrived. It was interesting to learn more about the rest of the Brontë clan and key events that helped shape and mold their lives, but I could not help but think, "I thought this book was about Emily and the man in the stone cottage!" Therefore, I believe the title and the description of the book are a bit misleading as I kept reading thinking that eventually I was going to get back to the supposed main plot of the story. Thus, if one were to go into this book expecting to read about this mystery and Emily, one could be disappointed with all the other characters and their stories and feeling like it was all filler. I also feel that Cowell built up this story between Emily and MacConnell and then it was just all hurriedly finished off without any feelings of closure. I think a title change and synopsis re-write would be best here.
The characters are written with such depth and description that the reader goes beyond merely picturing them, but instead feels as if they personally know them, and is right there on the rollercoaster ride of emotions and experiences. The main themes explored in the work are love, loss, religion, autonomy and agency, and societal norms. The publisher's description of the main argument and key ideas in the work is that "The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another." I enjoyed the ongoing mystery of the relationship between Emily and MacConnell, and appreciated the turmoil of whether or not she should reveal him to her family, and abandon all other expectations of her in exchange for marrying. Did the relationship feel like more than it was owing to it being clandestine?
Cowell has done a beautiful job of wefting and warping historical facts with fictional events, and bringing a great emotional understanding of the world the Brontës lived in - their struggles, their triumphs, their hopes, and their defeats.
The work is easy to read and keeps the reader engaged until the end.
That said, the title and the premise of the book had me expecting the read to be more about, well, the man in the stone cottage. I was half expecting it to have a paranormal flair to it, and at times it seemed it was going to, but that climax never arrived. It was interesting to learn more about the rest of the Brontë clan and key events that helped shape and mold their lives, but I could not help but think, "I thought this book was about Emily and the man in the stone cottage!" Therefore, I believe the title and the description of the book are a bit misleading as I kept reading thinking that eventually I was going to get back to the supposed main plot of the story. Thus, if one were to go into this book expecting to read about this mystery and Emily, one could be disappointed with all the other characters and their stories and feeling like it was all filler. I also feel that Cowell built up this story between Emily and MacConnell and then it was just all hurriedly finished off without any feelings of closure. I think a title change and synopsis re-write would be best here.
October 11, 2025
Rating: 4/5
Tropes/themes: Bronte sisters, women centric fiction, gothic, sisterly bonds, historical fiction
The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily all have their own struggles to contend with. Charlotte, the eldest, feels a responsibility for the welfare of her family and all her endeavors are geared toward profiting and improving their lives. Their father, a reverend, has a house and a small income but is getting older and his eyesight is getting bad so they are worried he will be replaced and turned out of the house. Their brother, Branwell, has no sense of responsibility and no real ambition. His career is a string of failures and the only thing he's really good at is racking up debt and drinking. Charlotte at first was earning money as a tutor, then she thought to open a school, which failed, so she decided to send in some poetry or novels under a male pseudonym. Her first novel, a romance about a professor (fitting since she fell in love with her boss while she was tutoring at a school) was rejected and she almost lost heart, but on her trip to London to take care of her father after his cataract operation, her emotional turmoil poured out of her and into a new novel, Jane Eyre. And as we all know, this novel was published and was very successful!
While Charlotte was writing, so too were her sisters Anne and Emily. Anne had been tutoring for a while but came home to write as well. The three sisters combined their poems into one book, but they had to pay the publishing costs, and it didn't sell well. After the success of Jane Eyre, Anne's novel Agnes Grey was accepted and Emily's Wuthering Heights, but they needed to pay publishing costs again. Anne appears in this book as a calm, positive, encouraging, supportive sister but more of a side character.
Emily and Charlotte are really the focal characters. Emily has always lived at home and seems reclusive, private, averse to physical touch and maybe a little spiritual/fanciful. She has always been writing but she doesn't ever want to share her writings because she doesn't want to share herself with anyone. She seems almost autistic sometimes in her way of thinking. Charlotte convinces her to publish but she is very hands-off about it. Emily likes to take long walks and meets a farmer and over the years befriends him and then falls in love with him but keeps him a secret. This is the author's suggested reason for Emily's writings to have such emotional depth.
This story is full of struggle, disappointments, familial obligations, sisterly devotion, death, grief, and a little spiritual mysticism. It's such an intriguing read about the Bronte sisters' lives!!
Thank you Get Red PR for the review copy!
Tropes/themes: Bronte sisters, women centric fiction, gothic, sisterly bonds, historical fiction
The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily all have their own struggles to contend with. Charlotte, the eldest, feels a responsibility for the welfare of her family and all her endeavors are geared toward profiting and improving their lives. Their father, a reverend, has a house and a small income but is getting older and his eyesight is getting bad so they are worried he will be replaced and turned out of the house. Their brother, Branwell, has no sense of responsibility and no real ambition. His career is a string of failures and the only thing he's really good at is racking up debt and drinking. Charlotte at first was earning money as a tutor, then she thought to open a school, which failed, so she decided to send in some poetry or novels under a male pseudonym. Her first novel, a romance about a professor (fitting since she fell in love with her boss while she was tutoring at a school) was rejected and she almost lost heart, but on her trip to London to take care of her father after his cataract operation, her emotional turmoil poured out of her and into a new novel, Jane Eyre. And as we all know, this novel was published and was very successful!
While Charlotte was writing, so too were her sisters Anne and Emily. Anne had been tutoring for a while but came home to write as well. The three sisters combined their poems into one book, but they had to pay the publishing costs, and it didn't sell well. After the success of Jane Eyre, Anne's novel Agnes Grey was accepted and Emily's Wuthering Heights, but they needed to pay publishing costs again. Anne appears in this book as a calm, positive, encouraging, supportive sister but more of a side character.
Emily and Charlotte are really the focal characters. Emily has always lived at home and seems reclusive, private, averse to physical touch and maybe a little spiritual/fanciful. She has always been writing but she doesn't ever want to share her writings because she doesn't want to share herself with anyone. She seems almost autistic sometimes in her way of thinking. Charlotte convinces her to publish but she is very hands-off about it. Emily likes to take long walks and meets a farmer and over the years befriends him and then falls in love with him but keeps him a secret. This is the author's suggested reason for Emily's writings to have such emotional depth.
This story is full of struggle, disappointments, familial obligations, sisterly devotion, death, grief, and a little spiritual mysticism. It's such an intriguing read about the Bronte sisters' lives!!
Thank you Get Red PR for the review copy!
August 3, 2025
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. 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?
I knew little about the lives of the Brontes before reading this book, though I have read JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. 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?
September 15, 2025
Closing their eyes and holding hands, they had floated in it above the rooftops of Haworth. They floated up at night into the stars, far away, each daring each other to keep the moment.
Want to spend a decade in the Brontë home? This new release from Stephanie Cowell will take you back in time to 1846 and the years of struggle for survival among the Brontë siblings.
Your stay will include glimpses into the private lives of both Emily and Charlotte. Their pastor father Patrick was a beloved preacher with an absentminded professor mentality. The mother and two older sisters have already passed when our story opens.
If you are a Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights fan, I think this will deliver insights into how those books came to be. Here is what I liked:
🤯This is me when I realized at about 25% than all three of the sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Ann) published their novels in the same year - 1847. The struggle to write and get published includes using male pseudonyms to submit their manuscripts. Grrrr. Did the world learn nothing from Jane?
👭 The sisters worked together as a team for the most part. Their interactions one-on-one brought out special connections. Brother Bramwell could not get his act together, so they were often collaborating on what to do next for him or their father.
🐕 Emily has a beloved mastiff named Keeper who runs on the moors as she wanders and then is with her to discover the fictional cottage. Ann also had a sweet little spaniel who seems to have stayed inside except for the necessary outside 'walks.'
📚 The cover really sets the mood for this HF title. While the cottage is authentic to the period, the story of Emily meeting a shepherd on the moors is speculative. I also must note that in the story, Emily looks down from the top of the hill to see the cottage. Uh oh.
The overall effect of the artwork on the cover and the telling of the story was an eye-opening look at the world of the Brontë sisters. There are also many excerpts included from their poetry. Now I need to move up my read of Agnes Grey to give Ann a chance.
Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Want to spend a decade in the Brontë home? This new release from Stephanie Cowell will take you back in time to 1846 and the years of struggle for survival among the Brontë siblings.
Your stay will include glimpses into the private lives of both Emily and Charlotte. Their pastor father Patrick was a beloved preacher with an absentminded professor mentality. The mother and two older sisters have already passed when our story opens.
If you are a Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights fan, I think this will deliver insights into how those books came to be. Here is what I liked:
🤯This is me when I realized at about 25% than all three of the sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Ann) published their novels in the same year - 1847. The struggle to write and get published includes using male pseudonyms to submit their manuscripts. Grrrr. Did the world learn nothing from Jane?
👭 The sisters worked together as a team for the most part. Their interactions one-on-one brought out special connections. Brother Bramwell could not get his act together, so they were often collaborating on what to do next for him or their father.
🐕 Emily has a beloved mastiff named Keeper who runs on the moors as she wanders and then is with her to discover the fictional cottage. Ann also had a sweet little spaniel who seems to have stayed inside except for the necessary outside 'walks.'
📚 The cover really sets the mood for this HF title. While the cottage is authentic to the period, the story of Emily meeting a shepherd on the moors is speculative. I also must note that in the story, Emily looks down from the top of the hill to see the cottage. Uh oh.
The overall effect of the artwork on the cover and the telling of the story was an eye-opening look at the world of the Brontë sisters. There are also many excerpts included from their poetry. Now I need to move up my read of Agnes Grey to give Ann a chance.
Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2025
My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles. All opinions are my own, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Book Club Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Family Drama, Books About Books, Books About Authors, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction
Spice Level: An affair is mentioned along with longing for men
Language: I just finished the novel, and I don't remember one swear word
THE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE, a stunning novel that kept me mesmerized and questioning what was real and what was delusion.
This is seriously one of my favorite books of the year. It's a slim novel but so dense with rich content. The writing is very approachable and it's easy to read. But the themes! The questions it made me ask! And of course, the Brontës and their desolate lives are the key to all of the other questions I asked of myself.
Emily—taciturn and isolates herself
Anne—quiet and attached to Emily
Charlotte—yearns for more
Bramwell—troubled and depressed
Patrick (the father)—stubborn and grieving
Do I need to know the Brontës' novels before reading this book? No, but it will enrich your experience, especially with the gothic elements
Is this novel historically accurate? The author did extensive research and includes real people and overall, real situations, but the author had to take artistic liberty. I felt like it was accurate enough that I was absorbed in the world.
Is the man in the stone cottage real or imaginary? I could make an argument either way. At one point I was convinced he was a delusion, but at another, I was sure he was real. This is one of those novels with an ambiguous ending and up for personal interpretation. I finished it today, and I am not sure which way I would vote.
- For anyone who love any of the Brontës' books, this is a must read.
- If you enjoy historical novels, especially set during the Victorian era, run out and buy this book.
- For book clubs, this book will give you an opportunity for debating and sharing your questions—it's the perfect book club fiction.
- If you dream of the moors, this book is for you.
It is truly fascinating, and I think everyone should read it.
Yes, I highly recommend this book if you hadn't caught on to how I feel about it! It would get more than 5 stars if that was an option.
Happy reading!
Genre: Historical Fiction, Book Club Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Family Drama, Books About Books, Books About Authors, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction
Spice Level: An affair is mentioned along with longing for men
Language: I just finished the novel, and I don't remember one swear word
THE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE, a stunning novel that kept me mesmerized and questioning what was real and what was delusion.
This is seriously one of my favorite books of the year. It's a slim novel but so dense with rich content. The writing is very approachable and it's easy to read. But the themes! The questions it made me ask! And of course, the Brontës and their desolate lives are the key to all of the other questions I asked of myself.
Emily—taciturn and isolates herself
Anne—quiet and attached to Emily
Charlotte—yearns for more
Bramwell—troubled and depressed
Patrick (the father)—stubborn and grieving
Do I need to know the Brontës' novels before reading this book? No, but it will enrich your experience, especially with the gothic elements
Is this novel historically accurate? The author did extensive research and includes real people and overall, real situations, but the author had to take artistic liberty. I felt like it was accurate enough that I was absorbed in the world.
Is the man in the stone cottage real or imaginary? I could make an argument either way. At one point I was convinced he was a delusion, but at another, I was sure he was real. This is one of those novels with an ambiguous ending and up for personal interpretation. I finished it today, and I am not sure which way I would vote.
- For anyone who love any of the Brontës' books, this is a must read.
- If you enjoy historical novels, especially set during the Victorian era, run out and buy this book.
- For book clubs, this book will give you an opportunity for debating and sharing your questions—it's the perfect book club fiction.
- If you dream of the moors, this book is for you.
It is truly fascinating, and I think everyone should read it.
Yes, I highly recommend this book if you hadn't caught on to how I feel about it! It would get more than 5 stars if that was an option.
Happy reading!
October 4, 2025
The Man in the Stone Cottage,
A novel of the Brontë sisters by Stephanie Cowell
Reviewed by Sebastian Dureaux-Russell
cot*tage. Noun. 1. a small, cozy dwelling in a rural area.
Author Stephanie Cowell is excessively fond of cottages. They have played significant roles in several of her Historical Fiction novels. In this, her lucky #7, the cottage takes center stage. It is important to note that Cowell is a Renaissance woman. She is cultured, well-traveled, sang opera, and has lived the life of an artist. Best of all, she writes. The Man in the Stone Cottage is her Raison d'être. In it she expresses, “…writers and poets realized, if you did touch another world and hold it fast, something completely wonderful would happen.”
Like the fairy godmother she resembles, Cowell invites you into her cozy dwelling to sip English tea and listen to her tale of the Brontë sisters. She will also tell you how to be a writer and to use your imagination. She begins with two quotes from the Brontë’s-- Emily, “I know that Ghosts have wandered on earth.” And Charlotte, “I hold two lives, one of thought and one of reality.” Like the witchy sisters who wrote the immortal literature classics, “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights,” Cowell can weave with the best of them. Her ‘Heathcliff’ is Jonathan MacConnell, cottage dweller, a Scottish man with a mysterious scar on his face and hair the color of wheat. He is the stuff romance readers die for, brutish but gentle and endlessly patient to the fickle butterfly nature of even Emily Brontë’s wild heart, Kathy.
If only the truth of the Brontë’s lives were as poetic as this panoramic novel. But even consumption can be romanticized in its telling. One by one, the Brontë’s succumbed, like Camille, with final coughs into an embroidered handkerchief containing the initials of the one they loved but could never have. Yes, you know the stories, you have read them and cried, like I did, and Cowell will make you cry too. A master of delicacy, she understands from the scaffold how to build a plot, stone by stone, ‘till cottage made. And don’t we all want to hear this tale, be transported to the English moors, and run with Emily and the Hounds of the Baskervilles? You only must answer the branch tapping at your window and surrender to the wind.
A novel of the Brontë sisters by Stephanie Cowell
Reviewed by Sebastian Dureaux-Russell
cot*tage. Noun. 1. a small, cozy dwelling in a rural area.
Author Stephanie Cowell is excessively fond of cottages. They have played significant roles in several of her Historical Fiction novels. In this, her lucky #7, the cottage takes center stage. It is important to note that Cowell is a Renaissance woman. She is cultured, well-traveled, sang opera, and has lived the life of an artist. Best of all, she writes. The Man in the Stone Cottage is her Raison d'être. In it she expresses, “…writers and poets realized, if you did touch another world and hold it fast, something completely wonderful would happen.”
Like the fairy godmother she resembles, Cowell invites you into her cozy dwelling to sip English tea and listen to her tale of the Brontë sisters. She will also tell you how to be a writer and to use your imagination. She begins with two quotes from the Brontë’s-- Emily, “I know that Ghosts have wandered on earth.” And Charlotte, “I hold two lives, one of thought and one of reality.” Like the witchy sisters who wrote the immortal literature classics, “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights,” Cowell can weave with the best of them. Her ‘Heathcliff’ is Jonathan MacConnell, cottage dweller, a Scottish man with a mysterious scar on his face and hair the color of wheat. He is the stuff romance readers die for, brutish but gentle and endlessly patient to the fickle butterfly nature of even Emily Brontë’s wild heart, Kathy.
If only the truth of the Brontë’s lives were as poetic as this panoramic novel. But even consumption can be romanticized in its telling. One by one, the Brontë’s succumbed, like Camille, with final coughs into an embroidered handkerchief containing the initials of the one they loved but could never have. Yes, you know the stories, you have read them and cried, like I did, and Cowell will make you cry too. A master of delicacy, she understands from the scaffold how to build a plot, stone by stone, ‘till cottage made. And don’t we all want to hear this tale, be transported to the English moors, and run with Emily and the Hounds of the Baskervilles? You only must answer the branch tapping at your window and surrender to the wind.
November 24, 2025
You don’t have to be a fan of the Brontë sisters' classic English novels to enjoy Stephanie Cowell’s lovingly rendered new narrative, The Man in the Stone Cottage, an immersive and atmospheric tale that imagines the lives of the three sisters as they endured hardship and tragedy yet managed to become published novelists during the Victorian era. Despite illness and heartache, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne wrote their own separate stories under male pseudonyms before they sold them to a publisher in London.
From the time they were young children, the three sisters gathered around the dining room table, along with their artistic brother, Branwell, and told stories and created little cloth books they stitched together and stashed away for safekeeping. Meanwhile, their mother and two eldest sisters were “sleeping” out in the church graveyard near their home. The sense of longing for lost loved ones permeates this story, along with the hopes and dreams the young adult siblings have for themselves and each other. I have never visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in the United Kingdom, but I feel like I’ve been there after reading Stephanie Cowell’s novel with its vivid imagery. I love the way she describes the outside of the Brontë house as “the gray stone Hayworth Parsonage, with its slate roof, which needed repair, and its weather-worn window frames.”
Until now, I’ve never had a desire to read any of the Brontë sisters famous books –– from Jane Ayre to Wuthering Heightsto The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall. But that’s all changed. Now I want to add them to my wish list of classic novels I’ve never read.
So, how does the title, The Man in the Stone Cottage, come into play? Let’s just say that hours after reading Ms. Cowell’s unforgettable novel, I’m still pretending to be a young Emily Brontë, wandering along the moors in search of the stone cottage with the yellow door and the elusive man she calls Jonathon.
Ms. Cowell is the author of six previous novels and is the recipient of a 1996 American Book Award.
From the time they were young children, the three sisters gathered around the dining room table, along with their artistic brother, Branwell, and told stories and created little cloth books they stitched together and stashed away for safekeeping. Meanwhile, their mother and two eldest sisters were “sleeping” out in the church graveyard near their home. The sense of longing for lost loved ones permeates this story, along with the hopes and dreams the young adult siblings have for themselves and each other. I have never visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in the United Kingdom, but I feel like I’ve been there after reading Stephanie Cowell’s novel with its vivid imagery. I love the way she describes the outside of the Brontë house as “the gray stone Hayworth Parsonage, with its slate roof, which needed repair, and its weather-worn window frames.”
Until now, I’ve never had a desire to read any of the Brontë sisters famous books –– from Jane Ayre to Wuthering Heightsto The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall. But that’s all changed. Now I want to add them to my wish list of classic novels I’ve never read.
So, how does the title, The Man in the Stone Cottage, come into play? Let’s just say that hours after reading Ms. Cowell’s unforgettable novel, I’m still pretending to be a young Emily Brontë, wandering along the moors in search of the stone cottage with the yellow door and the elusive man she calls Jonathon.
Ms. Cowell is the author of six previous novels and is the recipient of a 1996 American Book Award.
December 23, 2025
A thoughtful and imaginative reimagining of the Brontë sisters’ lives
This standalone historical fiction novel, scheduled for publication on December 30, 2025, is set in the early Victorian period and offers a fictionalized exploration of the lives of the Brontë sisters. Spanning a wide timeline—from Emily Brontë at age twelve in 1831 through the deaths of Branwell, Emily, and Anne, and concluding with Charlotte’s marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls—the narrative moves quickly through many significant moments in their lives.
The story alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Charlotte Brontë. Emily’s point of view portrays her as the quiet anchor of the family—painfully shy, introspective, and most at ease wandering the moors or managing the household. Her chapters intentionally blur the line between her reality and her imagination, which may intrigue some readers but can also feel ambiguous at times.
Charlotte’s sections focus on her struggles with loneliness, her longing for love, and the challenges she faced in becoming a published author. The novel speculates on the sisters’ decision to use pseudonyms and highlights Charlotte’s close relationship with her publisher. Her storyline extends beyond the loss of her siblings and into her marriage, providing a sense of continuation and reflection.
This is a creative and speculative interpretation of the Brontë sisters’ lives that will likely appeal most to devoted fans of their work. While the premise is engaging, the rapid pacing across such a long period of time occasionally limits emotional depth.
The audiobook narration by Billie Fulton-Brown adds dimension to the story, with a clear and steady narrative style that supports the historical tone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for providing an advanced listener copy for review. All opinions are my own and based on an advanced listener copy, which may differ from the final published version.
This standalone historical fiction novel, scheduled for publication on December 30, 2025, is set in the early Victorian period and offers a fictionalized exploration of the lives of the Brontë sisters. Spanning a wide timeline—from Emily Brontë at age twelve in 1831 through the deaths of Branwell, Emily, and Anne, and concluding with Charlotte’s marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls—the narrative moves quickly through many significant moments in their lives.
The story alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Charlotte Brontë. Emily’s point of view portrays her as the quiet anchor of the family—painfully shy, introspective, and most at ease wandering the moors or managing the household. Her chapters intentionally blur the line between her reality and her imagination, which may intrigue some readers but can also feel ambiguous at times.
Charlotte’s sections focus on her struggles with loneliness, her longing for love, and the challenges she faced in becoming a published author. The novel speculates on the sisters’ decision to use pseudonyms and highlights Charlotte’s close relationship with her publisher. Her storyline extends beyond the loss of her siblings and into her marriage, providing a sense of continuation and reflection.
This is a creative and speculative interpretation of the Brontë sisters’ lives that will likely appeal most to devoted fans of their work. While the premise is engaging, the rapid pacing across such a long period of time occasionally limits emotional depth.
The audiobook narration by Billie Fulton-Brown adds dimension to the story, with a clear and steady narrative style that supports the historical tone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for providing an advanced listener copy for review. All opinions are my own and based on an advanced listener copy, which may differ from the final published version.
August 2, 2025
This atmospheric novel reimagines the lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte in the years between 1831 and 1853. The story is told from the alternating points of view of Charlotte and Emily, although Anne is also a strong presence, as is their brother Branwell and father Patrick. The man of the title is woven throughout the narrative as friend and love interest to Emily, but the focus is on the women characters. They are the ones most fully drawn and fleshed out, their emotional lives most deeply portrayed.
I love a book with a strong sense of setting, and this one didn’t disappoint. I felt the bitter cold of the Yorkshire winters, the bleak landscape, the sense of isolation in this rural setting and time period.
The themes are some of my favorites in a historical novel: how women deal with social limitations and expectations of their time. In this case, the novel shows the uncertainties facing a single woman who had neither money nor a husband. In the mid-1800s. An educated but penniless woman had few options: marriage, teaching, or looking after other people’s children. But what if she wanted to be a writer? Even with the sisters’ immense talent as poets, publication was possible only under a male pseudonym. In watching their struggles to publish their poetry and novels in the face of their financial troubles and uncertainty of the future, I kept wishing they could have known just how enduring their work would be. Still being read nearly 200 years later.
This is not a happy book, for how could it be and still remain true to historical fact? The author does a great job of portraying the trauma that plagued the sisters (especially Emily) in the wake of so many losses they suffered at a young age: the deaths of their mother and two older sisters. And the bleakness of the setting complements the deep sadness that permeates the narrative.
I love a book with a strong sense of setting, and this one didn’t disappoint. I felt the bitter cold of the Yorkshire winters, the bleak landscape, the sense of isolation in this rural setting and time period.
The themes are some of my favorites in a historical novel: how women deal with social limitations and expectations of their time. In this case, the novel shows the uncertainties facing a single woman who had neither money nor a husband. In the mid-1800s. An educated but penniless woman had few options: marriage, teaching, or looking after other people’s children. But what if she wanted to be a writer? Even with the sisters’ immense talent as poets, publication was possible only under a male pseudonym. In watching their struggles to publish their poetry and novels in the face of their financial troubles and uncertainty of the future, I kept wishing they could have known just how enduring their work would be. Still being read nearly 200 years later.
This is not a happy book, for how could it be and still remain true to historical fact? The author does a great job of portraying the trauma that plagued the sisters (especially Emily) in the wake of so many losses they suffered at a young age: the deaths of their mother and two older sisters. And the bleakness of the setting complements the deep sadness that permeates the narrative.
October 1, 2025
The story revolves around the tragic Bronte family - the family marked by tragedy. First the loss of the mother at a relatively young age, and then the slow deaths of two daughters, then the beloved son and brother then Anne and Charlotte and finally Emily. The family was unusually close knit and Anne, Charlotte and Emily had particularly strong ties after they lost their mother and siblings. Patrick Bronte was stubborn, selfish and wanted to keep his daughters tied to their home.
Emily had a lover and she kept this secret from Charlotte though Anne was aware of it. Charlotte discovered it only after Emily’s death and it devastated her that she did not know her sister the way she thought she knew. All of the girls faced rejection in various forms - whether from lovers and this hit hard, and the rejection of their writings. Jane Eyre was the bonanza which at least lifted them from poverty and especially for Charlotte took her away on frequent visits to London. Though finding romance there, that too ended in loss and Charlotte was once more left heart broken.
The setting of the story amongst the moors and the isolation of this tiny village was atmospheric. The lack of any intelligent conversation amongst village folk hit hard for the three girls who were brilliant in their craft. It was not a time for well educated women (not even allowed to take books from a library). The atmosphere stunted them so that they had to find stimulation for their minds within the house itself. Their father was forward thinking in this way at least.
Their deaths at such a young age was a tragedy which with good hygiene and better living conditions could possibly have been averted. Ironic that their father lived into his nineties.
The story left me impressed with the author who took you into the Bronte home as if you were a sprite watching the story evolve.
Emily had a lover and she kept this secret from Charlotte though Anne was aware of it. Charlotte discovered it only after Emily’s death and it devastated her that she did not know her sister the way she thought she knew. All of the girls faced rejection in various forms - whether from lovers and this hit hard, and the rejection of their writings. Jane Eyre was the bonanza which at least lifted them from poverty and especially for Charlotte took her away on frequent visits to London. Though finding romance there, that too ended in loss and Charlotte was once more left heart broken.
The setting of the story amongst the moors and the isolation of this tiny village was atmospheric. The lack of any intelligent conversation amongst village folk hit hard for the three girls who were brilliant in their craft. It was not a time for well educated women (not even allowed to take books from a library). The atmosphere stunted them so that they had to find stimulation for their minds within the house itself. Their father was forward thinking in this way at least.
Their deaths at such a young age was a tragedy which with good hygiene and better living conditions could possibly have been averted. Ironic that their father lived into his nineties.
The story left me impressed with the author who took you into the Bronte home as if you were a sprite watching the story evolve.
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