Today, I'm delighted to welcome Stephanie Cowell to Ruins & Reading. I'm sharing my review of her evocative new novel, The Man in the Stone Cottage. If you love your Brontë history and literature, you're in for a treat. Read on!
The Man in the Stone Cottage is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find other fascinating posts HERE!
The Man in the Stone Cottage
Stephanie Cowell
Keen readers of literary fiction will know the works of the famous Brontë sisters, what do you know about their family history? Their inspirations? Their lives?
Well, author Stephanie Cowell knows quite a bit about the Brontë family, and she has managed to write an exquisite fictional account that takes us right into their spartan parsonage in 19th-century Yorkshire.
The eldest sister, Charlotte, returns home from a school in Brussels where she had been teaching. Having admitted to a crush on a married tutor makes her run back home in haste, embarrassed and at a loss as to how to deal with her love for a man who was out of reach. Arriving back home, she settles back into the heart of her family, but money worries overshadow their reunion. With their father's pitiful income, and her brother Branwell unable to keep a job, they struggle to make ends meet. Charlotte knows she needs work, but what is there to do in the Yorkshire moors?
Her heartbreak has also turned Charlotte into a lonely woman. In her 20s, desperate to find a man to share her life with, her thoughts are often morose. She is the most serious of the sisters, but also the most down-to-earth sibling.
Emily is away with the faeries, as the saying goes, happiest walking across the moors in her own company, where she discovers an abandoned cottage. Ignoring her father's concerns for her safety, she loves roaming the wild, untamed countryside. But she's also aware of her household duties towards the family, and she doesn't shirk her responsibilities. Yet like her body, her mind often wanders to places the others can't reach...
The Man in the Stone Cottage is told from Emily's and Charlotte's points of view, which gives readers a revealing insight into the minds of two very different young women. It also shows us their views of their siblings, which makes for interesting reading.
The characters of the family are realistically portrayed for the era, and with all the hardships they faced. And although the three sisters have their foibles, Bran is the one person I wanted to shake!
Expertly researched to the most minute detail, the novel takes you on a gentle journey of self-discovery within an authentic historical setting. We can see the poverty they live in; sense the desolate loneliness (but, at the same time, the exceptional lure) of the moors; feel the family’s pain as sickness strikes. Ms Cowell brought the Brontës vividly to life in this enthralling read.
Evocative, heartbreaking, and utterly compelling, The Man in the Stone Cottage is an unforgettable tale that makes you think about the Brontë sisters, and – through their experiences – how their lives influenced their incredible works.
Highly recommended!
Blurb:
“A haunting and atmospheric historical novel.”
~ Library Journal
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.
Praise for The Man in the Stone Cottage:
“A mesmerizing and heartrending novel of sisterhood, love, and loss in Victorian England.”
~ Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of Queens of London
“Stephanie Cowell has written a masterpiece.”
~ Anne Easter Smith, author of This Son of York
“With The Man in the Stone Cottage, Stephanie Cowell asks what is real and what is imagined and then masterfully guides her readers on a journey of deciding for themselves.”
~ Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Painted Girls
“The Brontës come alive in this beautiful, poignant, elegant and so very readable tale. Just exquisite.”
~ M.J. Rose, NYT bestselling author
Buy Link: Universal Buy LinkStephanie Cowell has been an opera singer, balladeer, founder of Strawberry Opera and other arts venues including a Renaissance festival in NYC.
She is the author of seven novels including Marrying Mozart, Claude & Camille: a novel of Monet, The Boy in the Rain and The Man in the Stone Cottage. Her work has been translated into several languages and adapted into an opera.
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| Image (c) Jesse Cowell |
Stephanie is the recipient of an American Book Award.
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