4.75 stars

This book was super interesting for a few reasons. Its format included a variety of time periods and points of view, as well as some letters and other kinds of sources. It also centered the character and story of Mary Nichols Bell, who married Charlotte Bronte's husband Arthur after Charlotte died.

In some ways the novel, named for Charlotte in a way almost reminiscent of du Maurier's Rebecca, where the eponymous deceased wife haunts the new one even in death. Mary's view of Charlotte seems almost unbelievably mature and almost protective. The reader sees their historical paths crossing (in fictionalized ways) and learns about the relationship they built together through shared goals and values earlier on.

This book was not like the description, which I expected would be some little thing from Bronte's perspective about her marriage. I think it was quite a bit more interesting and better. I'd recommend it to anyone even if they aren't into Charlotte Bronte, if they like historical fiction and to think about relationships, women's relationships to each other, what it means to marry someone who has loved a partner who passed previously etc.

Thank you to The Lilliput Press for providing an advance copy for unbiased review.

Martina Devlin’s Charlotte is a captivating and introspective novel on the life and legacy of the iconic Charlotte Brontë, and its effect on the life of Mary Nicholls. Devlin writes a haunting presence of Charlotte Brontë within Mary’s life, reminiscent of the ghostly undertones found in Jane Eyre at Thornfield Hall. Some readers might find the historical elements overshadow the plot, but it creates a complex historical novel that blurs the lines between fact and fiction. Nicholls's admiration and later obsession with her husband's former wife as she becomes the keeper of the Brontë's heirlooms and secrets creates a complex character. Devlin writes a story with the same mysterious aura as the moors. If you are a lover of Charlotte Brontë and her talented sisters, I think you will enjoy this look at Charlotte's marriage, subsequent tragic ending, and enduring fame.

Thank you to The Lilliput Press for the ARC.
As someone who wrote their undergraduate thesis on 2 of Charlotte Brontë’s novels, I will say that it’s exciting to see an attempt to give Charlotte herself some visibility. And unfortunately this book was simply this for me—an attempt. It took me quite a while to finish this. I don’t think I enjoyed the narrator’s voice that much, and the writing and pacing were not gripping enough to hold my attention. Perhaps I will revisit this book later.

I'm a fan of Charlotte, so this was a welcome reprieve into facts I wasn't aware of. Strong writing.

This was a pretty good book! It was interesting and I liked the history added in. It was some information that I already knew but then also had some added bits I did not know about. Overall I enjoyed this book

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

"Charlotte Brontë, who dazzled the world with some of literature's most vital and richly-drawn characters, spent her brief but extraordinary life in search of love. She eventually found it with Arthur Bell, a reserved yet passionate Irishman. After marrying, the pair honeymooned in Ireland - a glimmer of happiness in a life shadowed by tragedy.

That moment of joy was destined to be short-lived however, as Brontë died just nine months into their marriage. Her genius, and the aura of mystery surrounding her, meant she'd been mythologised even within her own lifetime - a process which only intensified after her death. Observed through the eyes of Mary Nicholls - who encountered Charlotte on that fateful journey to Ireland, and who went on to wed her widower Arthur - Charlotte is a story of three lives irrevocably intertwined. Bound by passion and obsession, friendship and loss, loyalty and deception - this a story of Brontë's short but pivotal time in Ireland as never before told.

Martina Devlin's enthralling new novel Charlotte weaves back and forth through Charlotte's life, reflecting on the myths built around her by those who knew her, those who thought they knew her, and those who longed to know her. Above all, this is a story of fiction: who creates it, who lives it, who owns it."

Well, you start writing under a nom de plum, you're already mythologizing yourself!

A well-written novel on the whole. The author is clearly a Charlotte fan and has done their research. I enjoyed the references to Charlotte's books, personality, and experiences. The choice to centre the book upon Arthur's second wife is interesting and adds some depth. I feel this is her story more than Charlotte's though. Yes, Charlotte is the one we all want to know about but the narrative is claimed by the second wife who lived in her shadow but loved her too.

Martina Devlin states that her historical novel was throughly researched but that many parts are speculative and I would say that it’s very clear the book is well researched. The speculative parts blend in very nicely to the point that I found myself having to do research to know which parts were which. Charlotte is about Charlotte Brontë’s life at the time of her marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls but it’s told through the remembrances of Arthur’s cousin and second wife, Mary Bell. Because of this it is mostly a story about Mary Bell and the impact Charlotte had on her life. Charlotte is a very vivid character in this book, as she was in her actual life. My heart broke for Mary Bell so many times while reading this book and yet I think she was also imprinted by the legend of Charlotte Brontë in a way that made her feel lucky to have experienced her- or this book at least made me feel that was a strong possibility. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it especially to fans of Charlotte Brontë.

Martina Devlin, Charlotte, Independent Publishers Group | The Lilliput Press, August 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

The Charlotte Bronte of Martina Devlin’s imagination is no pure rendition of the author of the well-known Jane Eyre, Shirley and Villette and the less famous juvenilia, posthumously published, The Professor and incomplete works. She is a woman who inspires love and affection, is a sexual being, a writer of adoring letters to a married man, a censor of her sisters’ work, and while enthralled in part by her marriage, is prepared to set aside any inclination to obey when it does not suit her plans. Her Irish background is less refined than the world she knows, which is apparent when on her honeymoon she rejects her husband’s demand (based on Patrick Bronte’s wish) that she should ignore her Irish relatives. This Charlotte is seen through the eyes of Mary Bell, who after Charlotte’s death marries her widower, Arthur Bell Nicholls, and lives, not only under the shadow of the first marriage, but the continual presence through that marriage of a woman that she longed to know closely.

Where Martina Devlin has brought imagination to her work, she has used characters who fit into the families about whom she is writing but provide social commentary about the society in which the Brontes wrote. Where the presence of Charlotte’s belongings that remained with the newly wedded couple all their lives feature, Devlin clearly asks the question: How would Mary feel about this? The broader question she asks about the creation of museums to honour a person’s life. What belongs in such a place to be viewed by an interested public? What should remain private?

This is an engaging story. There is enough to suggest what might have been Charlotte Bronte’s life outside her writing. If not satisfied that enough research underpins the work, and I would have liked more, Charlotte can be read as a story that sincerely depicts the era, men and women’s relationships, the poverty, and class boundaries that impacted the Bronte’s, Bells, their servants and their community. A source rejected by Devlin is the novels. In my view an author’s fictional work does not need to be autobiographical to add to the knowledge about a writer and detailed attention to Bronte’s writing would have helped decipher her personality and responses to marriage, friendship, and a world outside the rectory.

The feeling of despair, sorrow and loss permeates Mary Bell’s account, along with short bursts of laughter and beauty. It is here Devlin excels. The everlasting power of Charlotte Bronte, that readers know through her writing, is given a personal perspective in Mary Bell’s story. In this depiction of an encounter that might have been is the essence of what a writer can offer. It is far more than the items, lovingly though they may be accumulated, in a museum. Perhaps Devlin is telling us that a writer’s presence can be felt outside the published and unpublished works and her imagination provides one possible perspective of Bronte’s other life.

As I have loved all the novels written by the Brontë sisters (I also visited the Haworth museum and village), I was eager to read this novel. I enjoyed it very much. However, I found the part only evoking Charlotte through memories, objects, letters and belongings, extremely fascinating and masterfully done. I could feel Charlotte's ghost roaming through Arthur's and Mary's psyche.
Also, the concept of collecting for a museum really raises questions and I found this topic rather thought provoking. Indeed, I really loved visiting the museum, looking, imagining Charlotte (with her family) living there. Mary thought differently. She felt that exposing such personal objects lead to the unhealthy sensation of voyeurism. An interesting thought....
A beautifully written novel about a genial writer.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

‘Charlotte’ covers similar themes to ‘Miss Austen’. Here the focus is on Mary Bell who married Charlotte’s husband Arthur after her death and who became a minor celebrity in Victorian times as Brontëmania took hold. Newspapers clamour for her reminiscences of the celebrated author and she exploits the fascination in artefacts associated with the Brontës to supplement her income. As in ‘Miss Austen’, ‘Charlotte’ emphasises the lack of financial security for women and their dependence on male relatives. Martina Devlin has done her research and, through Mary’s recollections, gives us some insight into Charlotte’s complex character. The novel’s resolution isn’t as clear cut and tidy as that of ‘Miss Austen’, but consequently comes over as being more realistic.

Martina Devlin playfully invents an amusing rendition of Charlotte, imbued with very colorful imagination. It serves as a beautiful escape into an absorbing aesthetic rather than as a fount of historical information. The exquisite writing is often drenched with feeling and etheral descriptions. Highly quotable lines abound as the work is character-driven and thus heavy in dialogue. Its non-linear plotline unravels at a very leisurely pace, yet the ending is quite abrupt and surprising. I would suggest reading Charlotte with a personal state of open-minded whimsy.

This is an interesting work of what I would call fan fiction. It is an imagining of events which might have occurred during Charlotte Bronte’s honeymoon visit to Ireland. The structure is really well done, with the use of interviews and recordings as well as narrative. It is s stretch, and one which is surely designed to appeal to Bronte’s fans, to call it “Charlotte” as the story is not really about her. I found the language and dialogue a bit j likely for the time, which detracted from the story.

I think that this was well written and an interesting enough plot. I just don't think that much about it stood out, so unless you're a Brontë superfan, I'm not sure this will get randomly picked up. I will say it was intriguing the way that the author used 'recordings' and letters to show the parts of the story.