The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte: The Secrets of a Mysterious Family : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Fact or fiction?
Review: I was intrigued by this book when I recently saw it in the bookstore. The description and questions on the back caught my eye (How did three sisters in a remote parsonage know so much about the darker passions of love?), and made me curious enough to purchase it then and there. I must admit I was immediately drawn in by the introduction and the lawyer's description of his find. As a fan of the Bronte sisters, who wouldn't be thrilled with such a discovery? If only the rest of the book lived up to its beginning, or even, the questions that raised my curiosity in the first place.

On the back of the book, it is explained to us that the author, James Tully, although a "noted criminologist", chose to write this story as a novel. The introduction is written by a lawyer in the firm that had this story sealed, and we are asked to compare this narration to the popular version of the Bronte tale, and see which one seems to be the more likely of the two. The story then unfolds as young Martha, a maid in the Bronte parsonage, tells tale of all the happenings at Haworth over almost two decades. Her retelling is concluded at each chapter by the lawyer's conjecture of truths (or shall I say "truths") that add veracity to Martha's story. Martha's story lets us know about the evil doings of Arthur Bell Nicholls, Charlotte's husband, who had his hand in the mysterious deaths that occured at Haworth parsonage, including Charlotte's herself.

Tully has an interesting theory. It does seem strange and mysterious how three members of the Bronte clan died in such a short span of time and with similar symptoms. He raises some questions that might make you question what you know to be true about the Brontes. Yet this novel is far from enligtening or even satisfactory. I was disappointed when I finished reading. However, I am left with only one question after finishing this novel. If there is any truth to these accusations, why would a criminologist write this as fiction, and not as fact? Written as fiction, it reads as such.

Rating:
Summary: OR: Two Plus Two Equals Five, and Five Will Get You Ten...
Review: That might have made a more suitable sub-title. About halfway through I decided that life is too short to finish this piece of claptrap, so I skipped to the epilogue; it, at least, was interesting, as it dealt with cases of actual poisoning where real physical evidence existed, and not with the ludicrous fabrications of an author who seems to have developed a peculiarly ferocious and personal animosity towards Charlotte Bronte. I wonder: was he perhaps compelled to read "Jane Eyre" in school at some point and has burned with resentment ever since? To date I have only read "Wuthering Heights" out of any of the Bronte sisters' writings, so I have no personal investment in the whole Bronte mythos and was ready to give this book a fair reading, but Tully really seems to have a crushing hatred for the elder Bronte sister. I would hope a "noted criminologist" knows enough logic to be familiar with Ockham's Razor; that invaluable tool's application to this tome could have pared it down to the epilogue and appendices.
If you want to read a GOOD novel about actual poisonings which took place within a few years of the Brontes' deaths, try "They Hanged My Saintly Billy" by Robert Graves, about the William Palmer murder trial (incidentally mentioned by Tully in the appendix of this farce). It presents a far more convincing and balanced argument based on actual documented evidence, rather than the invented confessions of a supposed "insider" that Tully spins to fill the considerable gaps in his "case" with whole cloth. Graves' book is also much better written; but then, he was a writer and not a "noted criminologist."

Rating:
Summary: Just entertainment
Review: The other reviewers here are so defensive about their precious, sainted Brontes! This is just an entertaining read, and it makes you think about what might have really happened. I found all the correspondence quoted to be fascinating. The narrator was a ditz, and her personal story unbelievable, but Tully had to devise some sort of structure to make his points. It's just a book, people!