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jenmulholland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.0
ellathorpe's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
narniaru's review
4.0
I am a big fan of the Brontës and this book did not disappoint. For me, the strengths lie in the fact that the book is written as a novel and thus you feel like you are being told a wonderful (sometimes terribly sad) tale. So, by not taking the biography route, Banks has found a way to all readers, not just those interested in the family but also those readers who just want a good story.
The bonus of course is that Banks clearly put in a lot of effort in her research but she also humanises the facts in a way so that the reader can experience them for themselves.
Looking forward to the next one.
The bonus of course is that Banks clearly put in a lot of effort in her research but she also humanises the facts in a way so that the reader can experience them for themselves.
Looking forward to the next one.
beccakatie's review against another edition
4.0
Going into this book knowing that it was a fictionalised biography definitely helped me appreciate it more. From the little I know of the Brontës’ lives, it seemed like an accurate retelling, which was emotive and well driven. The struggles and sufferings of characters ate at the reader, and you felt the continuous joys of suffering and misery just as they did.
I felt it was the perfect balance between story-telling and factual biography, with a good focus on all of the siblings, their relationships feeling real and complex. The sisters’ relationship with Bramwell, in particular, clearly demonstrated the fraught feelings at each one of his failures and fits, and I felt the way the downfall of an idealised man was written, one who was supposed to be the most intelligent, the most successful, due to nothing more than his gender, was captivating. The shifting dynamic in the relationships that this caused, his life damaged irreparably while his sisters’ begin to achieve success, definitely helped carry the later chapters of the book.
I felt it was the perfect balance between story-telling and factual biography, with a good focus on all of the siblings, their relationships feeling real and complex. The sisters’ relationship with Bramwell, in particular, clearly demonstrated the fraught feelings at each one of his failures and fits, and I felt the way the downfall of an idealised man was written, one who was supposed to be the most intelligent, the most successful, due to nothing more than his gender, was captivating. The shifting dynamic in the relationships that this caused, his life damaged irreparably while his sisters’ begin to achieve success, definitely helped carry the later chapters of the book.
thenovelbook's review
4.0
This is a fascinating novelization/biography of the four Bronte siblings, three of whom are responsible for literary masterpieces that still resonate to this day.
While it was a bit on the long side, the writing was never dull. I believe Lynne Reid Banks to have relied somewhat on speculation for some of the events, but she also roots her action in the real letters and documentation that exist for the Bronte family. I thus feel that I've been given a fair view of their personalities and lives.
Each person in the family comes across with a distinct tone--ambitious, passionate Charlotte; hermitlike, brilliant Emily; sweet, persevering Anne; and...Branwell...promising but weak. I was so pulled into the story of the three sisters and how their rich inner lives clashed with their narrow circumstances.
Though this book ends with the sad deaths of three of the siblings, I am looking forward to the sequel, which details how Charlotte pushes forward with her writing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free digital review copy of this new edition.
While it was a bit on the long side, the writing was never dull. I believe Lynne Reid Banks to have relied somewhat on speculation for some of the events, but she also roots her action in the real letters and documentation that exist for the Bronte family. I thus feel that I've been given a fair view of their personalities and lives.
Each person in the family comes across with a distinct tone--ambitious, passionate Charlotte; hermitlike, brilliant Emily; sweet, persevering Anne; and...Branwell...promising but weak. I was so pulled into the story of the three sisters and how their rich inner lives clashed with their narrow circumstances.
Though this book ends with the sad deaths of three of the siblings, I am looking forward to the sequel, which details how Charlotte pushes forward with her writing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free digital review copy of this new edition.
emmkayt's review
4.0
It grew on me. There was something a little heavy-footed to the writing in this novel based on the lives of the Bronte siblings - perhaps less a novel than a stolid novelisation (if one can be stolid while quietly fangirling, Victorian-style). And yet, it was increasingly absorbing. What fascinating and astonishing women they were. It certainly makes you think about many things - creativity, isolation, constraint, freedom. Looking forward to revisiting their work. 3.5.
hannargh's review
4.0
Beautifully written and seemingly well-researched. I'm not very good at reading biographies normally, but I really enjoyed Dark Quartet. My only complaint was that it ended so prematurely and suddenly, it seemed as though there was a large chunk of the story missing, but evidently that was for a planned second novel.
lissan's review
5.0
As a fan of the Brontë sisters I take every opportunity to read something about their lives. It does not
matter that you already know most things, each writer always has something to add to the whole story.
This book is a biographical or historical fiction of the four Brontë siblings. I love historical fiction so looked forward reading this. However, it is difficult to write biographical fiction about such loved characters as the Brontës. All the fans have their own view on how they were and how they lived. Lynne Reid Banks book is a master piece in this sense. I must admit that I had some difficulties getting into the book and the first part, the very start of the story, did not appeal to me. I found the writing a mixture between non-fiction and fiction. However, that changed rather quickly.
The more I got into the book, the more I was amazed how well she describes the siblings, as well as other characters connected to them. She has created their characters from what is known of them and from their writings, and at least for me, this is really spot on as I imagined them to be. She makes them so real, they just come into life in front of your eyes. Telling the stories from each of the siblings' point of view, you find out that they are all four very different characters.
Branwell’s story is always sad. A probably talented person who did not have the strength and character to go through with his projects. His overestimation of his own talent, his use of drugs and alcohol took him from a promising youth to a miserable adult. Maybe the hopes for him, as the man in the family, and thus, the person who should support his sisters, were to much for him to bear.
Charlotte, the eldest sister, always took care of the others. She had her happiness for a short time in her life, and managed with her will and her love for writing to fulfil her life. Her love for M. Heger is delicately described, and her longing for him, once she is back in England, is so well written that I think we can all feel what she felt.
Emily, the loner, loving her dog and the moors. She was a tough, but still vulnerable figure, with a lot of wild passion inside her. She held it under tight reins but she could let it show when she walked her beloved moors and in her masterpiece Wuthering Heights. She could not bear to be away from Haworth and suffered incredibly the three times she ventured out into the world.
Anne, the youngest sister was very gentle. She seemed fragile, but was maybe the strongest of them all, in her religious beliefs and her stubbornness to finish what she had started. For several years she worked as a governess to help earn money for the family. Branwell got his job as a tutor to the son at Green Thorpe through her, but it ended in disastrous results when he fell in love with the wife.
The brother and sisters are beautifully and lovingly portrayed in this book. The description of the scenery and the people surrounding the siblings, is very well done, and makes it very real. Their lives are told from the angle of each one of them, which makes it even more fascinating. The same situations are interpreted from different sides and different persons.
Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, have been read by generations ever
since they were written. Here you enter into passionate stories of strong characters, feelings and passions, and in the background is always the moors. The sense of desolation in their books seems to have come from their daily lives. I found that Lynne Reid Banks have managed to keep this special atmosphere in her telling of their story. The book brought me back to the times of the Brontës, and it was as exciting and passionate, as to read one of their books. It really took some time to come back to the 21st century once I finished it. If you love the Brontës, and if you love biographical fiction, this is a book for you.
This book was given to me for free from Endeavour Press. The views put forward are my own personal views.
matter that you already know most things, each writer always has something to add to the whole story.
This book is a biographical or historical fiction of the four Brontë siblings. I love historical fiction so looked forward reading this. However, it is difficult to write biographical fiction about such loved characters as the Brontës. All the fans have their own view on how they were and how they lived. Lynne Reid Banks book is a master piece in this sense. I must admit that I had some difficulties getting into the book and the first part, the very start of the story, did not appeal to me. I found the writing a mixture between non-fiction and fiction. However, that changed rather quickly.
The more I got into the book, the more I was amazed how well she describes the siblings, as well as other characters connected to them. She has created their characters from what is known of them and from their writings, and at least for me, this is really spot on as I imagined them to be. She makes them so real, they just come into life in front of your eyes. Telling the stories from each of the siblings' point of view, you find out that they are all four very different characters.
Branwell’s story is always sad. A probably talented person who did not have the strength and character to go through with his projects. His overestimation of his own talent, his use of drugs and alcohol took him from a promising youth to a miserable adult. Maybe the hopes for him, as the man in the family, and thus, the person who should support his sisters, were to much for him to bear.
Charlotte, the eldest sister, always took care of the others. She had her happiness for a short time in her life, and managed with her will and her love for writing to fulfil her life. Her love for M. Heger is delicately described, and her longing for him, once she is back in England, is so well written that I think we can all feel what she felt.
Emily, the loner, loving her dog and the moors. She was a tough, but still vulnerable figure, with a lot of wild passion inside her. She held it under tight reins but she could let it show when she walked her beloved moors and in her masterpiece Wuthering Heights. She could not bear to be away from Haworth and suffered incredibly the three times she ventured out into the world.
Anne, the youngest sister was very gentle. She seemed fragile, but was maybe the strongest of them all, in her religious beliefs and her stubbornness to finish what she had started. For several years she worked as a governess to help earn money for the family. Branwell got his job as a tutor to the son at Green Thorpe through her, but it ended in disastrous results when he fell in love with the wife.
The brother and sisters are beautifully and lovingly portrayed in this book. The description of the scenery and the people surrounding the siblings, is very well done, and makes it very real. Their lives are told from the angle of each one of them, which makes it even more fascinating. The same situations are interpreted from different sides and different persons.
Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, have been read by generations ever
since they were written. Here you enter into passionate stories of strong characters, feelings and passions, and in the background is always the moors. The sense of desolation in their books seems to have come from their daily lives. I found that Lynne Reid Banks have managed to keep this special atmosphere in her telling of their story. The book brought me back to the times of the Brontës, and it was as exciting and passionate, as to read one of their books. It really took some time to come back to the 21st century once I finished it. If you love the Brontës, and if you love biographical fiction, this is a book for you.
This book was given to me for free from Endeavour Press. The views put forward are my own personal views.
amalia1985's review
1.0
‘’You know, Charlotte, I sometimes think - don’t laugh, will you?- that Emily’s strength comes from the moors. She’s like a tree, planted tree, and if she’s uprooted it won’t matter how tough her trunk is, she’ll wither and die.’’
I approached this book with mixed feelings of enthusiasm and apprehension. I have read quite a number of biographies on the Brontë family but I tend to avoid works of fiction based on their lives. With only a handful of exceptions, the writers tend to project their own values and perceptions to the sisters with no success. Especially apparent in the case of Emily Brontë, these women cannot become ‘’characters’’. It is impossible. A gifted writer is required for that. Sarah Perry, Daisy Johnson, Diane Setterfield. Lynne Reid Banks didn't strike me as a writer, let alone a gifted one and this book was a frightful disappointment.
In a clumsy mixture of Biography and Historical Fiction, the writer almost turned the family into characters of the most mundane, dated (justifiable given the date the book was published) romance. Exhaustingly detailed in parts that hold little significance and naively simplistic when it had to be powerful and, possibly, thorough. The only part she seemed to get right was the unbreakable relationship between Emily and the mystical English moors. Even this vital characteristic is depicted in a highly exaggerated, dramatic manner. Charlotte takes the spotlight and thus, the narration becomes quite boring. Plain and simple. Not because Charlotte was a boring person, God forbid, but because she is portrayed in such a way.
There is very little focus on the sisters’ work - almost none on Branwell’s who seems to be there just to remind us of a George Best type of man (I love George Best, don’t mind me…) and even less attention on the process of conceiving and giving birth to their immortal creations. The fact that the writer chooses to suggest that every novel of theirs was almost autobiographical is ridiculous, laughable and inappropriate. More emphasis on Jane Eyre, very little on Wuthering Heights (I doubt the writer could understand its implications, themes, and importance…) and Anne’s novels may not have been written at all… I feel that this book ‘’wanted’’ to become a Peeping Tom than a serious work of Biography and Fiction. It focused more on what she believed was the sisters’ social and sentimental issues rather than their work and was not interested in that.
In my opinion, the Author’s Note is offensive and derogatory towards the readers, the world of Literature and the Brontë family. Making fun of the family’s course shows little respect and a huge, absurd ego. The way I see it, this book is an extremely failed effort. A true disappointment.
Many thanks to Sapere Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com
I approached this book with mixed feelings of enthusiasm and apprehension. I have read quite a number of biographies on the Brontë family but I tend to avoid works of fiction based on their lives. With only a handful of exceptions, the writers tend to project their own values and perceptions to the sisters with no success. Especially apparent in the case of Emily Brontë, these women cannot become ‘’characters’’. It is impossible. A gifted writer is required for that. Sarah Perry, Daisy Johnson, Diane Setterfield. Lynne Reid Banks didn't strike me as a writer, let alone a gifted one and this book was a frightful disappointment.
In a clumsy mixture of Biography and Historical Fiction, the writer almost turned the family into characters of the most mundane, dated (justifiable given the date the book was published) romance. Exhaustingly detailed in parts that hold little significance and naively simplistic when it had to be powerful and, possibly, thorough. The only part she seemed to get right was the unbreakable relationship between Emily and the mystical English moors. Even this vital characteristic is depicted in a highly exaggerated, dramatic manner. Charlotte takes the spotlight and thus, the narration becomes quite boring. Plain and simple. Not because Charlotte was a boring person, God forbid, but because she is portrayed in such a way.
There is very little focus on the sisters’ work - almost none on Branwell’s who seems to be there just to remind us of a George Best type of man (I love George Best, don’t mind me…) and even less attention on the process of conceiving and giving birth to their immortal creations. The fact that the writer chooses to suggest that every novel of theirs was almost autobiographical is ridiculous, laughable and inappropriate. More emphasis on Jane Eyre, very little on Wuthering Heights (I doubt the writer could understand its implications, themes, and importance…) and Anne’s novels may not have been written at all… I feel that this book ‘’wanted’’ to become a Peeping Tom than a serious work of Biography and Fiction. It focused more on what she believed was the sisters’ social and sentimental issues rather than their work and was not interested in that.
In my opinion, the Author’s Note is offensive and derogatory towards the readers, the world of Literature and the Brontë family. Making fun of the family’s course shows little respect and a huge, absurd ego. The way I see it, this book is an extremely failed effort. A true disappointment.
Many thanks to Sapere Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com
insearchof_wonder_'s review
3.0
Writing a biographical novel as opposed to an actual biography allows the author the freedom to speculate both on events shrouded by history as well as the inner workings and motivations of the subjects' hearts and minds. As such, I wish I had read an actual biography of the Brontes so I could more readily identify where fiction began and reality left off.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the Bronte sisters and their brother. although I was already aware how brief and tragic their lives were, this book brings it home dramatically. Lynne Banks writes unflinchingly but compassionately, allowing you to be drawn into the sometimes strange and often bleak lives of these four intertwined individuals.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the Bronte sisters and their brother. although I was already aware how brief and tragic their lives were, this book brings it home dramatically. Lynne Banks writes unflinchingly but compassionately, allowing you to be drawn into the sometimes strange and often bleak lives of these four intertwined individuals.