Charlotte meets Lady Di

Next October 4, a new novel with "an irreverent and comic look at love, loss, literature, pop culture, Hollywood, and the mysterious biographical similarities between Charlotte Brontë and Princess Diana" (publisher dixit). We don't know at the BrontëBlog if this sounds promising or just crazy... but we are intrigued.

We are talking about "The Bronte Project: A Novel of Passion, Desire, and Good PR" by Jennifer Vandever published by Shaye Areheart Books. In Powells we may find the following information:

Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
...as to intense passion,
I am convinced that it is no desirable feeling. In the first place, it seldom or never meets with a requital, and, in the second place, if it did, the feeling would be only temporary: it would last the honeymoon, and then, perhaps give place to disgust or indifference....Certainly this would be the case on the man's part; and on the woman's — God help her if she is left to love passionately and alone. — Charlotte Brontë

Young academic Sara Frost's unsuccessful search for the lost love letters of Charlotte Brontë hasn't won her any favor at her university, particularly now that the glamorous and self-promoting Princess Diana scholar, Claire Vigee, has introduced her media-savvy exploits to the staid halls of academia. But it's not until Sara's fiancé suddenly leaves that she begins to question her life’s vocation and is forced to reconcile the mythology of romance with the reality of modern love.
Sara's jolt brings her to an unusual new world, one populated by a cheerfully amoral Frenchman Denis, a pair of New York eccentrics who pretend to live in the 19th century, a lapsed methadone addict and screenwriter, and a Hollywood producer who mistakenly assumes that the short, sad life of Charlotte Brontë has the makings of the next "feel good" movie blockbuster. Along the way, Sara discovers that the life and writings of Charlotte Brontë may have taught her more than she ever guessed about the virtues of being a romantic with the heart of a pragmatist — and she finds the surprising path of her own desire and true happiness.
The Brontë Project is an irreverent and comic look at love, loss, literature, pop culture, Hollywood, and the mysterious biographical similarities between Charlotte Brontë and Princess Diana. It's a delightful novel about finding one's way in the all-too-real world of love.

Review:
"A rollicking romp through the fun-house hallways of academe and the narcissism of celebrity." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"Interspersed throughout are quotes from some of Brontë's actual letters, lending realism to the title, but ultimately this book is a character study of a naive academic and her search for happiness. Recommended." Library Journal

More reviews and information about the author can be found in the previous link or in the author's web http://www.jennifervandever.com/

Categories: Books, Fiction