Letters to Charlotte

A new book recently published which will be reviewed in the next days:

Letters to Charlotte: The Letters from Ellen Nussey to Charlotte Brontë
Caeia March
* Paperback: 290 pages
* Publisher: Pink Press; First edition (14 Oct 2010)
* ISBN-10: 1907499431
* ISBN-13: 978-1907499432

In January 1831, two adolescent schoolgirls meet at Roe heading boarding School in Mirfield, and are instantly drawn to each other. One is Ellen Nussey; the other is Charlotte Bronte - Through a blend of journal entries, real and fictionalised letters, this touching narrative charts the intimate relationship between the pair as they become friends, confidantes and spiritual lovers. It is both a fascinating social document, and an account of how two remarkable women responded to the joys, fears and sorrows of their age, and to the deep emotional bond they found with each other.

Publishing her first non-fiction at 25, Caeia then moved into the feminist world of women's literature, history and poetry in her 20s and 30s. She taught social anthropology at Avery Hill College then creative writing and women's international history at Goldsmith's College.

Caeia has two married sons and three tiny granddaughters. Caeia published many short stories, six novels and a collection of poetry, Moonseanight. Her best selling novels The Hide and Seek Files and Three Ply Yarn are set partly in Yorkshire where she has travelled widely, giving readings of her work.

Pink Paper reviews the book:

The two women became lifelong friends and the book charts this passionate and devoted association chronologically, with real letters in italics to distinguish them from March’s imaginings. The resulting narrative is interesting and well-written, but I found the mixing of fact and fiction oddly unsatisfying, as if making a jigsaw puzzle with only half the pieces while a companion described for me what she imagined the rest of the image might look like. Others may have no such complaint about the book; the style of the fictionalised sections are certainly in keeping with that of the real entries, and the relationship March re-constructs is a compelling one. (Eden Carter Wood)

Categories: Books, Charlotte Brontë, Fiction