“Brontë’s Mistress gives us a fascinating new perspective on one of literature’s most famous families. Smart and sexy, this captivating novel is true to the romantic spirit of the Brontës themselves, with a modern feminist twist. A delicious treat for Brontë fans!”
– Elizabeth Blackwell, author of Red Mistress and On A Cold Dark Sea
“A richly atmospheric, compelling portrait of a woman torn between expectation and the wish for more. Brontë's Mistress stayed with me long after I put it down."
– Megan Chance, author of A Drop of Ink
“A mysterious manuscript, a passionless marriage, a dazzling but dissolute tutor. Finola Austin’s richly imagined historical novel tells the tale of Lydia Robinson, of Thorp Green Hall, and of Branwell, the beloved brother of the brilliant Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Wonderfully engaging and clever, Brontë's Mistress captures the often tragic claustrophobia of women’s limited lives in nineteenth-century England.”
– Andrea Chapin, author of The Tutor
“At the heart of Finola Austin's Brontë's Mistress isn't that literary family, about whom readers to this day entertain a cult-like fascination, but Mrs. Lydia Robinson, a protagonist as passionate as she is multifaceted and complex. Romance, sex, love in its many variations, enough grief and drama to rival a Greek play—it's all here. The result is a delicious and truly escapist read which resonates with this lesson from Austin: women are the true and unsung survivors of history."
– Katherine J. Chen, author of Mary B.
“Finola Austin’s riveting debut novel presents a deftly-rendered, complex heroine swept up in the allure of forbidden passion—and the heart-rending consequences when the romantic illusion shatters. Beautifully detailed and richly atmospheric, Brontë’s Mistress portrays one of literature’s most famous families from an intriguing new perspective.”
– Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Resistance Women
“Brontë's Mistress is a beautifully written, highly seductive debut in which Finola Austin delves into the life of a relatively unknown member of the Brontë family. The chemistry between Branwell and Lydia positively crackles on the page, and while Lydia emerges as a delicious heroine in her own right, the better-known Brontë sisters are portrayed with wit and care. Masterful storytelling which is sure to delight fans of the Brontës and of historical fiction, Brontë's Mistress comes highly recommended by this Yorkshire lass."
– Hazel Gaynor, author of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
“Brontë's Mistress gives voice to a woman who, until now, has been voiceless; and, indeed, to thousands of women whose lives, like Lydia's, were so terribly suffocating.”
– Molly Greeley, author of The Clergyman's Wife
“Confident, convincing and engrossing, and with a sure historical touch, Brontë's Mistress illuminates another dark corner in the Brontës’ story.”
– Gill Hornby, author of Miss Austen
“Finola Austin's Brontë's Mistress is a page-turning read full of passion and fire. The life stories of the famous Bronte siblings, Charlotte, Emily, Branwell, and Anne, have been chronicled in depth by countless biographers, and now and then in works of fiction. But an important aspect of Branwell Bronte's life—his life-altering, doomed love affair with the infamous Mrs. Robinson, an older woman whose son he was tutoring—has never been examined in such depth before, and makes a tantalizing read.”
– Syrie James, author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë
“Finola Austin's debut novel is a stunner. Anyone who has ever thrilled to a Brontë novel needs to read this glorious historical novel about the Brontë sisters and their brother, Branwell, and his affair with the outrageous, scandalous woman who broke all conventions. Atmospheric and beautifully imagined, this is a must-read for lovers of great historical fiction.”
– Jeanne Mackin, author of The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel
“Rich in heart and detail, Finola Austin’s novel, Brontë’s Mistress, is a beautifully created tour-de-force. This tightly-woven novel could reflect the life any number of middle- and upper-class Victorian women bound by English society’s rules, but it happens to concern the woman whose extra-marital affair with Charlotte Brontë’s brother, Branwell Brontë, rocked not only their own lives but the closely-knit society in which they lived. Using a plethora of research sources, Austin has written a thoroughly engaging novel whose every character (save for a horse!) is based on the actual historical persons involved in the events.”
– Sarah Shoemaker, author of Mr. Rochester
“Dark and moody, Brontë’s Mistress unearths the secret love affair of Lydia Robinson and Branwell Brontë in all its shocking scandalousness. Anchored by meticulous research, Finola Austin has created a heart-tugging portrait of a passionate woman more akin to Emma Bovary than Jane Eyre, but equally trapped by the constraints of her era. Bittersweet and beautifully written.”
– Kris Waldherr, author of The Lost History of Dreams