The Brontë Plot

 

The Brontë Plot 

Katherine Reay

     I am not as familiar with the books written by the Brontë sisters as I would like to be, but Jane Austen is a quiet friend of mine, and someone who enjoys classics like hers and those of the Brontë sisters would enjoy The Brontë Plot. Katherine Reay professes a not-so-gentle enthusiasm for classic literature, poetry, and prose. Her main character, Lucy Alling, is a young woman with a penchant for antiques and the value of words. She works in a gallery, handling most of the book comings and goings, as an employee to Sid - a kindhearted man with an eye for interior decoration.

     This story is less about romance and more about finding yourself. Less about nonsensical daydreams and more about the sometimes bleak state of reality. It's not as dark as all that, and the romance is there, and the adventure, and the newness, but there is something more real about the way that Reay writes. More true to life. It's not full of action and excitement or even suspense - I would classify it as more curious. It's a curious book with a curious story, and we all know how enticing curiosity can be.

     Lucy Alling travels to London and the favourite haunts of the Brontë sisters, in the company of her first client through Sid's business - her first client solely under her charge. Travel nuts. Literary nuts. This book seems to cater to those quiet loves of the heart. Satisfies them. Provokes a longing to read Pride & Prejudice all over again. Or even more suitable, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I just finished it, and coincidentally stumbled across a copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by her sister, Anne.

     Something about Reay's enthusiasm for the classics makes this book a delightful read.

--Elise--

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