The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay

A Travelogue with a Tale

    Here is a scenario that all bibliophiles would agree with. We fall so deeply in love with our book(s), that we don't just read and re- read it, we live it. Our conversations are peppered with passages from the book. We may even emote like a character did in the book,.. well..  like how we imagined the character did, in our heads.

   " I mean that reading forms your opinion, your worldviews, especially childhood reading and anything that does that has an impact"  - Katherine Reay, The Bronte Plot


    This is what unfolds in Katherine Reay's novel, The Bronte Plot. Her protagonist lives and breathes books of the Victorian era, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin etc..

   Lucy Alling has a gift. She, like her father, can weave fabulous stories that will enthrall an audience. This gift helps flourish her profession as a seller of rare editions of books. It was all  perfect until her secret is discovered and everything turns sour for Lucy. She is on the verge of ruining her relationship with Sid, her mentor / father figure and with her boyfriend James. In walks Helen, James' grandmother, with a proposal for a quest that is quite alluring and may provide a solution to untangle the mess in Lucy's life.

   The novel is mostly about the physical and the emotional journey that Helen and Lucy set upon, which takes them to London and Haworth. This is what I really liked about the book. There are plenty of references about places worth visiting in England, if one is a fan of classic English Literature. This is why I call the novel " a travelogue with a tale'. I have highlighted all the tourist spots mentioned in the novel, lest I miss any when planning my trip to London.


  " Lucy led on, through Russell Square, and upon reaching Gordon Square, she stopped. "Here it is. The heart of the Bloomsbury Group. You wouldn't believe who lived along here" 


   A simple tale but the references to various literary passages and quotes from books of the Victorian era were a delight to read and so was the tour of London. Read it if you are a literary buff and travel enthusiast.