The Vanished Bride (The Bronte Mysteries #1) by Bella Ellis
Genre: Historical mysteries
Read: 14th December 2019
Purcase: Amazon
(publication date: 7th November 2019)
★★★★ 4 stars
What a charming little mystery THE VANISHED BRIDE turned out to be! Despite the fact I've never read "Jane Eyre", "Wuthering Heights" or any of the other of their books, I was intrigued by this one's premise featuring the three sisters. It isn't a factual account but more of a reimagined story of the Bronte sisters as lady "detectors" on the hunt for...the vanished bride!
Unlike any mystery I've ever encountered, THE VANISHED BRIDE is something different from the norm. It is fun, entertaining and, despite the mystery at hand, a delightufully light read. I rather felt it had an Austenesque feel to it as well but then I put that down to the time period it is set, within that of both Austen and the Brontes.
It's 1851 and the prologue opens with Charlotte, as the last surviving Bronte sister, reflecting on a time before she and her siblings became authors. They each were novellists, poets and even artists in their own rights, and looking back, Charlotte ponders on their lives together at the Haworth parsonage under the care of their widowed father. It also reminds us how tragically short their lives were - with Emily dying in 1848 and Anne in 1849, while Charlotte herself was to pass in 1855. Their brother Branwell, who features peripherally in the story usually intoxicated or under the influence of opioids, also died in 1848 - the same year as Emily.
Yorkshire 1845. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte live a quiet life writing or drawing, trying to find the inspiration to write that novel that would see them published. But in the 19th century, it was very much a man's world and if the sisters were to achieve anything it would have to be under the guise as man. Each of them had been governesses before returning to Haworth after the death of their Aunt, who left the sisters a tidy sum to live comfortably until they were published. But life at the parsonage is somewhat dull after the structure and busyness of governess life, and the sisters at oftentimes find themselves a little bored.
One morning, they hear the news that Elizabeth Chester. a young wife and mother, has disappeared from her home at Chester Grange under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind pools of blood in her bedroom. And with the amount of blood found it is unlikely she would have survived. The sisters are immediately concerned for their friend Mattie, who is governess to the Chester children, and take it upon themselves to visit Chester Grange on the pretext of that concern. While they are worried for Mattie, who incidentally discovered her mistress to be missing and the considerable amount of blood she left behind, the sisters decide that they will create their own inquiries and do some detecting of their own.
Is the bedroom of Elizabeth Chester a crime scene or did she disappear of her accord? Given the amount of blood found that seemed unlikely. And yet the sisters couldn't dismiss it entirely. So had she been murdered and disposed of? Or is there something more sinister at play? And if not, why would she leave the children? According to everyone who knew her, Elizabeth loved her son and step-son and would never just leave them. These are just some of the questions the sisters, assisted by their brother Branwell, ask themselves and set about trying to answer.
Elizabeth is the second wife of Robert Chester of Chester Grange, and it seems that his first wife, Imogen, died under some rather baffling circumstances. Questions arise leaving some suspicion over what might have, or might not have, happened to Elizabeth.
The sisters decide to split resources with Anne and Branwell investigating around Chester Grange while Charlotte and Emily gather information from the community. But they soon learn that as they are women, the community are reluctant to talk to them so Emily comes up with the guise of working under the instructions of Bell Solicitors, leaving instructions for any messages to be left for Messrs Bell & Co at the local inn under the strictest confidence. The tenants of Arunton trust the governing hand of a man to know what's best as well as having influence when it comes to women. They wouldn't talk to them otherwise.
And it seems the more they uncover, the more complex the mystery becomes as it deepens and stretches into places as far as Scarborough. But what could they possibly find there? And why are Elizabeth's parents being evasive? Exactly what is it that they are hiding? And who is the mystery man a villager had seen with Elizabeth Chester in the woods leading up to her mysterious disappearance?
I loved the re-imagining of the Bronte sisters and their brother Branwell solving mysteries together. It is all rather a novel concept and makes for delightful reading. The alternation between sisters in narration kept it interesting as we are given a glimpse into each sister. I found it amusing to note Charlotte's constant discomfort around her father's curate, Arthur Nicholls, when she herself marries him nearly a decade later prior to her death.
The inclusion of Branwell to the story leant something of a contrast to that of his sisters. He is quite the scandal - a drunkard, a gambler, a womaniser and an addict. However, he has the advantage that his sisters do not in that he is male and therefore it appears far more acceptable. The sisters, on the other hand, are all at the age where they should be focusing on getting married...not gallivanting across the moors and the seaside playing at "detecting"! This is behaviour that would acceptable in Branwell, not the sisters. Hence the guise of the fictitious Bell & Co. This, of course, was a nod to the sisters themselves as their pen names at the time of their publications used the surname "Bell". The other being the author's pseudonym - incorporating the name "Bell" into Bella and "Ellis", which was Emily's pen name at the time.
A truly engaging historical mystery, THE VANISHED BRIDE is enchanting and delightful with the addition of some darker nuances woven throughout making this an intriguing well-written fun read.
If you are a Bronte fan, or you love historical mysteries, then don't go pass THE VANISHED BRIDE. You will thoroughly enjoy it!
I would like to thank #BellaEllis, #NetGalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #TheVanishedBride in exchange for an honest review.
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