I'm currently in London en route to the Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference in Dartington Hall, Devon, where I'm speaking on a panel alongside fellow writers Heather Webb and Kris Waldherr.
I was working at digital media company Refinery29 when I first encountered Michael Stewart. The ARC (advance reader copy) of his 2018 novel, Ill Will, was up for grabs on the freebies table. Mixed in with other books, as well as lipsticks and leggings, sent to our editorial team, Ill Will caught my eye. It was the subtitle which captured my attention: The Untold Story of Heathcliff. Not only was I a Brontëphile, with a Master’s in nineteenth-century literature, but I was also in the midst of writing my own Brontë-inspired novel—the book that would become Brontë’s Mistress (2020).
By the time I read Stewart’s novel in January 2019 (and reviewed it for this blog of course!), I had an agent, but no book deal. By 2020, my novel was being released in the midst of a global pandemic. One silver lining was that the uptick in virtual book events meant writers could now straddle the Atlantic. Soon, Michael and I were appearing at multiple events together, along with other Brontë-related writers. We helped raise money for the Brontë Parsonage Museum by speaking at the Brontë 2020 conference. We spoke together at the Historical Novel Society North America’s conference too. And in 2021, Michael chatted to me on Instagram Live, while trespassing somewhere in the English countryside. It was very on brand.
Of course, then (although Michael and I are yet to meet in real life!), I was excited to read his latest (non-fiction) book, Walking the Invisible, which was published last year. Part memoir, part history book, part hiking guide, Walking the Invisible is hard to categorize. It’s a book born out of Stewart’s love of nature and the Brontës, and as much about our century as it is about the nineteenth. He doesn’t shy away from talking about the social challenges and changes facing many of the towns, big and small, the Brontës lived in, and moves between education, political commentary, and personal anecdote seamlessly.
The book makes you want to walk in Stewart’s (and the Brontës’!) footsteps and I can’t wait to visit Yorkshire again with the volume in hand. I especially loved reading about the genesis of the Brontë Stones project—a group of stones with poems honoring the sisters, which walkers can visit in the Thornton/Haworth area—and about the wide range of personalities whom Stewart has encountered due to their voracious love of the Brontës. He doesn’t offer a definitive answer as to why so many of us continue to be fascinated by one of literature’s most famous families, but his book will be a valuable artifact speaking to the early twenty-first-century version of the Brontë Myth (one which owes more to Kate Bush than to academia).
My only (small!) gripe was with Stewart’s reference to Edmund Robinson (husband to Lydia Robinson—the mistress of my novel’s title). He includes an often repeated but false rumor that Lydia Robinson’s husband was old and decrepit, encouraging her to take solace in Branwell Brontë’s arms. In fact, Edmund was a year Lydia’s junior.
Overall, I highly recommend Walking the Invisible. It would make a great gift for Brontë fans, and I can see this one flying off the shelves at the parsonage bookstore for years to come.
What book(s) would you like to see me review next? Let me know—here, on Facebook, on Instagram, or by tweeting @SVictorianist. And if you haven’t already, check out my novel Brontë’s Mistress, for more Brontë scandal.
It’s now under a month until the release of the Bronte’s Mistress paperback! And I’m continuing my roundup of press, with a post covering articles about the novel that were published in March and April this year.
Fellow historical novelist, Asha Lemmie, who I did an event with in September last year, recommended Bronte’s Mistress to Good Morning America fans, in a piece about Women’s History Month. Check out her other picks, along with Fiona Davis’s here.
Nicholas E. Barron republished our 2020 interview on Medium. He asked me questions about Oxford, research surprises, Lydia’s relationship with her daughters, and more. And Bronte’s Mistress got a shout out in another Medium article on how adults can embrace “Back to School” rituals to make first days more bearable.
I spoke to A Sweat Life about how people can reach their reading goals. The Bear View gave Bronte’s Mistress a great review.
Meanwhile Sharon Van Meter included my novel in a list of the best books that illuminate lesser-known historical events for Off The Shelf. Bringing us full circle, Asha Lemmie’s Fifty Words for Rain was also featured in the same article!
I’m getting busy again with events, giveaways and more planned for the Bronte’s Mistress paperback release. But if you’d like me to talk to your book club or interview me for your blog, get in touch—via Facebook or Instagram, or by tweeting @SVictorianist. For monthly updates from me on my books, blog and other writing, sign up to my email newsletter below.
My debut novel, Bronte’s Mistress, tells the story of Lydia Robinson, the older woman rumoured to have had an affair with Branwell Bronte. The book was published back in 2020 by Atria Books, and, as we’ve entered a new year, I’m switching to a bimonthly roundup of the latest and greatest press coverage.
January saw still more end of year summaries, like those I shared in my December post. Austenprose named Bronte’s Mistress the #2 historical novel of the year. This great article also highlighted other novels I’m reviewed and recommended on this blog—Gill Hornby’s Miss Austen, Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister, Kathleen Flynn’s The Jane Austen Project, and Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society—along with Martha Waters’s To Have and To Hoax, which I very much enjoyed, and so many other books that I have to add to my “to read” list.
Courtney of Courtney Reads Romance shared highlights of the 764 (!) books she read last year, and ranked Bronte’s Mistress at #17. And Bronte’s Mistress WON the historical fiction category in the 2020 Bookish Jazz Awards, thanks to reader votes!
Meanwhile, with Valentine’s season upon us, I cautioned bookworms to count themselves lucky they don’t live in the times of Bridgerton, in this piece I penned for Women Writers, Women[’s] Books.
Bronte’s Mistress made it into LitHub for a second time with coverage of my interview for the New Books Network Podcast (check out my own essay for the publication on the links between this Bronte scandal and Charles Webb’s The Graduate here). And Booklist looked back on books including mine, which were written by women authors and appeared in 2020—the centenary year of the Nineteenth Amendment.
Thank you all for the continued love and support! I’ll be back with another instalment of this series in May, summarising March and April coverage.
If you’d like me to speak to your book club about Bronte’s Mistress, please get in touch. You can DM me on Instagram, message me on Facebook, or tweet @SVictorianist. And don’t forget to sign up for my monthly email newsletter below.
Since the sale of my debut novel, Bronte’s Mistress, in 2019, I’ve been sharing advice for writers on this blog as part of my Writers’ Questions series. Today, I’ll be talking about how to format your novel manuscript to set yourself up for success when submitting to agents and/or editors. Please note that this advice is aimed at writers seeking to be traditionally published vs. those preparing books for self-publishing.
First up, a word on software. I’ve written a whole post on this topic, which you can refer to here. I personally use Scrivener while drafting my novels. However, Microsoft Word is still the standard word processor, and .doc/.docx the required file format when submitting manuscripts. So, as soon as I’m ready to share my work with others (writers’ groups, my agent, my editor etc.), this is the software I move to. Now, let’s get into the formatting.
Cover Page
Your manuscript should begin with a cover page that features your book’s title, your name, and the manuscript’s word count. If you’re submitting your manuscript to someone who doesn’t know you (e.g. you’re querying vs. submitting to an agent you’ve already signed with), it’s a good idea to also include your contact information (most commonly an email address and maybe a phone number). Make it easy for the reader: at a glance, they should be able to tell what it is they’re reading and how to get in touch with you.
Font
I submit in Times New Roman at size 12, but any classic font (e.g. Arial) should be fine. Courier I see more often as the number one choice for screenwriters vs. novelists. Please be aware though that agents and editors may have their own preferences and change the font to read your manuscript. For this reason, I don’t recommend using multiple fonts in your book e.g. to convey different points of view or formats (letters, newspaper clippings etc.).
Header
After the cover page, I include a header on every subsequent page in the format LAST NAME/BOOK TITLE, e.g. AUSTIN/BRONTE’S MISTRESS. Agents and editors will almost certainly be reading multiple books in any given week, so make their jobs easier and label your work.
Page Numbers
Include them! Books are long and page numbers make them more manageable. I put the page number in the footer in the bottom right corner.
Chapters
Should begin on a new page. I start each new chapter five lines down the page.
Sentence Spacing
Should be double. The aim isn’t to make your manuscript look like a real book yet. It’s all about making an editor or agent’s life easier and the spaces make for cleaner editing.
Paragraphs
Each new paragraph should begin with an indent.
Scene Breaks
I use three asterisks (***) between scene breaks that occur within a chapter. In a published book, these may be indicated by fancier symbols, or no symbol at all, just white space, but in a manuscript, clarity is key, so I go for this standard marker.
And there you have it! There’s no need to get fancy when formatting novel manuscripts, and, in this instance, blending in with the crowd is much better than standing out for all the wrong reasons. A manuscript is a working document and adopting the right formatting is a great way to show that you’re professional and know what you’re doing.
Do you have any other topics you’d love me to cover in my Writers’ Questions series? Let me know—here, on Facebook, on Instagram, or by tweeting @SVictorianist. Want to read my novel, Bronte’s Mistress (now in beautiful book vs. manuscript form)? It’s available in hardcover, audiobook and e-book now. And don’t forget to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter below.
A few years ago, as part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series, I reviewed Katherine J. Chen’s Mary B (2018). Today, I’m writing about another twenty-first century novel centred on Mary, the plainest of Elizabeth’s sisters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813)—Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister (2020).
Hadlow’s Mary is true to Austen’s original characterisation. She’s spectacle wearing, bookish and, oh so very, serious, rejected by her mother for her plainness and uninteresting to her father due to her lack of humour. Caught between two pairs of sisters—Jane and Elizabeth, and Kitty and Lydia—Mary seems totally alone, even at bustling Longbourn. The housekeeper Mrs Hill is one of the few people to show compassion towards her, while Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte Lucas tries to give her practical advice about how a woman without beauty can get by in a patriarchal world. The first section of Hadlow’s novel begins with Mary’s childhood, including her gradual realisation of her perceived inferiority to her older sisters. Then the book covers well-worn ground, rehashing the early events of Pride and Prejudice, up until Mr Collins’s engagement to Charlotte.
At this point, I was intrigued, if not delighted. It was interesting to see familiar scenes from Mary’s viewpoint, especially her disastrous piano playing. And there were great historical details, for instance regarding Mary’s reading material and early-nineteenth-century optometry.
However, the novel really came into its own when we jumped forward in time to a few years after the conclusion of Austen’s book. When we rejoin Mary, she is the only unmarried Bennet sister. Of no fixed abode, she moves between the houses of her sisters and friends, trying to find her place in the world. Her father is dead. Her mother has despaired of her. The domineering Lady Catherine would like to see her packed off as an unfortunate governess.
I have an especial interest in this plight of single upper-middle-class women in the period, who found themselves dependent on the charity of their friends and relatives. In my novel, Bronte’s Mistress, I depict what this might have been like for a widow, but unmarried girls like Mary had even fewer options. However, as she matures, Hadlow’s Mary turns these unfortunate circumstances to her advantage, using her methodical mind to assess the different households she visits—Jane’s, Elizabeth’s, Charlotte’s and her aunt Gardiner’s.
Other, non-canonical characters begin to take centre stage, including Tom Haywood, a London lawyer with a love of Wordsworth, who helps Mary discover her more poetic and feeling side. But I also enjoyed Hadlow’s on-going nods to her source material. Mary’s final confrontation with Miss Bingley recalls her sister Elizabeth’s argument with Lady Catherine. A well-described trip to the Lakes with the Gardiners brings back Lizzie’s truncated vacation.
Overall, while I do agree with some reviewers that The Other Bennet Sister could have been slightly shorter, I’d highly recommend the book to fans who prefer their Austen-inspired fiction to be less radical and revisionist, and more thoughtful and additive. I was worried that spending another book with Mary might be tiresome, but she won me over by the end!
What twenty-first-century written, nineteenth-century set novels would you like me to review next as part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series? Let me know—here, on Facebook, on Instagram, or by tweeting @SVictorianist.
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It’s 2021, which means it’s no longer my debut year, but I still have one final monthly roundup of articles about my novel, Bronte’s Mistress. Check out the February/March, April/May, June/July, August, September, October and November editions for a trip down memory lane, but today I’m covering coverage from December 2020.
In celebration of the season, I was the speaker at the Oxford and Cambridge Society of New England’s (virtual) Christmas Party. It was so much fun sharing how I researched and wrote my book with fellow Oxford alumni, and, yes, so Cambridge people too (catch a recording here).
My final podcast appearance of the year, with New Books in Historical Fiction, also aired. I was in conversation with fellow novelist C.P. Lesley, who wrote a great article, “The Corset of Culture” on Lydia Robinson’s dilemma in Bronte’s Mistress.
My book was named one of the best of the year by bloggers The Literate Quilter and Writer Gurl NY, while the Captivated Reader blog listed my Austen vs. the Brontes discussion with The Jane Austen Society author Natalie Jenner one of the best virtual author events of the year (listen to our debate here).
And Bookreporter included Bronte’s Mistress in their annual roundup of Bets On picks. Carol Fitzgerald’s roundup of 40+ of the best books of the year is well worth watching, so make a cup of tea, settle back and enjoy!
Looking back at the year, here are some quick (not very scientifically counted) stats of what went down (mostly since my novel’s release in August):
I wrote 16+ personal essays about the book, many of which are linked in these August and September summaries.
I appeared on 10+ radio shows and podcasts, all of which are listed on my website.
I spoke at 30+ virtual events (check out the blog posts tagged "Video" for some that were recorded).
I kept track of 100+ articles about the book and/or interviews with me, but am sure I missed some!
I am so grateful to the journalists, bloggers, Bookstagrammers, YouTubers, reviewers, authors, bookstores and librarians who have supported me on this most unusual of debut years. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
The Bronte’s Mistress paperback comes out in June, and I’ve already started receiving some 2021 coverage, but I’ll be pivoting to bimonthly press summaries again to blog a little more about nineteenth-century literature and culture, and a little less about my book.
Don’t forget that you can always contact me—on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I also send a monthly email newsletter (sign up below) and Bronte’s Mistress is available in hardcover, audiobook and e-book now.
My debut year is almost over and I’m still sharing roundups of the lovely coverage my historical novel, Bronte’s Mistress, has been receiving. If you’re interested in going back in time, check out the February/March, April/May, June/July, August, September and October editions too!
In November, I received one of my favourite five-star reviews so far—this write up from the San Francisco Book Review. The reviewer calls the novel and my Author’s Note “fascinating,” and concludes, “wicked women of the [Victorian] era were humans as well and deserve to be remembered as such, Lydia Robinson included.”
Bronte’s Mistress was also the weekly book pick for radio show What’s the Story? on The Krush 95.9. Check out the full episode here.
My interview with Carol Fitzgerald at Bookreporter, centred on my research for Bronte’s Mistress, was part of the Miami Book Fair, a huge event in the publishing calendar, which went virtual for the first time. It’s free to register if you’d like to hear us chat all things Brontes and to check out other great literary content.
Dixon Public Library recommended Bronte’s Mistress on National Author’s Day, which falls on November 2nd. I loved that they used the day to celebrate and support other debut authors and me!
Personally, the highlight on my month was spending time at a socially distanced writers’ retreat hosted by the Highlights Foundation. Check out my full review of the experience here, or check out this blog post from my friend and fellow writer Cate Simon, who was reading Bronte’s Mistress during our time away!
If you’re looking for a great read this holiday season or the perfect book to give as a gift, I’d of course recommend Bronte’s Mistress! And, don’t be a stranger. If you’d like to get in touch for any reason, contact me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and make sure you sign up for monthly updates on my writing and me below.
It’s nearly the end of October and I’m still playing catch up in summarising the press coverage of my debut historical novel, Bronte’s Mistress, which was released in August. Bronte’s Mistress imagines the story of Lydia Robinson, the older woman rumoured to have had an affair with the Bronte sisters’ brother, Branwell Bronte.
Around two weeks ago, I published a post on articles written by me and published in September. This time around, I’m sharing articles about my book that came out last month. Let’s get into it.
First up, I was delighted to receive a wonderful review from the Lancashire Post, which was also printed in various other local English newspapers. Their reviewer, Pam Norfolk, describes the book as “emotionally powerful and written with immense sensitivity.”
Another great review came from fellow Neo-Victorian novelist Essie Fox, writing for Historia, the Historical Writers’ Association magazine. Describing Bronte’s Mistress as “remarkable” she ends the review by saying, “I found myself asking the question: Is Lydia Robinson a victim of her own time—or of herself?”
And I was ecstatic that my book was also reviewed in Bronte Studies, the academic journal of the Bronte Society. The review is behind pay wall, but describes Bronte’s Mistress as “an extremely satisfying read,” with a “stroke of brilliance” in the Author’s Note where I share what is fact vs. fiction in Lydia Robinson’s story.
Meanwhile, Fine Books & Collections included Bronte’s Mistress in incredible company in a piece on recent works of “bibliofiction.” I’m looking forward to reading the other books on their list, especially Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.
I was interviewed by DIY MFA on my self care tips for writers, by Saralyn Bruck on my inspirations and favourite things, and for Authors Answer (which asked the quirkiest interview questions so far!).
Further lovely reviews came from History Through Fiction, whose podcast with me went live in October, from My Interdimensional Chaos, and from Flora’s Musings.
Finally, if you’ve been asking yourself the pressing question “which lipstick shade should I wear to match the cover of Bronte’s Mistress?”, I’ve got you. Check out this delicious pairing courtesy of Read Your Lipstick!
Haven’t ordered your (hardback, audio or electronic) copy of Bronte’s Mistress yet? What are you waiting for?! You can check out a list of suggested retailers for buyers in the US and UK here. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. And for monthly updates on my writing straight to your email inbox, make sure you sign up to my newsletter below.
For the last few months, thanks to the release of my first novel, Bronte’s Mistress, I’ve been cheating on my Secret Victorianist blog by writing articles for other bigger (though less cool 😉) publications.
August was wild with nine personal essays going live in Oprah Magazine, LitHub, Women Writers, Women[‘s] Books, Frolic, Historia Mag, Off the Shelf, Bronte Blog, English Historical Fiction Writers and Silver Petticoat Review. By contrast, September was much calmer, but I’m really proud of the four essays I had published and excited to (re-)share them with you today!
First up, I wrote about the real love affair that inspired my novel for both the Irish Times and Town and Country magazine.
In Town and Country, I talked about my attempt to “capture something of the passion of Charlotte, the social commentary of Anne and the darkness of Emily, in shedding light on this scandalous true story,” and highlighted the things that the Bronte siblings and I do and don’t have in common.
In the Irish Times, I mentioned the Brontes’ Irish and Cornish roots and shared my excitement at finding, “another chapter of this saga…the history of Lydia Robinson, the older woman blamed for their brother Branwell’s early demise.”
The Brontes were also my subject for a piece for Refinery29, which had a pretty different focus. I talked about the afterlife the Bronte sisters have enjoyed as our archetype for the successful woman writer—poor, plain and virginal—and argued that women need more varied models for dedicating their lives to art.
Finally, I wrote a more technical piece for Almost An Author, on what fellow writers should consider when writing fiction in the first person. Charlotte Bronte’s line “Reader, I married him” may be one of the most famous in English literature, but what does it mean to adopt the “I” of a fictional character? And what are the traps writers can fall into here?
I hope you enjoy these pieces and my other essays from earlier in the year. If you’ve already read and enjoyed Bronte’s Mistress, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads or Amazon. And, if your book club wants to read my book, I’d absolutely love to join your meeting via Zoom. Download the Bronte’s Mistress reading group guide here and contact me via my website. Alternatively, get in touch via Facebook or Instagram or by tweeting @SVictorianist.
