Brontë-Inspired Reads of 2022

I made my way through 43 books in 2022. It will come as no surprise that a few of them were inspired in some way by the Brontës. Here’s a quick recap of those titles and my general thoughts on them. Have you read any of the titles below? If so, what did you think of them?

1. Wildfell Summer by Tracy Neis. ★★★★★. This was one of my favourite reads of 2023. A 1960s British Invasion band in America, a thoroughly irresistible and unreliable drummer, some intriguing substances, and a visit to an Anne Brontë novel. What’s not to like? 
2. The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis. ★★★☆☆. The Brontë sisters turn detective as they attempt to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young bride from a grand country house. 
3. The Full Brontë by Victoria Connelly. ★★★☆☆. Another shorter read. A woman tries not to fall for the charms of an actor playing Mr Rochester when a production of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre comes to town. 
4. Reader, I Married Him by Various. ★★★★☆. A short story collection inspired by one of the most famous lines in literature from Jane Eyre. Collated for Charlotte’s bicentenary in 2016.
5. The Twelve Adventurers and Other Stories: A New Edition by Various. ★★★★★. A collection of short stories inspired by the Brontës’ worlds of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal. 
6. Unearthly Things by Michelle Gagnon. ★★★☆☆. A Young Adult adaptation of Jane Eyre. The story follows Janie Mason, an orphan who is uprooted from her home in Hawaii and sent to live with the mysterious Rochester family in San Francisco. 
7. The Summer After the Funeral by Jane Gardam. ★★★★☆. The story of the aftermath of a death in the Price family. The story mainly focuses on Athene as she travels between relatives and experiences a taste of adult life for the first time. She also believes she may have lived before as Emily Brontë. It’s a haunting and ethereal novel and the journey and development of Athene as she learns to love and grieve is fascinating.
8. Dragonwyck by Anya Seton. ★★★☆☆. A Gothic romance with some similarities to Jane Eyre. The tale follows Miranda Wells as she accepts the invitation to stay at the ancestral home of her distant relative, the dashing but mysterious Nicholas Van Ryn. She is offered the chance to transform from a farm girl to a refined lady, but Dragonwyck has secrets that threaten her new life. 
9. The Brontës: Afterlife by Various. ★★★★★. A collection of original pieces inspired by the Brontës and the theme of the afterlife.
10. The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis. ★★★★☆. The second instalment of the series follows the Brontë sisters as they attempt to detect and solve crimes. The series finds its feet with this tale in which the sisters have a mystery to solve at Top Withens on the Yorkshire moors. 
11. A Christmas Frost by LeAnne McKinley. ★★★☆☆. A fun, short, and sweet Jane Eyre-inspired tale which sees Jane responding to a plea from the newly married Rosamond Oliver to help her discover what happened to a missing fortune.

In Loving Memory of Bob the Bichon (2007-2019).

A lover of life, the Brontës, and Haworth who knows that I’m just going to write because I can’t help it.

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