I joked several times over the course of reading this that it should have just been called "Miss Bronte" - the life portrayed does not, in fact, feature much romancing. And, it seems that's as it should be. The bones of this story, to my understanding, are largely factual, with fictional atmosphere and dialogue and internality breathed into novel form by the author. I was captivated and couldn't wait to get home and read every day this week. I stayed up until 2 AM finishing the novel last night when I meant to "just read one more chapter." 

Charlotte's story, on its own right, is ... (3-minute pause while I try to think of the right word) ... grim. inspiring. warm. devastating. intriguing. To become the world's most celebrated author of your day, while also losing the loves of your life - to be so duty-bound and yet so high-minded. Ugh. It made me feel things. Thank you, Charlotte, and thank you Janice Graham.

I will say, there were a few expository passages that felt a little out of place and pulled me out of the storytelling - a few paragraphs that had that "I did a lot of research, so I want to add some more context and insights here" feeling. But those can be forgiven, because dang if the author didn't truly have a lot of context and insights from her research lol.