Charlotte Brontë, the writer, the legend and the... amateur sleuth?
After being accused of plagiarism, Charlotte Brontë travels to London to clear up the misunderstanding with her publisher. Along the way, she makes the acquaintance of a mysterious woman named Isabel White. Unfortunately, Charlotte later stumbles across Isabel being murdered. Not wanting to let the murderer go free, Charlotte investigates Isabel's murder with the help from her sisters and the victim's brother. As she digs deeper into the mystery, Charlotte uncovers a diabolical plot that could threaten the fabric of the British Empire. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she'll have to face the demons of the Empire's past as well as her own.The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë is a 2008 historical mystery novel by Laura Joh Rowland. A sequel titled Bedlam: The Further Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë was published in 2010. Both novels feature Charlotte Brontë in the leading role, with her family and some other notable figures from history serving as secondary characters.
This series provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Olivier Heald stalks Charlotte constantly in the hopes that she will sign his beloved copy of Jane Eyre. Charlotte tries to be polite with him, but her patience with Heald grows thin fast.
- All First-Person Narrators Write Like Novelists: Justified, since the narrator for both novels- Charlotte Bronte- is a novelist.
- Artistic License – History: Rowland sticks to historical fact for the most part, though she does stray from it from time to time.
- Bus Crash: Branwell, Emily, and Anne died during the three years between Secret Adventures and Bedlam.
- Historical Domain Character: Charlotte Brontë and the rest of her family are featured, as is several members of the monarchy that lived during her time.
- In the Style of: Both novels mimic the style of the real-life-Charlotte's prose.
- Manipulative Bastard: Kuan's mesmerizing voice and natural charisma makes it hard for most to resist his orders. Once he learns what's the most important to a person, he uses that to exploit and manipulate them to do his bidding.
- One-Steve Limit: Suberted; there are at least three people named John in Secret Adventures. Each one is referred to with either their full name or just their family name.
- Revenge: The main antagonist's motivation in Secret Adventures; he sees Britain as being fully at fault for his country's and family's suffering due to the Opium Wars. His plan is to hold the royal children hostage and threaten their lives so as to force the Queen in ordering a retreat.
- Time Skip: Almost three years have passed between Secret Adventures and Bedlam. During that time, much of Charlotte's family has died, leaving only her and her father left, and Slade's mission in Russia descended into chaos.
