Chicago

Who or What Shapes Our Future?

Two years ago, I read a little book called Dear Mr. Knightley and every year since, I’ve looked forward to seeing what Katherine Reay comes up with next. Lizzie & Jane did not disappoint and neither does Reay’s 2015 offering, The Bronte Plot.

Lucy Alling has a great job in which she passes her love of books and a great story on to other collectors. Through that job, she meets a great man, James. But when it’s discovered that she’s using less than honest methods of selling those books and stories, she loses James’s love and faith in her.

When his grandmother, Helen, recruits Lucy for a trip to England to procure some items, Lucy is forced to go along. Spending time in London and Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters, allows Lucy to breath the lives of her beloved authors, to examine her motives and her reasons behind them. But Helen has secrets of her own, and as the two embark on this journey of releasing the past and embracing what’s ahead of them, they discover that things don’t always turn out the way you want them to.

Through Victorian-era fiction, especially the works of the Bronte sisters, Lucy discovers there’s more to life than what she’s been allowing herself. I appreciated the way literature is woven throughout the book and I felt like I was visiting the sites of London, Haworth, and The Lake District right along with Lucy. And I always love a book that brings another place to life.

In the end, it’s C.S. Lewis’s words that have the most influence on both Lucy and Helen. Come further up, come further in.

Don’t miss this endearing and thought-provoking book from Katherine Reay.

***Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review. All opinions expressed are my own.