THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS by Catherine Lowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jane Eyre ♥ and Wuthering Heights ♥ are two of my favorite novels, so I couldn’t pass this one up. THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS is about the last living Brontë descendant, and her quest to find the family’s missing literary estate – if it actually exists at all.

Samantha Whipple is a new student at Oxford. Soon after her arrival in England, she starts receiving obscure clues to finding the mysterious Brontë inheritance. Samantha was an okay character. She’s young and awkward, and tries to compensate with sarcasm and funny zingers. She had me giggling several times, though I was hoping that eventually she’d act more mature. Something that drove me nuts was the vast number of times the characters said “Pardon?” and “Sorry?” to each other. It’s like no one could understand what the other was talking about.

What I liked about this book was how the actual novels of the Brontë Sisters tied into the story. I loved hearing the characters talk about Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Lots of interesting theories about the books and where the sisters got their inspirations.

Overall, this was a fun read, geared toward Brontë fans. {Borrowed from the library.}