THE MAN IN THE STONE COTTAGE
In 1846 Yorkshire, the Brontë sisters– Charlotte, Anne, and Emily– navigate precarious lives marked by heartbreak and struggle.
Charlotte faces rejection from the man she loves, while their blind father and troubled brother add to their burdens.
Despite their immense talent, no one will publish their poetry or novels.
Amidst this turmoil, Emily encounters a charming shepherd during her solitary walks on the moors, yet he remains unseen by anyone else.
After Emily’s untimely death, Charlotte– now a successful author with Jane Eyre– stumbles upon hidden letters and a mysterious map.
As she stands on the brink of her own marriage,
In 1846 Yorkshire, the Brontë sisters– Charlotte, Anne, and Emily– navigate precarious lives marked by heartbreak and struggle.
Charlotte faces rejection from the man she loves, while their blind father and troubled brother add to their burdens.
Despite their immense talent, no one will publish their poetry or novels.
Amidst this turmoil, Emily encounters a charming shepherd during her solitary walks on the moors, yet he remains unseen by anyone else.
After Emily’s untimely death, Charlotte– now a successful author with Jane Eyre– stumbles upon hidden letters and a mysterious map.
As she stands on the brink of her own marriage, Charlotte is determined to uncover the truth about her sister’s secret relationship.
The Man in the Stone Cottage is a poignant exploration of sisterly bonds and the complexities of perception, asking whether what feels real to one person can truly be real to another.
- Regal House Publishing
- Paperback
- September 2025
- 266 Pages
- 9781646036240
Buy the Book
$19.95
About Stephanie Cowell
Stephanie Cowell has been an opera singer, balladeer, founder of Strawberry Opera and an outdoor performance series in NYC. She is the author of Nicholas Cooke, The Physician of London, The Players: a novel of the young Shakespeare, Marrying Mozart, Claude & Camille: a novel of Monet and The Boy in the Rain. Her work has been translated into several languages, optioned for film, and adapted into an opera. Stephanie has been awarded an American Book Award.
Praise
“A haunting and atmospheric historical novel.” —Library Journal
“A mesmerizing and heartrending novel of sisterhood, love, and loss in Victorian England.” —Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of Queens of London
“I could not put this book down and when I did, because it ended, I was crying because the writing was so beautiful. Stephanie Cowell has written a masterpiece.” —Anne Easter Smith, author of This Son of York
“With The Man in the Stone Cottage, Stephanie Cowell asks what is real and what is imagined and then masterfully guides her readers on a journey of deciding for themselves.” —Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Painted Girls
“The Brontës come alive in this beautiful, poignant, elegant and so very readable tale. Just exquisite.” —NYT bestseller, M.J. Rose
Discussion Questions
1. Have any of you visited the home of the Brontë family in Yorkshire? It has an astonishing collection of their possessions, from furniture to personal items. Could you feel the presence of the sisters from 175 years ago?
2. Did you walk out on the Yorkshire moors? If so, what did you feel? (I hope you wore good walking shoes!)
3. When did you first read the most famous Brontë novels, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights? Do you remember where you were? What were your impressions?
4. Is it very difficult to understand where extraordinary talent comes from. Can you see which attributes led these three sisters to write so brilliantly?
5. How difficult was it to be a brilliant but poor woman in those times? They had positions as governesses and were perceived as inferior because they had no money or titles. Emily rejected it, Charlotte was infuriated, Anne quietly coped. How would you feel if you knew you had as good a mind as those who did not see you? Have you ever felt that?
6. Why do you think Jane Eyre was accepted with such love whereas Wuthering Heights struggled for an audience? Indeed, Emily had to pay to get it published.
7. In your opinion, is Jonathan (the shepherd in the cottage) a ghost, a creation of Emily’s imagination or a living man? Or perhaps a combination of these? How much of any beloved figure lives in our minds? Is Heathcliff real to you?
8. What do you think of Patrick Brontë as a father?
9. What made Branwell so self-destructive?
10. The author feels that Charlotte also in a way creates the two men she loves – the French master and her publisher – by believing they were capable of understanding and loving her. Have we all sometimes done that, especially when young?
11. Have you read any other novels by Charlotte or any by Anne?
12. Why do you think these novels are still cherished today 175 years after publication?