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AND WREATH LAYING THIS WEEKEND

BOOK LAUNCH

The Banagher Brontë Group will round off a great inaugural year with two events this coming weekend. On Saturday 7^th December the group will launch Martina Devlin’s Charlotte at 2.30 p.m. in the Crank House, Banagher. The book will be launched by Nigel West whose ancestors lived in Hill House, (now Charlotte’s Way, a well-appointed guesthouse), until 1959 when it was sold to the local Church of Ireland community.

Martina Devlin’s book tells the story of Arthur Bell Nicholls’ two marriages, firstly to the great writer Charlotte Brontë in 1854 and ten years later to his first cousin Mary Anna Bell. The story which is told through the eyes of Mary Anna is one of three lives irrevocably intertwined, covering the period 1854 to 1932. The narrative moves back and forth in time during which various Brontë treasures which Arthur brought to Hill House in 1861 become the focus of the story. Mary Anna’s selflessness in allowing Hill House to become a shrine full of relics of Charlotte Brontë and her siblings is well captured, particularly Arthur’s devotion to the portrait of Charlotte by George Richmond. The potential monetary value of the treasures recurs especially after Arthur’s death in 1906 when Mary Anna’s finances were straitened, and she had dealings with the avid collector Clement Shorter.

Although mainly fictional the novel gives us an insight into the relationship between Arthur and Mary Anna which sustained them through the forty-two years of their marriage. Often described as a marriage of convenience there seems to have been warmth and compassion as well which is borne out in the surviving letters that Arthur wrote to the long time Brontë servant Martha Brown.

At the start of the book Martina Devlin declares: ‘This story does not claim to be the truth but is inspired by real events.’ This is important because not long into the novel we meet the Reverend Richard Bell, Mary Anna’s brother and a maidservant at Hill House called Hope Porter, both intriguing fictional characters who add much to the historic events as they unfold.

All told there are eight books in which Arthur Bell Nicholls is a central if not the dominant character. Martina Devlin’s work adds immensely to this literature particularly as it covers such a wide period and because the story is almost entirely situated in Banagher where he lived for sixty-six of his eighty-eight years. In writing the story through the eyes of Mary Anna Bell Nicholls she has ensured that her part in the saga has been highlighted for the first time and her remarkable generosity acknowledged.

INTERVIEW

As part of the proceedings on Saturday Martina Devlin will be interviewed by Dr. Maebh O’Regan on the inspiration and creation of the novel. Maebh is a prominent member of the Banagher Brontë Group and has done great work with the Banagher Craft Group who have created a colourful collection of tapestries relating to the Brontë family which will also be on display in Crank House.

WREATH-LAYING

On Sunday morning after midday service at Saint Paul’s Church, at 12.45 p.m. approximately, the annual wreath laying ceremony at the grave of Arthur and Mary Anna will be held in the adjoining churchyard.

TULLAMORE EVENT

Finally at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, Martina Devlin will also discuss her new book in the Midlandbooks bookshop on High Street Tullamore. To reserve your seat at this event you need to book with eventbrite.