Justine Picardie already has plenty of acclaim in the literary world as author of several non-fiction works and of one novel, and more Du Maurier-specific, wrote introductions to the Virago editions The King�s General and The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte. So it makes sense that for her next book, she'd make Du Maurier her heroine - in a literary detective story.
The Bookseller reports that Alexandra Pringle at Bloomsbury bought world rights to Picardie's novel DAPHNE through Ed Victor, with publication plans for late 2007 or early 2008. Du Maurier's researches into Branwell Bronte's life are at the heart of the book, which begins when the fictional Du Maurier enters into a correspondence with a Bronte scholar, Alex Symington, and becomes absorbed in a world of "obsession and possession; of stolen manuscripts and forged signatures; of love lost, and love found," as the pitch reads.
I'm still not sure what to make of it, but Picardie has enough background to make the idea work. And better to go for a POSSESSION-type story than, I dunno, making her a spy....
I can highly recommend Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, whose central component is a portrait of Branwell Bronte's debauchery and decline. It is a fast, racy and compelling read. Can Justine Picardie better that, I wonder?
Posted by: Maxine | November 01, 2006 at 04:35 PM