"Few people who have sought to avoid publicity have had to endure as much of it as Charlotte Bronte's husband, Arthur Bell Nichols. Some critics have implied that Nicholls not only stopped Bronte from writing but might even have been indirectly responsible for her death." "Alan Adamson - a descendent of Arthur Bell Nichols - provides new material about Nicholls' family, education, and early life in Ireland to give a more balanced view. He explores why Bronte, cool and hostile towards Nicholls in the early days of his curacy at Haworth, came to respect and love him, and shows how Patrick Bronte, her difficult father, grew to rely on him after her death." "Drawing on Nicholls' correspondence with, among others, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ellen Nussey, and Harriet Martineau, Mr Charlotte Bronte presents a compelling picture of Nicholls' efforts to emphasize Bronte's literary reputation and curtail speculation about her private life."--Jacket.