THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS

Literary intrigue, a treasure hunt, a romance, and a witty, loveable heroine who brings the Brontës roaring back to life, while, along the way, discovers new revelations about them and her own family, this is a sparkling and convincing novel for lovers of books, and many more.

Samantha Whipple is the last remaining descendent of the Brontë family. After losing her father, an eccentric and brilliant scholar, Samantha sets off for Oxford in search of her mysterious family inheritance, described to her only as “The Warnings of Experience.” While there, she studies under Professor J. Timothy Orville III, a disarmingly handsome professor who seems nothing but annoyed by her presence and family heritage. Utterly alone, Samantha is left to piece together her family’s history—which, it turns out, may also be literature’s greatest mystery and love story. Similar to The Jane Austen Book Club or The Elegance of the Hedgehog, THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS is a heartfelt and entertaining nod to letters that brings our favorite literature to a modern context. Catherine Lowell received her BA from Stanford University in 2011. While an undergrad, Catherine was awarded the Mary Steinbeck Dekker award for Fiction and received two Stanford University Arts Grants, each focused on writing a novel. THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS grew out of one of those grants, with the purpose of exploring the cross-section between "literary" and "commercial" writing. For this project, her professor advisors included Elizabeth Tallent, Jennifer DuBois, and Linda Paulson. Catherine also worked closely with Tobias Wolff, Adam Johnson and several top Stegner fellows while at Stanford. Catherine lives in New York, where she works as VP of Content Creation at IVY, a collaborative online community that brings together top entrepreneurs, innovators, authors, and artists, with over 10,000 members. She is responsible for the company’s on-going exposure of members’ book and general author promotions, joining her love of books and authors with targeted and savvy online marketing skills. Catherine has boundless energy and is happily at work on her next novel. In reimagining the Brontë family, Catherine gives us a glimpse into the personal lives of literatures most famed sisters, inviting readers to examine and learn from their work.