General readers as well as literary historians will be fascinated by a new book called My Dear Boy. It tells the story of Arthur Bell Nicholls, whom few will recognise as the husband of Charlotte Bronte.
It will be particularly interesting to the people of the midlands because that is where Arthur Bell Nicholls was reared and where he died, at the beginning of the century.
Arthur was born on January 6th, 1819, in Tully, Co Antrim, and his mother's brother was a curate of the Established Church. He moved to Banagher, Co Offaly, where he purchased the headmaster-ship of the Royal Free School.
In 1825 Arthur and his brother, Alan, went to Banagher to be brought up there and educated by their uncle, Dr Bell, at the school known as Cuba House.
Arthur grew up in Banagher surrounded by his cousins and later went to Trinity College Dublin, where he was educated as a clergyman. No one knows for sure why he ended up a curate in England, but he did.
The book charts his arrival in Haworth aged 27, a week after his ordination in 1845. He was paid a stipend of £90 per annum.
When he asked Charlotte to marry him, she refused, and her father demanded his resignation. He applied to go and work on the missions overseas. He persisted, however, and eventually married Charlotte in June 1854.
They had their honeymoon in Ireland. But sadly Charlotte Bronte died nine months later, leaving Arthur distraught and grieving for his bride.
Back in Ireland Arthur turned his mind to farming and to the defence of his literary wife, but in 1864, nine years after Charlotte's death, he married a cousin, Mary Anna.
He lived a quiet life, returning only occasionally to England when family matters demanded his absence from Hill House, at the top of the town of Banagher.
GAA supporters in Offaly will be surprised to learn that Arthur was a supporter and contributed to the founding of The Harp and Banagher Football Club, when it was neither fashionable nor profitable in 1884.
In 1906 he fell ill and died whispering the words, "Charlotte, Charlotte" and is buried in the local cemetery.
The life of Arthur Bell Nicholls was written by Margaret and Robert Cochrane, a husband-and-wife team originally from York who now live in Hedon, East Yorkshire.
They wrote the book to give an insight into a man who they believe became a celebrity in his own right and his own spokesman.
The book is published by Highgate of Beverley and priced at £11.50 sterling. The code is ISBN 1 902645 03 0.