Tight Used Copy. Christabel Woodward is the cosseted daughter of a prosperous mill-owner until he discovers her mother's long held secret; Christabel is not his own child, but the natural daughter of Branwell Bronte. Rejected by her father, and then raped by a man she trusted and admired, Christabel's world is shattered. She is forced to leave her beloved moorland home and suffer the loneliness of exile, a journey leading her, with a final, painful irony, to a court of law where she will stand trial - accused of murder.