When novelist Rowan Coleman talked to the Brussels Brontë Group earlier this month about her Brontë detective novels, I became intrigued by another book that she mentioned in her presentation – her 2019 novel The Girl at the Window.
Rowan brought up this particular novel as it is set in Ponden Hall, a centuries-old manor house on the Yorkshire moors near Haworth with a Brontë connection.
Ponden Hall in the time of the Brontës was owned by the Heaton family and the Brontë siblings would have visited this place often. Rowan explained in her talk on Oct. 11 how the Brontë children used the library at Ponden Hall and how they sought shelter there during the great bog burst of 1824.
So, The Girl at the Window was another of Rowan’s novels with a Brontë-related theme.
 |
| Stone plaque at Ponden Hall |
I had already devoured her four books featuring the Brontë siblings as amateur detectives (published under her pen name Bella Ellis) and liked them very much – each one is a real page-turner! My excitement was therefore enormous when The Girl at the Window finally arrived in the post. I wanted so much to dive into it.
The main character in the story is Trudy Heaton. After Trudy’s husband is reported missing following a plane crash in Peru, she returns to the house where she grew up – Ponden Hall – together with her son. She had left her childhood home when she got married, and had been estranged from her mother for over 16 years.
Her son Will does not want to believe that his father is dead and blames his mother for not having searched for him sufficiently. Both Trudy and her son try to come to terms with their grief and loss. Trudy also tries to restore the relationship with her mother.
A series of mysterious events happen in and around Ponden Hall, all centered around the search for the manuscript of a possible second Emily Brontë novel, mingled with another story of a young girl Agnes – going back to 1654 – as well as with the story of Trudy and her husband Abe. I am not going to unveil the plot, you will have to read the book for yourself to know the full story!
It is a captivating read, again a real page-turner. I finished it in one go. I just could not put it down and was totally gripped by the story from the first page.
 |
| Ponden Hall |
The house is supposed to have been an inspiration for Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë would have visited the house and its extensive library on many occasions.
 |
| The moors near Ponden Hall |
Throughout the novel, Rowan Coleman merges historical facts known about the Brontës with fiction to create her fascinating story. If you like this genre (and I really do!) you will love this book.
And while you are at it, you can also read the Brontë detective stories by Bella Ellis. I am sure you will be thrilled!
Marina Saegerman
No comments:
Post a Comment