ZunTold The Bronte Girl.

by Miriam Halahmy

Readers who love YA historical fiction will fall in love with Kate Roper, a 15 year old girl from Haworth, West Yorkshire, who finds herself working at the Parsonage, home to Reverend Bronte and his four children, Bramwell, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.

"I am just going to write because I cannot help it."

Charlotte Brontë

'October 19th, 1846. Kate felt as though the date was etched upon her heart forever.'

When Mother and her beloved twin brothers are taken by the Haworth 'miasma', Father

drowns his sorrow in drink and younger sister Lizzie begins to run wild. It is left to Kate at

only fifteen to keep her family out of the dreaded workhouse.

She is offered a cleaning job at the Parsonage, home of Reverend Brontë, his son Branwell

and the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Anne, and Emily.

Kate harbours a secret; to write for the famous Blackwood Magazine, but poverty and

gender are against her. Luke, a farmer's son, has dreams of being an engineer, and wants to

marry Kate but believes writing stories is a waste of time. One day whilst repairing the fire in

the Parsonage sitting room, Kate sees a small volume of Shakespeare on the shelf. She

decides to borrow it, only to be caught by Charlotte Brontë. When Miss Charlotte discovers

Kate's passion for books, a friendship begins to develop. Charlotte and her sister Anne fill

Kate's head with ideas of equality between women and men. "Women feel just as men feel,"

declares Miss Charlotte. Kate confides in Charlotte that she writes and is encouraged to see

her writing as more than just a dream. Kate also begins to spot clues that the Brontë sisters

are writing novels.

Then she meets Seth, an artist, on the moor with equally free ideas about women and men.

Now Kate is faced with a dilemma. Marriage to the dependable Luke or a new independent

life, influenced by Seth and his artist friends.

The novel ends a year after it opens with Kate making the biggest decision of her life.

Miriam Halahmy has written a novel which brings the Brontës alive for a new generation of

readers. Themes of women's rights, the harsh realities of poverty and inequality are

illuminated in uncluttered, beautiful character-driven storytelling and through it all shines

the indomitable spirit of the human soul. In a world of increasing inequality and global

attacks on women's rights, this is a novel for our time.

Genres: Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2024

About the author

I have been writing since childhood and have published twelve novels, one for adults and eleven for young people. I have been twice nominated for the Carnegie Medal. My work has been performed on stage and I was the first recipient of the prestigious PJ Ourway Author Award, in America. My books have been published in America and translated into eight languages.
My YA novel BEHIND CLOSED DOORS was the Winner of the Manchester Metropolitan University 'great student giveaway.' "The clear and popular winner."
My latest book POMEGRANATES FOR PEACE offers a message of Peace and Hope for the Future in a very divided world.
I am a frequent visitor to schools, book festivals, conferences and universities.
And I love making videos about my work.
So do visit my YouTube channel where you can view book readings, tips and lots more about my books.
https://www.youtube.com/user/miriamha...

Reviews

[Mary Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, mesmerising book; as mesmerising as the lives of the Bronte sisters themselves, the reader is given an evocative glimpse of a time, location and society long past, yet still as relevant today. The writing engages the senses; you can see and smell the landscape and the town, hear the voices as they gossip about the lives surrounding them that do not match their own and rale against the poverty, living conditions, illness and injustice of it all, feel the grime and the effort it takes to eek out an existence. Young Kate is a fascinating heroine; tired, but strong; bold, yet mannerly; confused, hard-working, courageous and, throughout, determined to carve out a life of her own making. She is different from other girls her age; not content with her fate of marriage, “respectability,” with a different type of servitude. But how can she turn her back on these things with her mother gone, her father drunk all the time, her sister running wild and being the only wage earner? Enter the Bronte household and the inspiration to step up for herself, in her own way. The entire story hinges on the deep sorrow at the loss of her mother and little brothers and the mark that loss has left on herself, her father and her sister. The Brontes know quite a lot about that kind of loss; the parallels between their life and her own are unmistakeable. But like the Bronte sisters, she can use that; allow it to lift her into a different place. And by the end of the book, we see that is exactly what Kate intends to do.
This is utterly marvelous! An adept and meaningful work of historical fiction; gripping (I couldn’t out it down,) inspirational and thought-provoking. And…a brilliantly engaging look at womens’ rights and inequality. How far we have come, but how much further we have to go!

[Tracy Larner-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! It was obviously well researched and very descriptive; it was so easy to visualise the characters and Haworth.

I flew through this gem of a book, and if you too love the Brontës I suggest you get your hands on a copy.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishingly good book.

I adore the writing of the Brontës, and also love works of fiction that use them as inspiration - and this is absolutely one of the best.

Purchased when visiting the Parsonage in March, and complete with Parsonage stamp inside, this fantastic story is incredibly well researched and brings Haworth in the 19th century easily to life.

I'm beyond delighted that I found this book and it will live proudly on my shelves devoted to all things Brontë.

[LA Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputable downable! This refreshing reminder of the value of vision and self-reliance, the merits of responsibility and loyalty, is a reader’s delight.

‘Pick up your pencil and write. Harness that power.’ Her mother’s words fuel young Kate’s secret passion. But it’s Charlotte Brontë, famed author of Jane Eyre, who sets the 15-year old’s dreams alight.

In addition to serving as inspiration for budding writers, author Miriam Halahmy’s The Brontë Girl is a testament to determination in the face of humbling adversity. Unputable downable, this novel is a refreshing reminder of the true value of vision and self-reliance and the merits of responsibility and loyalty.

Forced to provide for father and sister Lizzie after the unexpected deaths of her mother and other sisters, Kate works as servant to the Brontë family in the village of Haworth, England in the mid-19th century.

Her tenacity in pursuing her writing see her through the back-breaking menial labour and dissuade her from marrying a suitor who decries writing as a frivolity. For Kate writing is as necessary as breathing. She’s a free spirit in a Victorian era where the fairer sex were often condemned to servitude or the poorhouse if their origins were humble, or groomed for marriage if they were a step up on the economic ladder. No such thing as a girl achieving her own goals back then. Yet Kate does.

Halahmy spins a vivid story, adorned with authentic voice and period detail, such as the local practice of drying the washing on cemetery’s gravestones. Clever and innovative, as is the novel’s heroine.

L.A. Robbins, author of Widdershins and Unspooling the Light

[Amelia McD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book, an easy read. Descriptions of Kate's life were very good, I could feel how cold her little house was.