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Always Emily
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Emily and Charlotte Brontë are about as opposite as two sisters can be. Charlotte is practical and cautious; Emily is headstrong and imaginative. But they do have one thing in common: a love of writing. This shared passion will lead them to be two of the first published female novelists and authors of several enduring works of classic literature. But they're not there yet. First, they have to figure out if there is a connection between a string of local burglaries, rumors that a neighbor's death may not have been accidental, and the appearance on the moors of a mysterious and handsome stranger. The girls have a lot of knots to untangle— before someone else gets killed.
Includes bonus material!
- Book Club Discussion Guide
- Sneak peek chapter from The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
Includes bonus material!
- Book Club Discussion Guide
- Sneak peek chapter from The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
Actions du livre
Commencer à lireInformations sur le livre
Always Emily
Description
Emily and Charlotte Brontë are about as opposite as two sisters can be. Charlotte is practical and cautious; Emily is headstrong and imaginative. But they do have one thing in common: a love of writing. This shared passion will lead them to be two of the first published female novelists and authors of several enduring works of classic literature. But they're not there yet. First, they have to figure out if there is a connection between a string of local burglaries, rumors that a neighbor's death may not have been accidental, and the appearance on the moors of a mysterious and handsome stranger. The girls have a lot of knots to untangle— before someone else gets killed.
Includes bonus material!
- Book Club Discussion Guide
- Sneak peek chapter from The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
Includes bonus material!
- Book Club Discussion Guide
- Sneak peek chapter from The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
À propos de l'auteur
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Avis
Not knowing much about the short, intensely interesting lives of the Bronte sisters, I appreciated this book mainly as an intro to what they were all about. This was a short, quick read and read like an older book. So it's not necessarily a reluctant-reader sort of pick, since the vocab is old-fashioned. I liked the gothic atmosphere of it all, and especially enjoyed Emily's wild child personality. Sort of like Little Women, but with murder and mystery. Interested to read this author's recent book which is actually about Louisa May Alcott...
Rating: 3Readers already acquainted with the Brontë sisters and their stories will have multiple mini-thrills (and possibly a few snorts) of recognition reading Always Emily, a highly suspenseful cozy mystery featuring Emily and Charlotte as unlikely but determined heroines who put themselves in perilous situations worthy of characters in their juvenilia writing when they join forces to rescue a woman kidnapped and held against her will. The author has done her research about the Brontës and their lives, and though the characters are of course simplified they are spot-on recognizable. Charlotte is responsible, bossy, near sighted, and small in stature, while Emily is a tall wild child who loves to run loose on the moors doesn’t trust doctors. The third sister, Anne Brontë, is mostly offstage visiting friends with their aunt, but their increasingly dissolute brother Branwell is back from London after his Art Academy studies fell apart and he’s getting himself mixed up in all kinds of trouble. Also on hand is their crusading father Rev. Bronte, their long time housekeeper Tabitha Aykroyd, and even an author conceived, very appealing Rochester/Heathcliff character, if you can imagine that combination. Freemasons, striking mill-workers, inheritance laws, greedy relatives, parish politics, and hints of the novels to come all play a part in the plot and help to make this a fun, fast read. I read a review copy of this book supplied by the publisher through LibraryThing. The opinions are mine.
Rating: 4The trend of using historical figures in fictional novels tends to be, at least for me, very hit or miss. Too often the authors seem to do very little research either of the time in which their story is situated or the real-life people who populate it. Fortunately, author Michaela McColl has clearly done her research in her novel Always Emily in which Charlotte and Emily Bronte solve a mystery.Charlotte, after the deaths of their two older sisters, is now the eldest of the family and she takes her responsibilities seriously. In a family of eccentrics including their minister father, she is the one who sees the need for practical planning and caution in everyday life. But she has a whimsical side that only comes out in the stories she has been working on since childhood. Emily, on the other hand, is wild and imaginative. She loves the freedom of the moors and is only still when she is writing.It is on one of Emily’s rambles that she stumbles upon a mysterious young man and a mystery. Charlotte, home for two weeks from her teaching job, is immersed n her own mystery concerning their beloved but ne’er-do-well brother, Branwell. As the two sisters investigate separately, it becomes clear the two mysteries are linked and they must work together if they are to solve them.Always Emily is a fun fast mystery with a touch of the gothic about it. It is well-written with enough action to keep the reader entertained throughout. Aimed at a YA audience, it should appeal to fans of the sisters of all ages.
Rating: 4I thought this was a fun read. Seventeen and nineteen year old Emily and Charlotte Bronte find mystery and adventure on the moors of their home. The sisters follow the threads that connect their brother Branwell’s suspicious behaviour, their neighbour Mr. Heaton, and the appearance of two people, both whom nobody has seen in several years.
Rating: 4I was very pleases when I won this book from the giveaway, and it did not disappoint me. This is a perfect blend of mystery and historical fiction. I enjoyed seeing two beloved classic authors as young girls. If you want a quick read that will hold your attention for a few hours then this is it.
Rating: 4Overall, I quite enjoyed this Gothic mystery in the vein of the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte, on whom the book uses both as inspiration and as the main characters. Elements are taken from both "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" and incorporated into this historical mystery featuring the sisters and their brother, Branwell. I found it rather slow for a mystery and more in tune with the novels than the real Brontes but nevertheless it was still an entertaining Gothic mystery. Of particular note is the engaging Author's Note at the end of the novel detailing some real historical facts and notes on where she took artistic liscence.
Rating: 4This is the story of Emily and Charlotte Bronte as young sisters, solving a mystery in their hometown. Honestly, it sounded a little dull once I read the back cover copy, but I ended up reading it cover to cover in one evening. The story ended up being charming, engaging, and highly atmospheric (though it's hard not to be when parts of your story are set on the moors).I also appreciated the author's note at the back, mentioning the historic details about the Brontes and their upbringing that framed the story's origins and some of the setting and plot points. Fans of the Bronte sisters, as well as those who enjoy lighter-but-moody YA historicals will find much to love here.
Rating: 4A lackluster bio of the Brontes.
Rating: 3This book was very enjoyable to read! The plot was interesting and the characters were nicely developed! The imagery and details were wonderful, it felt like i was right there in the story. I really enjoyed this book!
Rating: 4Charlotte and Emily Bronte are the heroines in this atmospheric mystery. Charlotte is practical and fears that the sisters will be destitute if anything happens to their father, so she takes a teaching post to provide Emily with an education. However, Emily becomes ill and is sent home where she recovers and renews her wanderings on the moors and discovers a man living in a tent watching one of the local estates. MacColl weaves in events from the 2 authors' novels to create a mystery around a local mill owner whose reputation is one of cruelty including the discrediting of his own sister's sanity to gain here portion of his inheritance. A fast read that will appeal to Bronte fans young and old.
Rating: 4Wonderfully written novel featuring two of my favorite authors as protagonists. Charlotte and Emily Bronte (along with the rest of the family) are the main characters in this fantastic book. We see the growth and development of the characters as they progress through the story. We see the inspiration for JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I was deeply moved by the relationship between the two sisters. As a reader, I chose one sister as a personal favorite. Even if you are not familiar with the Bronte's this is an enjoyable story. If you are familiar, it will encourage you to reread the novels of the two women. 5 stars
Rating: 5This was a delight to read. I've been a fan of Charlotte Bronte's books for years (not so much of Emily's, though), and it was fun to read how MacColl characterizes the two authors in their teenage years. At times the homage to their novels was a bit too obvious, but mostly I enjoyed seeing the parallels between the Brontes' (fictional) experiences and their later writing. That ending. OMG. Perfect for Jane Eyre fans.Otherwise, the story was light and entertaining. This book is technically a mystery, but that seemed almost secondary to MacColl's playing around with the Brontes as lead characters, and the plot wasn't too difficult to figure out. While the book ended on a good concluding note, I hope we'll see more about the Brontes from MacColl - after all, there's a third sister she could introduce into the central storyline.
Rating: 4This is a new entry in the trend of using famous deceased authors as protagonists in mysteries, this time with the Bronte sisters. I am not overly familiar with the Bronte family but I felt the author did a very good job blending fiction and history and did a wonderful job in giving you a feel of place and time and brought Charlotte and Emily to life in a very believable way.I liked that there was a brief biography of the family included at the end of the book, which I read first, it gave me enough information about the family and their lives and helped make the world in the book more believable. The mystery in this story felt quite believable both as a mystery and as the sort of thing women of their standing and in their time could be expected to come across and believably get involved in and was revealed at a very natural feeling pace, with a satisfactory ending.Overall I found this a very engaging and quick read and would like to read more if it were to become a series.
Rating: 5MacColl did her research. Details from this delightful little book were historically accurate - characters, places, relationships. This novel centers around the two older Brönte sisters - Charlotte and Emily. I liked the way she portrayed their relationship. The sisters' different personalities led to several disagreements and added conflict to the storyline - at times, you just wished they would confide in one another to make things easier on themselves! In the end, though, they realized that working together would be for the better good.While the author wrote in a more modern tone (I don't think a caretaker in Brönte's day would have told a wealthy business man to "shut up"), it still held true to the personalities and sense of adventure of the girls. Emily's love of the moors and both sisters' passion for writing were clearly portrayed, and one could easily see these characters going on to write their own novels. There was a lot of mystery involved in their adventure -- a secret society, a mysterious woman, a handsome stranger, a missing mother, an unusual series of burglaries, and even talks of a beast roaming the moors -- all very Brönte-esque, yet written in language that would appeal young adult readers.Would I recommend this to by BFF? Sure!Would I recommend this to my teen daughter? Absolutely. It's definitely well-suited for children to read.4 of 5 stars. It was good, but not wowing.
Rating: 4