Walking The Invisible

See through the eyes of the Brontës as you immerse yourself in their lives and landscapes, wandering the very same paths they each would have walked in search of the inspiration behind their novels and poetry.

An ‘imaginative and elegant trek through the landscape of the Brontës’ Grazia

In his journey to get closer to the Brontës, award-winning author Michael Stewart began walking the historic paths they trod while writing their most famous works. From Liverpool to Scarborough, across wild, windy, and often unforgiving scenery, he discovered echoes of the siblings’ novels. And with the help of an unlikely cast of Yorkshire’s inhabitants, Michael found himself falling further into their lives and writings than he could ever have imagined.

Vivid and evocative, and including a series of beautiful maps of walks Michael devised when creating the iconic Brontë Stones project, Walking the Invisible invites you to experience the lives and landscapes that inspired the Brontës as they’ve never been experienced before. Along the way, you’ll find yourself getting closer to classics such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Agnes Grey, discovering the real locations behind their fictional settings, and uncovering the myths that surround this much acclaimed and wholly unique family.

Reviews

An ‘imaginative and elegant trek through the landscape of the Brontës’ Grazia

‘An essential companion’ Lancashire Post

‘Literary but unpretentious’ My Weekly

‘Stewart’s passion and enthusiasm for the Brontes’ lives and work and the landscape that shaped them is palpable and infectious. If you weren’t struck […] with “Bronte Fever” before, after reading this you may well be’ Yorkshire Post

‘A terrific tribute to the Brontës – and to the landscapes that shaped their literature’ Guardian

‘For those who wish to follow in the footsteps of the Brontës, however the surroundings might have shifted over 200 years, Michael Stewart is an engaging and knowledgeable guide to have leading the way.’ Brontë Studies

‘An authoritative, inspirational and often humorous companion to a great Yorkshire family and the landscape that shaped them – and many others – throughout history’ Yorkshire Life

About the author

Michael Stewart is Head of Creative Writing at the University of Huddersfield, and author of Ill Will, as well as 3 other novels and a selection of poetry. His debut novel, King Crow, won the Not the Booker Prize in 2011.

He is also the creator of the Brontë Stones project, four monumental stones situated in the landscape between the birthplace and the parsonage, inscribed with poems by Kate Bush, Carol Ann Duffy, Jeannette Winterson and Jackie Kay.