What do you think?
Rate this book
Walking The Invisible. Following in the Brontës' footsteps
Michael Stewart has been captivated by the Brontes since he was a child, and has travelled all over the north of England in search of their lives and landscapes. Now, he'd like to invite you into the world as they would have seen it.
Following in the footsteps of the Brontes across meadow and moor, through village and town, award-winning writer Michael Stewart takes a series of inspirational walks through the lives and landscapes of the Bronte family, investigating the geographical and social features that shaped their work.
This is a literary study of both the social and natural history that has inspired writers and walkers, and the writings of a family that have touched readers for generations. Finally we get to understand the 'wild, windy moors' that Kate Bush sang about in 'Wuthering Heights', see the imposing halls that may have inspired Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre, and learn about Bramwell's affair with a real life Mrs Robinson while treading the same landscapes. As well as describing in vivid detail the natural beauty of the moors and their surroundings, Walking the Invisible also encompasses the history of the north and the changing lives of those that have lived there.
Following in the footsteps of the Brontes across meadow and moor, through village and town, award-winning writer Michael Stewart takes a series of inspirational walks through the lives and landscapes of the Bronte family, investigating the geographical and social features that shaped their work.
This is a literary study of both the social and natural history that has inspired writers and walkers, and the writings of a family that have touched readers for generations. Finally we get to understand the 'wild, windy moors' that Kate Bush sang about in 'Wuthering Heights', see the imposing halls that may have inspired Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre, and learn about Bramwell's affair with a real life Mrs Robinson while treading the same landscapes. As well as describing in vivid detail the natural beauty of the moors and their surroundings, Walking the Invisible also encompasses the history of the north and the changing lives of those that have lived there.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2021
17 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 13, 2024
I got this from the library yesterday and devoured the words all day and night.
This is a great book from Stewart, a look into the landscape that inspired and moulded the Brontes. I like that he looks at the family as a whole, including the father and brother of the more famous literary sisters.
Stewart immerses right into the surroundings of the Yorkshire Moors, drawing us into the world of crags, boulders, heather, bogs, howling winds, driving rains and occasional stifling sun! I love the Bronte stones that he commissioned, each carved with modern poetry to memorialize the writers.
Having been on walking holidays around Hathersage in the past, I could relate to a lot of the places that Stewart mentions, making it all the more interesting to read.
Ironically I'm not a Bronte fan, in fact I ashamedly admit that I don't think I've read any of their books. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this book at all though, as you get to know the people behind the writing and what influenced them, as opposed to concentrating on the stories they wrote.
Fascinating and engaging writing.
Great maps of the 5 Bronte walks at the end of the book too.
This is a great book from Stewart, a look into the landscape that inspired and moulded the Brontes. I like that he looks at the family as a whole, including the father and brother of the more famous literary sisters.
Stewart immerses right into the surroundings of the Yorkshire Moors, drawing us into the world of crags, boulders, heather, bogs, howling winds, driving rains and occasional stifling sun! I love the Bronte stones that he commissioned, each carved with modern poetry to memorialize the writers.
Having been on walking holidays around Hathersage in the past, I could relate to a lot of the places that Stewart mentions, making it all the more interesting to read.
Ironically I'm not a Bronte fan, in fact I ashamedly admit that I don't think I've read any of their books. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this book at all though, as you get to know the people behind the writing and what influenced them, as opposed to concentrating on the stories they wrote.
Fascinating and engaging writing.
Great maps of the 5 Bronte walks at the end of the book too.
August 23, 2021
This is part-nature writing, part-memoir, part-biography, part-walking guidebook! I loved how Michael Stewart blended information about the Bronte's with conversations with walkers and descriptions of the landscape as well. The areas he described I know very well, and it was so nice to be able to visualise them. I'm definitely going to be doing some of the walks when I can get out and about!
April 9, 2021
An inspirational journey in thought and time
What I like very much about this book, and liked from the start, was simply the feel of it. It's a book about going on walks, and about the Brontes - Patrick, Branwell, Emily, Anne and Charlotte - and you know from the outset that you couldn’t find a more companionable guide or walking mate than Michael Stewart. It is a serious book, of course, but it contains lots of mirth. There is also Wolfie, the patient dog who accompanies every walk, shares the tent when necessary, and who must be the most Bronte savvy dog in the entire universe.
Michael Stewart begins by telling us of his own background, educated at a run-down comp in Salford, giving little to its students and expecting little from them, and from there to a job in a factory. The journey from this unpromising start to the inspirational figure who created the Bronte Stones project, who wrote ‘Ill-Will’, an imaginative recreation of the years when Heathcliff absented himself from Wuthering Heights, is, in part, the journey which ‘Walking the Invisible’ takes.
It is about places which had connections with the members of the Bronte family at various times in their lives, taking in Haworth, of course, Thornton, Hartshead, Scarborough, Liverpool, Hathersage, Luddenden Foot and others. Exploring the places, the landscapes, the buildings, the paths, talking to people as he walks – to locals and to other experts – Michael Stewart finds his way, as closely as it is possible to do – into the way the thoughts and feelings of the individual members of the Bronte family were influenced by these places, and uncovers some fascinating and partly unanswered questions about both the writings and the writers.
The book is accompanied by sketches, notes and maps, so that in a way it is reminiscent of Wainwright, and could well act as a practical guide for readers who wish to follow in Michael Stewart`s [and the Brontes’] footsteps. If I say that I am planning to read my way through the Bronte works again, to follow up on various books cited in the bibliography, and to embark myself on a number of long walks (which I may, however, have to break down into manageable chunks) you will be able to judge what an impact this book has had on me.
What I like very much about this book, and liked from the start, was simply the feel of it. It's a book about going on walks, and about the Brontes - Patrick, Branwell, Emily, Anne and Charlotte - and you know from the outset that you couldn’t find a more companionable guide or walking mate than Michael Stewart. It is a serious book, of course, but it contains lots of mirth. There is also Wolfie, the patient dog who accompanies every walk, shares the tent when necessary, and who must be the most Bronte savvy dog in the entire universe.
Michael Stewart begins by telling us of his own background, educated at a run-down comp in Salford, giving little to its students and expecting little from them, and from there to a job in a factory. The journey from this unpromising start to the inspirational figure who created the Bronte Stones project, who wrote ‘Ill-Will’, an imaginative recreation of the years when Heathcliff absented himself from Wuthering Heights, is, in part, the journey which ‘Walking the Invisible’ takes.
It is about places which had connections with the members of the Bronte family at various times in their lives, taking in Haworth, of course, Thornton, Hartshead, Scarborough, Liverpool, Hathersage, Luddenden Foot and others. Exploring the places, the landscapes, the buildings, the paths, talking to people as he walks – to locals and to other experts – Michael Stewart finds his way, as closely as it is possible to do – into the way the thoughts and feelings of the individual members of the Bronte family were influenced by these places, and uncovers some fascinating and partly unanswered questions about both the writings and the writers.
The book is accompanied by sketches, notes and maps, so that in a way it is reminiscent of Wainwright, and could well act as a practical guide for readers who wish to follow in Michael Stewart`s [and the Brontes’] footsteps. If I say that I am planning to read my way through the Bronte works again, to follow up on various books cited in the bibliography, and to embark myself on a number of long walks (which I may, however, have to break down into manageable chunks) you will be able to judge what an impact this book has had on me.
Read
October 12, 2023I loved the concept of this book, combining Bronte history with the experience of walking their countryside as it appears today... sometimes wildly different from Victorian times, sometimes practically unchanged. However, I could have done without the profanity. It wasn't constant, but when it appeared it was completely jarring.
July 21, 2021
What can I say. Michael Stewart knows how to describe scenery, and for that part I really loved this book, but at times, it also was boring and I noticed I stopped caring. I can't really say more than that it was okay and that it's okay to be just that. Maybe if you really are into the Brontes, it's more your cup of tea, but for me it was slightly too much and I just zoned out to enjoy the 'scenery' as if I was walking through the landscapes that were described.
2.5 starts, making it 3 for effort.
2.5 starts, making it 3 for effort.
February 14, 2022
An online friend was reading this, and, as I'm (slowly) working my way through the sisters' works, and having visited a few places connected to the Brontë family (Thornton, Haworth and, latterly, Scarborough to visit Anne's grave), and also because I like travel writing, this sounded right up my street. I wasn't wrong - I very much enjoyed it. The author, Michael Stewart, accompanied by his dog, Wolfie, walked routes that would have been known to siblings Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne and explored not only the scenery, but the buildings and events that influenced their writing. Stewart was responsible for the Brontë Stones Project (you can easily find details using a search engine) and his love for the family shines through in this interesting travelogue. The walks are mapped at the end and range from 4 to 14.5 miles - I'd like to do some of them and visit the stones.
August 7, 2021
Loved this so much I read it in one sitting. Beautifully written, very insightful about the Brontës themselves (as well as the changing landscape) and always engaging. Looking forward to completing the detailed walks with this as a guidebook in hand.
June 23, 2021
Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Audio review: Great choice of narrator however the audio in this ARC is far too quiet! It was almost impossible to listen while driving, even with the volume on both my phone and the car radio maxed out. It wasn't much better with headphones. I'm assuming that the audio will be cleaned up before release but it ruined an other wise great audio book.
The book itself; I haven't got around to reading 'Ill Will', Stewart's fictional account of Heathcliff's life, but I'll bump it up the tbr based on this book. Walking the Invisible is a book about walking (strangely enough), literature and how authors are shaped by the landscapes they grow up in. Stewart - a long time Bronte devotee - was involved with the Bronte stones project - the creation of a series of trails, marked by stones for each of the Bronte family and bearing commemorative poems by acclaimed modern poets. This book follows these walks, reflecting on both the landscape and the inspiration for the famous 19th C novels and poems. Although that's too simplistic a description. What Stewart excels at doing throughout the book is creating an intense personal connection with each of the siblings and with Patrick Bronte himself. He delves into the texts of the novels and poems, working through the connections he can see between the literature and the land. To give this true tensile, intellectual strength, he considers the historical time period and the mores and morals of that time. Finally, he is very open about his own relationship with this gifted family - now 140 yrs or so dead.
As an enthusiastic reader of all things Bronte and an amateur Bronte scholar myself, I found myself agreeing with many of his conclusions and agreeably disagreeing with others. His suggestion that Earnshaw may have been headed to Liverpool to purchase a slave and that those might have been Heathcliff's origins, for example, just does not work for me in the light of the text. (For one thing if Earnshaw could afford a slave, why wasn't he riding to Liverpool on a horse instead of walking? Why would he favour a slave over his own children or give the child his dead son's name? And references to Heathcliff being dark skinned or 'black' were far more likely to have been in reference to Romany heritage and bad disposition. The mention of gibberish could easily have been a reference to Romany, Irish or even Welsh. Heathcliff's later rise to fortune is increasingly unlikely if he couldn't at least pass for white, given the time period. Stewart also ignores the fact that Wuthering Heights arose out of Emily Bronte's Gondol stories (Gondol was the name of the imaginary world she and Anne wrote about together) and may well have been set there and not in Yorkshire at all! So while Earnshaw may have been in Liverpool on insalubrious business, that one just doesn't hold water.
Stewart is also too inclined to give Branwell the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Lydia Robinson, the married woman he allegedly had an affair with. Let's be clear here, there is no conclusive evidence that the affair ever took place. Branwell was a highly strung individual, already leaning on opiates (probably to treat an undiagnosed form of epilepsy and chronic migraines). He was also a fantasist, a trait he shared with Charlotte. Interesting to note here that Charlotte and Branwell were close playmates as children, and devised the kingdom of Angria, in the same way that Emily and Anne were close confidantes. It's interesting to me that Charlotte and Branwell were both over come with unrequited passion for married individuals. Whereas Emily and Anne both share a sense of proportion their older siblings lacked when it came to matters of the heart. Basically, Branwell always had difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction. We only have his word that the affair eve happened. Lydia Robinson and her husband and everyone connected with them denied it. Anne said her brother's behaviour had been inappropriate but there is no surviving account as to what that entailed, nor does she seem to have held a grudge against Mrs Robinson. The letter to Lydia Robinson's solicitor which is so often held up as evidence, could as easily mean that she had been in the unfortunate position of having to report Branwell's increasingly inappropriate attentions to her and was thoroughly embarrassed by the entire situation, as you would expect for a well off, married woman in her 40s in Victorian England. Branwell might have been in love with Lydia but there is no evidence that she so much as flirted with him. To me the situation reads that it was entirely one sided with Branwell - most likely a TLE sufferer - unable to parse fantasy from reality. Love did not cause his decline, obsession and the desire to be in love worked upon an already frail constitution, mental ill health and eventual addiction. I have a lot of sympathy for Branwell - especially if he was a TLE sufferer, since I am likewise - but his choices were bad, he was consistently immature and egocentric. He may well have had far more aptitude than any of his sisters, he was certainly given far more in the way of opportunities. Ultimately he 'made a bad use of both advantages'. People want to believe the illicit love story and affair because it's the soap opera option. It was 'all in Branwell's head' just isn't as interesting even if it is true.
However, despite these disagreements, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt Stewart got very close to Emily and Anne's characters (could've spent a bit more time on Anne tbh - really interesting person). I liked his take on Mr Rochester as a character, on Jane and Rochester's love being something that transcended societal bounds and set them as equals. It's fashionable to paint Rochester as an abusive partner or a creepy old man and honestly he was neither; sometimes your perfect match doesn't come conveniently packaged in the correct social strata, age bracket or form. That was the point. I did enjoy his consideration of whether or not Charlotte wasn't as radical as her sisters but in a different way. I hadn't considered it in quite this manner before and I found I agree.
I could go on but I'll leave it there, having really enjoyed this intelligently written and introspective book, that was part historical travelogue, part autobiography, part nature meditation. Excellent.
Audio review: Great choice of narrator however the audio in this ARC is far too quiet! It was almost impossible to listen while driving, even with the volume on both my phone and the car radio maxed out. It wasn't much better with headphones. I'm assuming that the audio will be cleaned up before release but it ruined an other wise great audio book.
The book itself; I haven't got around to reading 'Ill Will', Stewart's fictional account of Heathcliff's life, but I'll bump it up the tbr based on this book. Walking the Invisible is a book about walking (strangely enough), literature and how authors are shaped by the landscapes they grow up in. Stewart - a long time Bronte devotee - was involved with the Bronte stones project - the creation of a series of trails, marked by stones for each of the Bronte family and bearing commemorative poems by acclaimed modern poets. This book follows these walks, reflecting on both the landscape and the inspiration for the famous 19th C novels and poems. Although that's too simplistic a description. What Stewart excels at doing throughout the book is creating an intense personal connection with each of the siblings and with Patrick Bronte himself. He delves into the texts of the novels and poems, working through the connections he can see between the literature and the land. To give this true tensile, intellectual strength, he considers the historical time period and the mores and morals of that time. Finally, he is very open about his own relationship with this gifted family - now 140 yrs or so dead.
As an enthusiastic reader of all things Bronte and an amateur Bronte scholar myself, I found myself agreeing with many of his conclusions and agreeably disagreeing with others. His suggestion that Earnshaw may have been headed to Liverpool to purchase a slave and that those might have been Heathcliff's origins, for example, just does not work for me in the light of the text. (For one thing if Earnshaw could afford a slave, why wasn't he riding to Liverpool on a horse instead of walking? Why would he favour a slave over his own children or give the child his dead son's name? And references to Heathcliff being dark skinned or 'black' were far more likely to have been in reference to Romany heritage and bad disposition. The mention of gibberish could easily have been a reference to Romany, Irish or even Welsh. Heathcliff's later rise to fortune is increasingly unlikely if he couldn't at least pass for white, given the time period. Stewart also ignores the fact that Wuthering Heights arose out of Emily Bronte's Gondol stories (Gondol was the name of the imaginary world she and Anne wrote about together) and may well have been set there and not in Yorkshire at all! So while Earnshaw may have been in Liverpool on insalubrious business, that one just doesn't hold water.
Stewart is also too inclined to give Branwell the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Lydia Robinson, the married woman he allegedly had an affair with. Let's be clear here, there is no conclusive evidence that the affair ever took place. Branwell was a highly strung individual, already leaning on opiates (probably to treat an undiagnosed form of epilepsy and chronic migraines). He was also a fantasist, a trait he shared with Charlotte. Interesting to note here that Charlotte and Branwell were close playmates as children, and devised the kingdom of Angria, in the same way that Emily and Anne were close confidantes. It's interesting to me that Charlotte and Branwell were both over come with unrequited passion for married individuals. Whereas Emily and Anne both share a sense of proportion their older siblings lacked when it came to matters of the heart. Basically, Branwell always had difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction. We only have his word that the affair eve happened. Lydia Robinson and her husband and everyone connected with them denied it. Anne said her brother's behaviour had been inappropriate but there is no surviving account as to what that entailed, nor does she seem to have held a grudge against Mrs Robinson. The letter to Lydia Robinson's solicitor which is so often held up as evidence, could as easily mean that she had been in the unfortunate position of having to report Branwell's increasingly inappropriate attentions to her and was thoroughly embarrassed by the entire situation, as you would expect for a well off, married woman in her 40s in Victorian England. Branwell might have been in love with Lydia but there is no evidence that she so much as flirted with him. To me the situation reads that it was entirely one sided with Branwell - most likely a TLE sufferer - unable to parse fantasy from reality. Love did not cause his decline, obsession and the desire to be in love worked upon an already frail constitution, mental ill health and eventual addiction. I have a lot of sympathy for Branwell - especially if he was a TLE sufferer, since I am likewise - but his choices were bad, he was consistently immature and egocentric. He may well have had far more aptitude than any of his sisters, he was certainly given far more in the way of opportunities. Ultimately he 'made a bad use of both advantages'. People want to believe the illicit love story and affair because it's the soap opera option. It was 'all in Branwell's head' just isn't as interesting even if it is true.
However, despite these disagreements, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt Stewart got very close to Emily and Anne's characters (could've spent a bit more time on Anne tbh - really interesting person). I liked his take on Mr Rochester as a character, on Jane and Rochester's love being something that transcended societal bounds and set them as equals. It's fashionable to paint Rochester as an abusive partner or a creepy old man and honestly he was neither; sometimes your perfect match doesn't come conveniently packaged in the correct social strata, age bracket or form. That was the point. I did enjoy his consideration of whether or not Charlotte wasn't as radical as her sisters but in a different way. I hadn't considered it in quite this manner before and I found I agree.
I could go on but I'll leave it there, having really enjoyed this intelligently written and introspective book, that was part historical travelogue, part autobiography, part nature meditation. Excellent.
October 23, 2021
This is a brilliant book which is both a discussion of the lives and legacies of the Bronte family and an exploration of the urban and natural settings that inspired them.
The book is thoughtful and humorous and perfectly evokes the character and landscapes of the places described. The Brontes are discussed not in a detached, academic way, but through a number of walks covering large parts of the north of England in which their lives and works were rooted. For those who have read Michael Stewart's novel Ill Will, which re-imagines the story of Heathcliff, this book is its perfect non-fiction counterpart.
The journeys taken cover the Haworth moorland and the streets of Bradford, inner-city Manchester, the Peak District and Scarborough. The author also retraces the walks he took along the Lancashire canals whilst writing Ill Will. The chapters span those places that held the deepest personal significance to the Brontes themselves, as well as those that held wider political and historical importance to the times in which they were writing. There is again something about connecting these history lessons with the act of walking which makes them seem even more significant. Discussions of the Liverpool slave trade, the Yorkshire Luddites, and the private co-opting of England's wild lands all seem far more relevant when discussed in relation to the land as it exists today. Like the best nature writing and walking guides, Walking the Invisible presents walking as a radical and creative process and one necessary for anyone wanting to understand the political and cultural history of England.
The book includes maps and instructions for a number of walks inspired by the Bronte siblings (complete with some excellent local pub recommendations!). The walks cover some of the most beautiful scenery in West Yorkshire and step off the beaten-track of the traditional Bronte tourist trails.
This book is aimed at those familiar with the Brontes' work but it is accessible and engaging enough for those new to it. The insights into their lives and work spring from walking, the natural beauty of the north of England, and the quirky, humorous, and touching conversations the author strikes up along the way. The book offers the kind of insights and connections that would be much harder to reach in a lecture hall than out among the landscapes the Brontes wrote of. It is a reminder that the Brontes' work was rooted in the splendour and intensity of nature, and in the conflicts, passions, and complexity of ordinary people. Highly recommended. Read it and get walking!
The book is thoughtful and humorous and perfectly evokes the character and landscapes of the places described. The Brontes are discussed not in a detached, academic way, but through a number of walks covering large parts of the north of England in which their lives and works were rooted. For those who have read Michael Stewart's novel Ill Will, which re-imagines the story of Heathcliff, this book is its perfect non-fiction counterpart.
The journeys taken cover the Haworth moorland and the streets of Bradford, inner-city Manchester, the Peak District and Scarborough. The author also retraces the walks he took along the Lancashire canals whilst writing Ill Will. The chapters span those places that held the deepest personal significance to the Brontes themselves, as well as those that held wider political and historical importance to the times in which they were writing. There is again something about connecting these history lessons with the act of walking which makes them seem even more significant. Discussions of the Liverpool slave trade, the Yorkshire Luddites, and the private co-opting of England's wild lands all seem far more relevant when discussed in relation to the land as it exists today. Like the best nature writing and walking guides, Walking the Invisible presents walking as a radical and creative process and one necessary for anyone wanting to understand the political and cultural history of England.
The book includes maps and instructions for a number of walks inspired by the Bronte siblings (complete with some excellent local pub recommendations!). The walks cover some of the most beautiful scenery in West Yorkshire and step off the beaten-track of the traditional Bronte tourist trails.
This book is aimed at those familiar with the Brontes' work but it is accessible and engaging enough for those new to it. The insights into their lives and work spring from walking, the natural beauty of the north of England, and the quirky, humorous, and touching conversations the author strikes up along the way. The book offers the kind of insights and connections that would be much harder to reach in a lecture hall than out among the landscapes the Brontes wrote of. It is a reminder that the Brontes' work was rooted in the splendour and intensity of nature, and in the conflicts, passions, and complexity of ordinary people. Highly recommended. Read it and get walking!
May 7, 2025
Really enjoyed this, being able to head out on long walks through Bronte country and beyond on long distances I'm not able to do at the moment. It's a wonderful mix of literary appreciation, literary history, memoir and slow-time travel (ie by foot), and mostly in Yorkshire!!! (ok, he has to head off into Lancashire and Cumbria a bit). What's not to love?
I borrowed this from the library and to be honest I think I'm going to have to get hold of a copy. At the end of the book there's also a worthy chunk of walking instructions to do some of the walks - although he doesn't include Mr EArnshaw's 3 day walk from Haworth to Liverpool (to be fair, I think 30 miles a day is a bit too far for me!). Stewart was the mastermind behind a new four stones walking route, or rather four walking routes, each with its own large rock with a poem engraved - each written by someone rather fabulous including Kate Bush. I do feel that I need to go and explore more of that corner of Yorkshire. I've only done the Haworth to Top Withins, which feels like it's only scratching the surface. And really, as the environment we grow up in does have it's effect on our personalities, our interests and our imagination, it's a must if you want to get to grips with the Brontes.
Occasionally the navel gazing and mutual congratulatory academics conversations are a little bit meh... I just sometimes wonder if we push too much of our current trends and thought processes onto people and stories of the past and its just happy coincidence that it works rather than any intention of the author. I'm also not convinced by Stewart's theory that Heathcliff was an African slave - I still hang around that revenge of the black Irish theory - but I will perhaps have to find Stewart's book on that at some book. And lord, does he talk about Juliet Barker's book, so I guess that must be worth reading!!
Feels like a must for folk who enjoy walking or enjoy the novels of the Brontes. Even better if you fall into both camps.
I borrowed this from the library and to be honest I think I'm going to have to get hold of a copy. At the end of the book there's also a worthy chunk of walking instructions to do some of the walks - although he doesn't include Mr EArnshaw's 3 day walk from Haworth to Liverpool (to be fair, I think 30 miles a day is a bit too far for me!). Stewart was the mastermind behind a new four stones walking route, or rather four walking routes, each with its own large rock with a poem engraved - each written by someone rather fabulous including Kate Bush. I do feel that I need to go and explore more of that corner of Yorkshire. I've only done the Haworth to Top Withins, which feels like it's only scratching the surface. And really, as the environment we grow up in does have it's effect on our personalities, our interests and our imagination, it's a must if you want to get to grips with the Brontes.
Occasionally the navel gazing and mutual congratulatory academics conversations are a little bit meh... I just sometimes wonder if we push too much of our current trends and thought processes onto people and stories of the past and its just happy coincidence that it works rather than any intention of the author. I'm also not convinced by Stewart's theory that Heathcliff was an African slave - I still hang around that revenge of the black Irish theory - but I will perhaps have to find Stewart's book on that at some book. And lord, does he talk about Juliet Barker's book, so I guess that must be worth reading!!
Feels like a must for folk who enjoy walking or enjoy the novels of the Brontes. Even better if you fall into both camps.
June 28, 2021
I became totally immersed in this wonderful book for several days. I enjoyed the richly descriptive and humorous writing style, which draws you into the book. It was a delight accompanying the author on his walks through some beautiful, wild and rugged countryside and all the places that had connections with the Brontë family. The descriptions of the countryside are vivid with attention to the minutest of detail. The author entertains us with snippets of information, amusing stories and the characters he meets along the way. I was fascinated with the lives of the Brontës and learning about the areas of their lives I knew nothing about.
Walking the Invisible is a must read for every book/literary enthusiast with a love of the great outdoors. It may help if you are familiar with the Brontës’ work but it can still be appreciated without this knowledge. The content is fascinating along with some very thought-provoking theories. It is accompanied by some interesting notes, poems, sketches and walking routes. The author clearly shows his depth of knowledge and has researched the subject in considerable depth. It may even tempt you to revisit the work of the Brontës and perhaps look upon it in a slightly different light. A fabulous book and I learnt so much.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this book for review.
TWISTED IN PAGES BLOG
Walking the Invisible is a must read for every book/literary enthusiast with a love of the great outdoors. It may help if you are familiar with the Brontës’ work but it can still be appreciated without this knowledge. The content is fascinating along with some very thought-provoking theories. It is accompanied by some interesting notes, poems, sketches and walking routes. The author clearly shows his depth of knowledge and has researched the subject in considerable depth. It may even tempt you to revisit the work of the Brontës and perhaps look upon it in a slightly different light. A fabulous book and I learnt so much.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this book for review.
TWISTED IN PAGES BLOG
December 19, 2022
I loved the parts about the Brontes, it's fascinating just how much their surroundings and lives inspired their writing. I would absolutely love to visit Haworth and go on the four walks dedicated to the sisters, Emily's walk especially. Michael Stewart also highlights how things have changed since the Brontes were alive and it's always heartbreaking to notice the amount of nature, landscapes, and historical buildings that continue to disappear due to people's actions. It was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in the Brontes, but I must say some of Stewart's personal anecdotes felt unnecessary and the memoir part didn't hold my attention as well as his commentary on history, nature, and literature.
September 26, 2023
This was generally a bit of a slog and I nearly gave up several times. I haven’t read Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre so I imagine I would get a lot more from it had I read these books and knew the characters or authors. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the area though - living in Yorkshire I have been to most of the places in the book and loved hearing the stories of the land and industry and the social history. I didn’t particularly like the author’s style though and a few things got my back up. I’m sure others will get more from it than I did but not one of my favourite reads this year.
August 25, 2025
Poetically written & a joy to read this brisk journey through the different landscapes that inspired the Brontes’ . It’s both informative and conversational, yet almost an academic lecture, discussing various factors that influenced the Brontes writing. The book will certainly leave you wanting to know more, and Michael Stewart is the man that would share that for you as a Brontë expert. Look out for his talks, discussions and master classes held in Howarth! My favourite was Chapter 10 😊 The last few pages of the book outline the walks with accompanying maps too, should you wish to follow them!
June 19, 2025
Decided to read this having just moved to Todmorden, in the valley it is partly set. I'm aware of the Brontë's connection to the area, but wanted to learn more.
Well, learn more I did. This book is absolutely stunning. I listened to the audio version read by the writer, Michael Stewart, and his soft, northern lilt perfectly set the scene. Every word was intentional, regularly poetic, and immediately transported me to every moor, clough, and stately home that is mentioned.
As a reader, you are taken along his (physical, spiritual, philosophical, academic) journey, guided by beautiful visual descriptions of the landscape, quotes from poets, academics, and the Brontë family themselves, and a confident knowledge of their history that can only be developed after years of thorough research. What an insight Stewart has!
Basically, whether you're already a Brontë fan or are a novice wanting to learn more, this book is a must-read.
Well, learn more I did. This book is absolutely stunning. I listened to the audio version read by the writer, Michael Stewart, and his soft, northern lilt perfectly set the scene. Every word was intentional, regularly poetic, and immediately transported me to every moor, clough, and stately home that is mentioned.
As a reader, you are taken along his (physical, spiritual, philosophical, academic) journey, guided by beautiful visual descriptions of the landscape, quotes from poets, academics, and the Brontë family themselves, and a confident knowledge of their history that can only be developed after years of thorough research. What an insight Stewart has!
Basically, whether you're already a Brontë fan or are a novice wanting to learn more, this book is a must-read.
August 7, 2022
I am really not a fan of the Bronte family's literary output, so I was daring myself to read this book. I enjoyed it for the most part, though it's a bit of a rambling hodge-podge of different things: travelogue, history, personal memoir. They all have their charms, but I suppose I was hoping for something a big more focused. It does succeed in giving me a few interesting impressions about certain places I've read about, and may yet visit in the future.
August 31, 2022
This was an enjoyable read. I learnt more about the Brontës and the areas they lived, worked and traveled about in. How nice it would be if I could walk in their footsteps.
February 9, 2023
Loved this book especially as we live so close to a lot of the Brontë country. He talked about very familiar places
August 22, 2023
Really enjoyed this one. And it's a must-have for those travelling to Bronte country. Contains maps of walking tours - very informative.
March 29, 2022
For me this book is a “keeper “ it has whetted my appetite for a week of walking in the area and it has also made me want to read or re-read the works of the Brontes . I cannot wait to tread in their footsteps. Atmospheric and informative.
May 22, 2024
3-4 stars
March 28, 2021
This was packed with so much more content than I was expecting and its simply wonderful.
I expected a- here is a map, visit these places, this is a bit about them. It does this, but so much more.
Michael really knows his Bronte's, and better still he covers them all in this book. Bronte fans will get a chance to revisit passages of the some of the work, learn so much more about them as people and challenge perceptions too (the Jane Eyre queer theory section to mention but 1).
I think what I loved about this the most though was that you get Michael's stories whilst he's reliving these trails along the way. There are some truly thrilling stories and characters he meets along the way which adds to the richness of this book.
If you are a Bronte fan, be prepared to look at your favourites with a new lens, and expect a desperate need to re-read, if you are new to any Bronte work, then this will make you pick up your first one for sure.
Just off to download Wuthering Heights........ Thanks to Michael for sending me a proof.
I expected a- here is a map, visit these places, this is a bit about them. It does this, but so much more.
Michael really knows his Bronte's, and better still he covers them all in this book. Bronte fans will get a chance to revisit passages of the some of the work, learn so much more about them as people and challenge perceptions too (the Jane Eyre queer theory section to mention but 1).
I think what I loved about this the most though was that you get Michael's stories whilst he's reliving these trails along the way. There are some truly thrilling stories and characters he meets along the way which adds to the richness of this book.
If you are a Bronte fan, be prepared to look at your favourites with a new lens, and expect a desperate need to re-read, if you are new to any Bronte work, then this will make you pick up your first one for sure.
Just off to download Wuthering Heights........ Thanks to Michael for sending me a proof.
February 26, 2024
Have read and reread this loaned book and it's time to reluctantly return it. Sorry for the delay Stephen McNamara. Time to get my own copy. And do the walks. Loved it.
July 31, 2021
Honestly so disappointing, all on board with the premise. But the Prose is tortuous, choppy sentences, painfully worked similes.
But moving past the language, Lots of discussion about Bramwell and the characters from the sisters books, but the sisters themselves are largely absent. Indeed, He seems only interested in the male characters of the books.
Bramwell, a man who achieved in his life next to nothing, has two statues in his memory, in a landscape where a woman can change the world and be unknown. This sort of book adds to that sense of injustice.
Honestly dreadful. Don’t .
But moving past the language, Lots of discussion about Bramwell and the characters from the sisters books, but the sisters themselves are largely absent. Indeed, He seems only interested in the male characters of the books.
Bramwell, a man who achieved in his life next to nothing, has two statues in his memory, in a landscape where a woman can change the world and be unknown. This sort of book adds to that sense of injustice.
Honestly dreadful. Don’t .
August 25, 2021
The Yorkshire landscape has always been uniquely intertwined with the Brontë family and this guidebook is an ideal introduction to the local landscape that inspired their writing. As a disabled person, I won't be able to enjoy the walks detailed but I enjoyed vicariously walking them and learning their social history and influence.
August 13, 2023
An excellent and engaging read adding much more to my knowledge of the Brontës. Part walking guide, Brontë biography and history of their area, these combine to make a really interesting book. I want to go to Haworth to walk the moors even more now.
June 28, 2022
I’ve come to the conclusion that people who are really into the Brontes are all a bit bonkers. This book definitely doesn’t contradict this.
(To be clear, I’m probably in this camp, at least a bit. I have a very vivid memory of standing in the Parsonage with my friend, very seriously flicking through our Juliet Barker as we tried to pinpoint which room each Bronte had died in. There are conflicting reports of Emily being either on the sofa or in her bed which is VERY vexing. I’m not sure this is an entirely not-bonkers thing to be so invested in and to repeatedly ask the guides about. So, you know. Glass houses.)
Stewart seems primarily to channel this into being especially bonkers about Branwell. He walks through Broughton (a small-ish village in Lancashire) where Branwell lived and worked for all of six months as a tutor, and is shocked there is no plaque to mark his stay. He says: “The town seems rather blase about its Bronte connection, or even indifferent.” He then goes into the local pub and seems to be further shocked that no one has heard of Branwell there either.
I mean. That’s the kind of Bronte Bonkers I’m talking about.
He also travels to Hathersage (village in the Peak District) where Charlotte stayed for 3 (three) weeks in 1845 and likely took some inspiration for Jane Eyre. He is again shocked there is no plaque. I commend his dedication to the humble plaque but can’t help but find this extremely funny. If we took this approach to plaques more generally, the country would be overwhelmed. You couldn’t move for plaques, surely.
Although the sisters are talked about, it’s very much Branwell that Stewart focuses on. I think he’s probably right that Branwell gets overlooked a bit unduly, but it’s a tad frustrating. For example, he refuses to speculate on Emily’s possible relationships due to lack of evidence etc (a poem he doesn’t feel is sufficient to speculate with) but then speculates wildly on Branwell’s, including imagining him sitting in church blushing and squirming because of talk of adultery which is based on more or less nothing. He spends a lot of time talking about how Branwell is unfairly portrayed as unstable and then on the next page is the speculation that he didn’t actually have a very firm grip on reality. So… is it just the wording he dislikes? He prefers euphemism? (This cognitive dissonance would be solved if poor mental health was considered just a fact rather than a negative character trait… just saying.)
This is a weird read with a lot of odd interludes, and I was quite taken aback by how autobiographical it is when that seems so… irrelevant. (With all due respect to Michael Stewart.) It kind of works, though, apart from a few particularly jarring instances: I’m thinking mostly of when Stewart travels in search of the “slave graveyard” that is said to exist and in musing on the hardships of slavery then starts to muse on his (white) ancestors and how they must have suffered as indentured servants, which feels a bit uncomfortable as a segue from the literal transatlantic slave trade, especially as a way of slotting yourself into that story. (I understand the impulse, but sometimes, things are just separate stories.)
The walks do look very interesting and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
(To be clear, I’m probably in this camp, at least a bit. I have a very vivid memory of standing in the Parsonage with my friend, very seriously flicking through our Juliet Barker as we tried to pinpoint which room each Bronte had died in. There are conflicting reports of Emily being either on the sofa or in her bed which is VERY vexing. I’m not sure this is an entirely not-bonkers thing to be so invested in and to repeatedly ask the guides about. So, you know. Glass houses.)
Stewart seems primarily to channel this into being especially bonkers about Branwell. He walks through Broughton (a small-ish village in Lancashire) where Branwell lived and worked for all of six months as a tutor, and is shocked there is no plaque to mark his stay. He says: “The town seems rather blase about its Bronte connection, or even indifferent.” He then goes into the local pub and seems to be further shocked that no one has heard of Branwell there either.
I mean. That’s the kind of Bronte Bonkers I’m talking about.
He also travels to Hathersage (village in the Peak District) where Charlotte stayed for 3 (three) weeks in 1845 and likely took some inspiration for Jane Eyre. He is again shocked there is no plaque. I commend his dedication to the humble plaque but can’t help but find this extremely funny. If we took this approach to plaques more generally, the country would be overwhelmed. You couldn’t move for plaques, surely.
Although the sisters are talked about, it’s very much Branwell that Stewart focuses on. I think he’s probably right that Branwell gets overlooked a bit unduly, but it’s a tad frustrating. For example, he refuses to speculate on Emily’s possible relationships due to lack of evidence etc (a poem he doesn’t feel is sufficient to speculate with) but then speculates wildly on Branwell’s, including imagining him sitting in church blushing and squirming because of talk of adultery which is based on more or less nothing. He spends a lot of time talking about how Branwell is unfairly portrayed as unstable and then on the next page is the speculation that he didn’t actually have a very firm grip on reality. So… is it just the wording he dislikes? He prefers euphemism? (This cognitive dissonance would be solved if poor mental health was considered just a fact rather than a negative character trait… just saying.)
This is a weird read with a lot of odd interludes, and I was quite taken aback by how autobiographical it is when that seems so… irrelevant. (With all due respect to Michael Stewart.) It kind of works, though, apart from a few particularly jarring instances: I’m thinking mostly of when Stewart travels in search of the “slave graveyard” that is said to exist and in musing on the hardships of slavery then starts to muse on his (white) ancestors and how they must have suffered as indentured servants, which feels a bit uncomfortable as a segue from the literal transatlantic slave trade, especially as a way of slotting yourself into that story. (I understand the impulse, but sometimes, things are just separate stories.)
The walks do look very interesting and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
November 15, 2021
This is a love letter to the people and places of Brontë country, but at the same time a fascinating bottom-up social, historical and political commentary on the landscape that shaped the life and writings of all the Brontës.
What this book isn’t is a romanticised travelogue or biography, so Brontë myth-hunters take note. Walking the Invisible is the kind of book such readers might not initially like, but they’re the very people who should stick with it. The writer somehow manages to demythologise the Brontës whilst still honouring their spirit. He paints a vividly realistic, atmospheric and sometimes surprisingly poetic portrait of a Brontë world that’s often more compelling than the mythical, ‘wuthering’ vision some readers might be expecting. He knows its folk, landscape and wildlife like the back of his hand. One minute I was amused to imagine the regulars at his local Black Horse pub, with their ‘hard lives and hard livers, faces like unmade beds’, and the next delighted to learn that the collective noun for a flock of lapwings is a ‘deceit’ - and exactly why they are so named. As well as giving nail-biting accounts of Luddite conflicts with mill-owners and comparing them with Charlotte Brontë’s treatment of the same in her novel Shirley, he also follows the trail of the dying Anne Brontë’s last visit to Scarborough and brings us right up to the present day. Stewart’s prose has a muscular ease and precision that is never leaden or pompous; he brings to life the dullest, dreariest places with his eye for tragi-comic detail. Take for example the way he captures so well the town’s faded Victorian grandeur and post-Brexit sleaze, wryly observing how ‘A disfigured pigeon pecks at a squished chip.’
Above all, this is a book that celebrates the creative circle of the Brontës walking the landscape that inspired their writing, which in turn now inspires us to read and walk invisible with them. Michael Stewart is a warm, authoritative guide on that journey, infusing his writing with a great deal of humorous, sparky dialogue, especially on the trails with walking companions. The first one, in which a briefly ‘Brontëd-out’ Stewart is forced in torrential rain to become a reluctant guide to a hyper Hungarian in ‘spray-on jeans’, is comedy gold. ‘Alina’ is a hilarious, larger-than-life character who reminds us that foreign tourists and Brontë super-fans are ironically now as much a part of Brontë country as locals. Naturally, the dialogues take a more intellectually stimulating turn when he’s joined by Brontë screen adaptors and literary critics. I enjoyed these equally, especially where I disagreed with their judgements of Brontë novels, films or how much attention Branwell really deserves over his more talented sisters who had no choice but to ‘walk invisible’. I decided in the end the amount of time Stewart spends on reappraising him was worth it just for his entertaining descriptions of Branwell’s shockingly bad statues.
Although I’m fairly local to the area and have visited Haworth and the Brontë Parsonage many times, I’m not a walker and have always been more interested in the Brontës’ writing than their biographies, so was worried I wouldn’t like this book as much as Stewart’s Brontë novel, Ill Will. But I was wrong: I thoroughly enjoyed it. Following the trail of his own Brontë Stones and the poems inscribed on them means he never strays too far from their works, and I found his beautiful, flinty introduction to Kate Bush’s Emily Stone poem so reminiscent of Emily’s own poetry that I actually liked it more. And though I’ve read Wuthering Heights many times, I was totally captivated by his interpretation of the novel’s ending, particularly his wonderful insights into the moth references.
I’m so glad I made time for this book. I may not be a walker, but this book really made me want to get up on the moors and truly feel the Brontës’ writing in my feet, not least because of Stewart’s urgent reminders that our political right to walk the common land is increasingly under threat. At the same time, it made me feel that even if I’m never able to physically do so, then I’ve done it in spirit just by reading this book. Highly recommended.
What this book isn’t is a romanticised travelogue or biography, so Brontë myth-hunters take note. Walking the Invisible is the kind of book such readers might not initially like, but they’re the very people who should stick with it. The writer somehow manages to demythologise the Brontës whilst still honouring their spirit. He paints a vividly realistic, atmospheric and sometimes surprisingly poetic portrait of a Brontë world that’s often more compelling than the mythical, ‘wuthering’ vision some readers might be expecting. He knows its folk, landscape and wildlife like the back of his hand. One minute I was amused to imagine the regulars at his local Black Horse pub, with their ‘hard lives and hard livers, faces like unmade beds’, and the next delighted to learn that the collective noun for a flock of lapwings is a ‘deceit’ - and exactly why they are so named. As well as giving nail-biting accounts of Luddite conflicts with mill-owners and comparing them with Charlotte Brontë’s treatment of the same in her novel Shirley, he also follows the trail of the dying Anne Brontë’s last visit to Scarborough and brings us right up to the present day. Stewart’s prose has a muscular ease and precision that is never leaden or pompous; he brings to life the dullest, dreariest places with his eye for tragi-comic detail. Take for example the way he captures so well the town’s faded Victorian grandeur and post-Brexit sleaze, wryly observing how ‘A disfigured pigeon pecks at a squished chip.’
Above all, this is a book that celebrates the creative circle of the Brontës walking the landscape that inspired their writing, which in turn now inspires us to read and walk invisible with them. Michael Stewart is a warm, authoritative guide on that journey, infusing his writing with a great deal of humorous, sparky dialogue, especially on the trails with walking companions. The first one, in which a briefly ‘Brontëd-out’ Stewart is forced in torrential rain to become a reluctant guide to a hyper Hungarian in ‘spray-on jeans’, is comedy gold. ‘Alina’ is a hilarious, larger-than-life character who reminds us that foreign tourists and Brontë super-fans are ironically now as much a part of Brontë country as locals. Naturally, the dialogues take a more intellectually stimulating turn when he’s joined by Brontë screen adaptors and literary critics. I enjoyed these equally, especially where I disagreed with their judgements of Brontë novels, films or how much attention Branwell really deserves over his more talented sisters who had no choice but to ‘walk invisible’. I decided in the end the amount of time Stewart spends on reappraising him was worth it just for his entertaining descriptions of Branwell’s shockingly bad statues.
Although I’m fairly local to the area and have visited Haworth and the Brontë Parsonage many times, I’m not a walker and have always been more interested in the Brontës’ writing than their biographies, so was worried I wouldn’t like this book as much as Stewart’s Brontë novel, Ill Will. But I was wrong: I thoroughly enjoyed it. Following the trail of his own Brontë Stones and the poems inscribed on them means he never strays too far from their works, and I found his beautiful, flinty introduction to Kate Bush’s Emily Stone poem so reminiscent of Emily’s own poetry that I actually liked it more. And though I’ve read Wuthering Heights many times, I was totally captivated by his interpretation of the novel’s ending, particularly his wonderful insights into the moth references.
I’m so glad I made time for this book. I may not be a walker, but this book really made me want to get up on the moors and truly feel the Brontës’ writing in my feet, not least because of Stewart’s urgent reminders that our political right to walk the common land is increasingly under threat. At the same time, it made me feel that even if I’m never able to physically do so, then I’ve done it in spirit just by reading this book. Highly recommended.
October 8, 2022
If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure about Walking the Invisible when it first landed on the doormat. Whilst I have a passing interest in literary lives, I wasn’t sure how much a part-memoir, part-biography, part-walking guide of the live of the Brontë family would resonate with someone who can only claim to have set foot in Yorkshire a handful of times and generally prefers my walking to be by way of a good tea room.
I completely did not expect, then, to be utterly immersed by Michael Stewart’s blend of literary biography, meditative nature writing, walking tour, and northern history. As co-creator of the Brontë Stones project – which saw poems about each Brontë sibling carved onto stones and set into the landscape in and around Thornton and Haworth – Stewart knows the landscape around the Brontë family’s homes intimately, and shares their passion for its wild majesty.
As a working-class lad educated at a run-down comprehensive in Salford, however, he is also keenly aware of the differences between the imagined ‘North’ that is so often romanticised by Brontë aficionados – and sought out by literary tourists from across the globe – and the often harsh realities of life in the industrialised towns and isolated villages around which the Brontë siblings lived and worked. His walking accounts frequently juxtapose the breath-taking beauty of the landscape and the generosity of its people with the lived realities of run-down farms, fly-tipping, rural poverty, and cold, unrelenting rain.
Nor does Stewart romanticise the lives of the Brontë family themselves. As he follows the siblings from Thornton and Haworth into Derbyshire, across to Cumbria, and up to Scarborough, he vividly imagines both the triumphs and the tragedies of their lives. From Bramwell’s doomed love for a married woman, to Emily’s tenure as a school mistress and Anne’s final visit to her beloved Scarborough, each member of the family is conjured onto the page through their imagined interactions with the landscape around them.
At the end of the book Stewart includes several walks inspired by each of the siblings. Ranging from an easy 4-mile loop around Thornton to a bracingly strenuous 14.5 mile romp across the moors, there’s something for everyone and come complete with well-illustrated maps and clear step-by-step instructions. The majority of the walks take in at least one of the Brontë Stones, as well as many of the other places said to have inspired the family’s writings.
Walking the Invisible is not an easy book to categorise but its an absorbing one to read. Stewart’s love for and knowledge of the Brontë family, and of the landscapes that inspired them, comes across on the page and the blend of literary history, contemporary travelogue, and meditative reflection, although unusual, makes for an intelligently written and evocative read. I’m currently in the process of working my way through the Brontë family’s oeuvre and am hoping to rectify my ignorance of ‘Brontë Country’ in the not-too-distant future. When I do, I will be taking Walking the Invisible as my own guide for following the footsteps of this remarkable literary family.
NB: This review appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre.... My thanks go to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
I completely did not expect, then, to be utterly immersed by Michael Stewart’s blend of literary biography, meditative nature writing, walking tour, and northern history. As co-creator of the Brontë Stones project – which saw poems about each Brontë sibling carved onto stones and set into the landscape in and around Thornton and Haworth – Stewart knows the landscape around the Brontë family’s homes intimately, and shares their passion for its wild majesty.
As a working-class lad educated at a run-down comprehensive in Salford, however, he is also keenly aware of the differences between the imagined ‘North’ that is so often romanticised by Brontë aficionados – and sought out by literary tourists from across the globe – and the often harsh realities of life in the industrialised towns and isolated villages around which the Brontë siblings lived and worked. His walking accounts frequently juxtapose the breath-taking beauty of the landscape and the generosity of its people with the lived realities of run-down farms, fly-tipping, rural poverty, and cold, unrelenting rain.
Nor does Stewart romanticise the lives of the Brontë family themselves. As he follows the siblings from Thornton and Haworth into Derbyshire, across to Cumbria, and up to Scarborough, he vividly imagines both the triumphs and the tragedies of their lives. From Bramwell’s doomed love for a married woman, to Emily’s tenure as a school mistress and Anne’s final visit to her beloved Scarborough, each member of the family is conjured onto the page through their imagined interactions with the landscape around them.
At the end of the book Stewart includes several walks inspired by each of the siblings. Ranging from an easy 4-mile loop around Thornton to a bracingly strenuous 14.5 mile romp across the moors, there’s something for everyone and come complete with well-illustrated maps and clear step-by-step instructions. The majority of the walks take in at least one of the Brontë Stones, as well as many of the other places said to have inspired the family’s writings.
Walking the Invisible is not an easy book to categorise but its an absorbing one to read. Stewart’s love for and knowledge of the Brontë family, and of the landscapes that inspired them, comes across on the page and the blend of literary history, contemporary travelogue, and meditative reflection, although unusual, makes for an intelligently written and evocative read. I’m currently in the process of working my way through the Brontë family’s oeuvre and am hoping to rectify my ignorance of ‘Brontë Country’ in the not-too-distant future. When I do, I will be taking Walking the Invisible as my own guide for following the footsteps of this remarkable literary family.
NB: This review appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpre.... My thanks go to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
June 21, 2021
‘𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓭𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮?’ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽ë
Walking The Invisible - Michael Stewart
I’ve enjoyed this walk along paths and byeways, exploring the world of the Brontë’s and some of the origins of their work.
The Brontë Stones project that Stewart devises, creates and walks, not only celebrates the Brontës but modern female writers. On the stones are carved poems written to be bold and experimental and to show what is great about our language today, as the Brontës did in Victorian times. I found these poems really interesting.
I was quite touched by the parts about Branwell Brontë, following the paths he trod and his descent into alcoholism that was his undoing. I did not know much about him but feel I have learnt more and he felt like a real person to me rather than almost a sideshow that he is often portrayed as.
The physical locations are explored with links explained to the Brontës works such as ‘𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕃𝕖𝕖𝕤 ℍ𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝔸𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕥, 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕, 𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖.’ I love this connection to Jane Eyre and the inspiration for Thornfield Hall.
I loved the feel of bruised and brooding clouds over moors, almost permanent rain and mizzle, pubs, pints, camping and characters. It’s a really wonderful journey.
Much of the landscape is unchanged, you can walk in the footsteps of these 4 siblings who all became published writers, be inspired and think of what they did. I have a very tenuous connection way back in history to some of the places they walked and when restrictions are lifted I would love to Walk The Invisible with them.
There are route descriptions at the end with maps so you can also explore the Brontës world.
Perfect for Brontë fans who enjoy walking and the great outdoors too.
✩✩✩✩
[AD- PR PRODUCT]
Thanks to Jecca Boyce, HQ Stories and Michael Stewart for my copy of this book
Walking The Invisible - Michael Stewart
I’ve enjoyed this walk along paths and byeways, exploring the world of the Brontë’s and some of the origins of their work.
The Brontë Stones project that Stewart devises, creates and walks, not only celebrates the Brontës but modern female writers. On the stones are carved poems written to be bold and experimental and to show what is great about our language today, as the Brontës did in Victorian times. I found these poems really interesting.
I was quite touched by the parts about Branwell Brontë, following the paths he trod and his descent into alcoholism that was his undoing. I did not know much about him but feel I have learnt more and he felt like a real person to me rather than almost a sideshow that he is often portrayed as.
The physical locations are explored with links explained to the Brontës works such as ‘𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕃𝕖𝕖𝕤 ℍ𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝔸𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕥, 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕, 𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖.’ I love this connection to Jane Eyre and the inspiration for Thornfield Hall.
I loved the feel of bruised and brooding clouds over moors, almost permanent rain and mizzle, pubs, pints, camping and characters. It’s a really wonderful journey.
Much of the landscape is unchanged, you can walk in the footsteps of these 4 siblings who all became published writers, be inspired and think of what they did. I have a very tenuous connection way back in history to some of the places they walked and when restrictions are lifted I would love to Walk The Invisible with them.
There are route descriptions at the end with maps so you can also explore the Brontës world.
Perfect for Brontë fans who enjoy walking and the great outdoors too.
✩✩✩✩
[AD- PR PRODUCT]
Thanks to Jecca Boyce, HQ Stories and Michael Stewart for my copy of this book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews