Eight years ago I visited the parsonage at Haworth. I'd been to the homes of other authors before: Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Byron. But the experience of setting foot at the home of Emily Bronte -- all the Brontes, really -- was something deeply spiritual. I cried. Mournful, regretful tears for someone I didn't know at all, but felt a connection to, regardless.

The story history tells of Emily Bronte is of someone who is wild, vulnerable, and raw. A person I connect with at gut level, but would likely never have even a conversation with in person. It takes a special person to write about the Brontes well, but especially about Emily. This author must feel that same gut connection because the way she presented this image of Emily was beyond phenomenal. She put into words all I've ever seen her to be, and much of what I believe I would be, if I had the freedoms that Emily did.

To be able to tell this story that is so fully what I believe Emily to have been, and so cleanly inserting in the completely evidence-less storyline that features Weightman --- wow. How can it not be true? I found myself wishing for it to be true and mourning that there's not a shred of evidence.

I am also beyond thrilled that this author wasn't sympathetic to Charlotte. All she does and is in this story is just as I've always seen her --- the ultimate "Karen", though I hate when people use that term. What Charlotte does at the very end is more than horrifying; but I almost hope it to be true, just to vindicate me despising her so much.
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A beautifully imagined and poignant fictional account of the lives of the Bronte sisters, focusing (as is evident from the title) on Emily and on how her life on the Yorkshire moors shaped her every thought and action, very like Cathy in Wuthering Heights. The end is especially satisfying and touching, though the entire novel does an excellent job weaving together class conflict, the evils of industrialization in factory-era Britain, country curate lives, and women's affairs of the nineteenth century. Overall, an excellent read. ( )

There is an important question that you must ask yourself when deciding to read this book. Is it alright with you for a historical fiction author take what seems to be evidence of a friendship and turn it into a love story? How far can an author go with inventing the story? I was aware of the controversy of this book before I started reading it. I decided to read this book with open eyes and decide whether or not it was a good story or not.

This tale is through the eyes of Emily Bronte, the author of Wuthering Heights. That definitely colors the story. Emma is portrayed as a wild soul who loved to roam the land where the heather blooms, a nature lover, a woman who lived partially in a fantasy world. Her sister, Charlotte, the author of Jane Eyre does not fare so well. She is ambitious, easy to have crushes and determined that the other sisters do as she wanted. Anne is the younger sister and is fragile, asthmatic and sweet. Their brother, Brandwell is the lone son; he drinks too much, and loses his jobs easily.

The girls grew up with other sisters who passed on early in this story.They resided in a parsonage in Haworth with their father and an aunt. They were poor but not as much as the mill workers. Their father encouraged all his daughters to read what they wanted and live with more freedom than most of the curate’s daughters.

When their father grew too old to handle all of his pastoral duties, he asked for help and clergyman William Weightman came to Haworth. The story begins! He is a friend of the poor and works behind the scenes to help the mill workers to fight the mill owners non-violently and helps the poor in every way that he could.

I enjoyed the beginning of the story greatly and felt it that pace started to lag some after that. Then the events picked and emotions started to swirl more and more violently. This book would not let me go!It is about romance, love of nature, spirituality, the lot of the mill workers, responsibility to the poor and unfortunate. The feeling that I had in the early morning is that this book is very much like Wuthering Heights at times in its mood and gives a fuller vision of what Emily must have felt when she wrote

I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction who are not afraid of an inventive author. I also feel obligated to read about Charlotte Bronte in all fairness. ( )

William Weightman comes to Haworth as a curate and soon finds himself attached to the entire Brontë clan. He assumes some of Patrick’s duties at the parish, helps Branwell with his addictions and keeps each of the sisters from being too lonely. Weightman harbors a special attraction to Emily, who returns his feelings, but knows in her heart that she’s not the proper material for a churchman’s wife. They agree that she will governess for six months, broaden herself, and then evaluate their future. But six months is a long time, time they might not have.

This book is so very readable. The pages just flew by and it was over, in one sitting. Of course, that may be because Emily has always been my favorite of the Brontë sisters. There is never enough ‘Emily’ material around to suite me and it was nice to see her enjoy a little romance. I knew that Charlotte married one of Patrick’s curates (Arthur Bell Nichols) but I never considered that Emily or Anne ever had feelings for the men in their father’s employ. It seems a little cliché until you consider how isolated they were, and then it feels sad. Well, most everything around the Brontës carries a tragic weight, doesn’t it?

I was surprised at how Haworth was portrayed in the novel as a dirty, unsanitary slum. Honestly, I know nothing about the place but I’ve always imagined it as heartbreakingly beautiful in the way wild and natural places can sometimes be. This setting was such a change from that. It reminded me somewhat of Gaskell’s North and South.

This has been my favorite Brontë book so far this year. ( )

I loved this book. Borrowed from Library ( )