Always Emily: A Novel

by Michaela MacColl

Overview

“Based on the Brontë family of writers, MacColl’s story is filled with life and death, mystery, and witty humor”—a Junior Library Guild Selection (School Library Journal, starred review).
 
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

 
“As exhilarating as a stroll across the wind-swept moor.” —Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author
 
“Reimagined as detectives, the Brontë sisters kick-start their writing careers by solving a mystery . . . Equal parts gothic melodrama and Nancy Drew derring-do.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“The prolonged climax is satisfyingly action-filled and breathtakingly resolved.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“There’s lots to like here: mystery, adventure, and a snippet of romance.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452137469
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	06/24/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	289
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Michaela MacColl studied multidisciplinary history at Vassar College and Yale University, which turns out to be the perfect degree for writing historical fiction. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

01/27/2014
MacColl (Nobody’s Secret) weaves a suspenseful story set on the English moors in this historical novel loosely based on the Brontë family. Focusing on the personality clashes between petite, prudent Charlotte and tall, headstrong Emily, she crafts a well-paced period mystery with just the right dash of romance to make the book appropriate for sophisticated readers even younger than the target audience. Echoing the Brontës’ own fictions, the desolation of the moors is an ideal setting for frightening encounters and gripping confrontations—a fierce dog, a handsome young stranger, a possibly insane runaway woman, and her potentially dangerous brother all figure in the many strands of the plot, along with a multitude of well-drawn minor characters. While the outcomes of some of the tensest scenes are a little unbelievable, the prolonged climax is satisfyingly action-filled and breathtakingly resolved. In an extensive author’s note, MacColl presents the Brontës’ biographical information and explains the liberties she took; her envoi encourages readers to go to the original novels—a worthy challenge that many will likely take up after reading this one. Ages 12–up. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"As exhilarating as a stroll across the wind-swept moor..."-- Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times Bestselling Author and Recipient of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

"Equal parts gothic melodrama and Nancy Drew derring-do."--Kirkus Reviews

"The prolonged climax is satisfyingly action-filled and breathtakingly resolved."--Publishers Weekly

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Filled with life, death, mystery and witty humor."-School Library Journal, starred review

"Characters so remarkably that they simply spring to life on the pages."--Reading Today

"Inspired by the real-life Brontë sisters, MacColl has crafted a fictional tale of suspense and romance that is guaranteed to bring new readership to MacColl, as well as to the classic tales by both Brontë sisters. "--VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates

"There's lots to like here: mystery, adventure, and a snippet of romance."--Booklist

"A treat for book lovers."--Brain Child

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—Based on the Brontë family of writers, MacColl's story is filled with life and death, mystery, and witty humor. The main premise involves Emily and Charlotte uncovering Branwell's nefarious activities and exposing a local mill owner, Master Heaton. The strong-willed sisters join forces to uncover Branwell and Heaton's secrets and to reunite a family. Charlotte and Emily are the most richly drawn characters, and their often-contentious relationship is engaging. Their personalities are balanced by the supporting characters, including their father, the house manager, and a young man Emily finds on the moor. The two-dimensional Heaton has no redeeming qualities, save charm, and Branwell, who falls under his spell, is also thinly drawn. However, the effects of alcohol, mental, and physical abuse are realistically conveyed. MacColl succeeds in creating a vivid sense of place with her intricate details about Masonic rituals and the lush descriptions of the moors, Emily's place of sanctuary. Readers will be satisfied with the ending, and their curiosities will be piqued to read more about the Brontë family. A lengthy author's note tells more about the Brontës.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

School Library Journal

2014-01-15
Reimagined as detectives, the Brontë sisters kick-start their writing careers by solving a mystery in this detailed if dubiously grounded novel. Having lost their mother and several siblings at an early age, the remaining Brontë siblings deal with grief in their own ways: Prim Charlotte grudgingly shoulders responsibility for her family; eccentric Emily runs wild on the moors; reprobate brother Branwell drinks and falls into bad company. Both Charlotte and Emily enjoy writing—Charlotte writes fantasy bodice-rippers, while Emily tends toward the darker stuff—and find sudden inspiration in the strange occurrences in their little town of Haworth. Despite their differences, the teenage sisters unite to solve the (much-belabored) mystery of a madwoman, a long-lost heir and unscrupulous Freemasons. Already familiar with death, the girls also get to experience love, albeit briefly. Sharing narrative responsibility, Emily and Charlotte are distinctive and well-drawn characters, though their depictions are somewhat complicated by the mixture of real biographic details, literary hagiography and modern free-spiritedness. MacColl works hard to connect the real-life Brontës' books to an imagined source in a fictional adventure, blending quotes from Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights with her own historical fantasy. Equal parts gothic melodrama and Nancy Drew derring-do. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews