Walking The Invisible: A literary guide through the walks and nature of the Brontë sisters, authors of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and their beloved Yorkshire

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Of course, then (although Michael and I are yet to meet in real life!), I was excited to read his latest (non-fiction) book, Walking the Invisible, which was published last year. Part memoir, part history book, part hiking guide, Walking the Invisible is hard to categorize. It’s a book born out of Stewart’s love of nature and the Brontës, and as much about our century as it is about the nineteenth. He doesn’t shy away from talking about the social challenges and changes facing many of the towns, big and small, the Brontës lived in, and moves between education, political commentary, and personal anecdote seamlessly. My only (small!) gripe was with Stewart’s reference to Edmund Robinson (husband to Lydia Robinson—the mistress of my novel’s title). He includes an often repeated but false rumor that Lydia Robinson’s husband was old and decrepit, encouraging her to take solace in Branwell Brontë’s arms. In fact, Edmund was a year Lydia’s junior.

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. 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’d absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the life, times and inspirations of the Brontes. This is so much more than a book about walking – and also so much more than a simple memoir or straightforward collection of literary criticism. Indeed, there is a lot to enjoy in this interesting and quirky book. Following in the footsteps of the Brontës across meadow and moor, through village and town, this book takes the form of a series of inspirational walks through the lives and landscapes of the Brontë family, investigating the geographical and social features that shaped their work. It is a walking book, but it is also a social and literary history of the North,” Stewart writes. Along the way, he perceptively excavates the past, exploring how it was in the north that the Industrial Revolution took off, “thanks to a combination of soft water, steep hills and cheap labour”. As well as fascinating historical context, he paints a vivid portrait of the present day, too, as he walks through landscapes both bleak and beautiful, equally adept at capturing the gloom of an industrial estate and “a brilliant blue and golden orange kingfisher”, which makes him think of a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem. He compellingly conjures the force of the winds, the earthy smell of peat bogs, the haunting call of the curlew, the sound of skylarks.

Meanwhile, the sisters have written novels and begin to send them out for publication. Charlotte takes their father for cataract surgery and during his recovery period she begins work on a second novel, Jane Eyre. 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. I’ve enjoyed this walk along paths and byeways, exploring the world of the Brontë’s and some of the origins of their work. 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. Charlotte becomes enraged after Anne and Emily's publisher tries to pass off The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a book written by Anne, as being Charlotte's work. She insists that the sisters travel to London and reveal themselves to be separate authors. Anne agrees to go with her sister, but Emily refuses, insisting on protecting her anonymity. After Charlotte introduces herself and Anne, they are greeted with great enthusiasm by their publishers, who take them to the opera.A postscript reveals that Emily died three months after Branwell and Anne died five months after her. The parsonage was later turned into a museum celebrating the sisters and their work. Through the eyes of Stewart I saw Haworth, the pub Branwell frequented, the school Emily taught, and Ponden Kirk. Another highlight of the book for me were the sections talking about areas that I am familar with – I loved the chapter on Mr Earnshaw’s walk to Liverpool (from ‘Wuthering Heights’) in particular as I know the city well and could picture some of the walk. This would be a great book if you are already familiar with Bronte country. 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 Invisiblealso encompasses the history of the north and the changing lives of those that have lived there.