Review of The Girl at the Window by Rowan Coleman

A house full of history is bound to have secrets... 

Ponden Hall is a centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors, a magical place full of stories. It's also where Trudy Heaton grew up. And where she ran away from... 

Now, after the devastating loss of her husband, she is returning home with her young son, Will, who refuses to believe his father is dead. 

While Trudy tries to do her best for her son, she must also attempt to build bridges with her eccentric mother. And then there is the Hall itself: fallen into disrepair but generations of lives and loves still echo in its shadows, sometimes even reaching out to the present... 

Imprint: Ebury Press (Fiction)

Published: 08/08/2019

ISBN: 9781785032462

Length: 464  Pages

RRP: £7.99

The bedroom inside Ponden Hall in Yorkshire believed to inspire Emily Bronte to begin to write, Wuthering Heights complete with box bed and the window where Cathy’s ghost wraps on.

“This is what I understand about love, now. Love isn’t a transaction, it’s not a quid pro cuo. 
It’s a force that goes far beyond that, a promise and a vow. It’s a declaration that says ‘I will always be at your side, even when you are far from mine. I will never leave you without an ally. I am yours.’ ”

Author, Rowan Coleman, uses a Wuthering Heights reference for the title of her deliciously spooky and compelling novel, The Girl at the Window. The title eludes to the opening scene in Wuthering Heights where Cathy’s ghost wraps on the window wanting to come inside. The author brilliantly and cunningly takes the gothic tropes from Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights  and uses them as the basis of Trudy and Abe’s storyline juxtaposed against the dual narrative of the seventeenth century love story of Robert and Catherine. I am incredibly impressed by this novel; especially, Rowan Coleman’s beautiful writing style and storytelling abilities. This is my introduction to the author but not the last of her novels I shall read.

 Let’s just say Trudy has a contentious relationship with her mother who did not approve of Abe. After Abe disappears, Trudy leaves her home and takes her ten year old son, Will back to her childhood home, Ponden Hall where her mother still resides. I loved reading the chapters between mother, daughter and grandson to see how their relationships mature and old wounds heal. 

If you enjoy love stories that are wrapped up in historical, fairytale magic, sprinkled with hardships and gothic elements, than this novel is for you! The Girl at the Window is unputdownable especially if you believe in a love that transcends time. 

Thank you to Ebury Press for my review copy.

This novel is not published in the United States but can be purchased internationally and or locally at Amazon UK