Reading this story is rather like opening a Pandora’s box, there are surprises, light and dark. love and hate, purity and evil, all intertwined into an epic story that keeps on giving, as you turn the pages.

I love, the clever fusion of genres, family drama, romance, timeslip, historical fact and fiction, paranormal, gothic fiction, are all part of this novel’s embroidery. Whilst, this will not be for everyone, there are many timelines to negotiate, it is compelling and worth the effort, to move out of the ease of contemporary reading into the more elaborate historical details and subterfuge.

This story works for me because of Trudy’s state of mind, she is heartbroken, without hope, and open to any experience that lessens the pain. Her maternal instinct keeps her on track, making sure Will gets the emotional and practical support he needs, but she needs more than this and discovering hidden secrets that the house gives up is part of this. She is a sensitive woman, a loner, her childhood was full of imagination and literature, and it gave her purpose and solace. Now, in her pain, she seeks the familiar and is prepared to accept whatever the house reveals, even if it sometimes defies explanation and is frightening.

This is an escapist novel, something to enthral and capture your imagination, full of emotion and a clever medley of fact and fiction, it makes you want to visit Ponden Hall, and find out if it’s as magical and troubled as it seems.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin Random House - Ebury Publishing via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Trudy's husband Abe has been lost in a light aircraft crash in Peru. With money running out she decides to return with her son Will to her childhood home of Ponden Hall in spite of not having seen her mother for 16 years. There she starts to find comfort and the beginnings of a real relationship with her mother.

This is a great read. The novel merges fiction and fact. Ponden Hall is a real house, one where Emily Bronte spent a lot of time. Bronte figures largely in this novel and whether or not you are already acquainted with her work and life you will get a lot out of reading this. The fiction is that Bronte discovered a testament there by a 17th century young woman, Agnes Heaton and wrote a second novel based on her life which lies hidden waiting to be found.

The structure of the novel is quite complicated. It goes between past and present, telling Agnes' story and also going into the history of Trudy and Abe's relationship in the past. Although it took me longer to get into Agnes' narrative, it was this that was perhaps the most compelling in the end. That said, the whole tale is well told and hugely enjoyable if a little scary at times. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Trudy heads back to Ponden hall with her son Will, to mend their broken heart after her husbands plane goes missing, presumed dead. Ponden Hall has always been special to Trudy, her beloved Bronte sisters, spent time there, there house has so much history and maybe even a ghost or two. Her relationship with her mother is strained, she is facing things she ran from and her obsession with the past, the Bronte sisters, particularly Emily and her love of literature will keep her busy. Ponden hall has so much history, character, stories, ghosts, love and secrets, now that Trudy is home again the house may be ready to give some of those secrets up.

Guys, don't shoot me when I say this but I have never been hugely bothered by the Bronte sisters, writing or their history. In actual fact, I would say it is more I have been ignorant of a lot of it, I may have one of the Bronte books on my huge to be read shelves but I don't think I have read them and knew nothing of their history. Trudy LOVES them, particularly Emily, the inspiration for her book where Trudy grew up. Coleman is a huge lover of them and you can see this in her creation of Trudy and this book. As a reader with almost zero interest in the Brontes I feel between Coleman and Trudy I may have caught a wee bit of the bug. I found myself putting the book down to google them, the house, what works had been published and her siblings. I actually need to bump Wuthering Heights up my tbrm after reading this.

The Girl at the Window has more than a few layers to it, we have present day with Trudy and her son heading back home and Trudy having to face her mother after so many years apart. Trudy and Abe (her hubby) back when they first met and Agnes - a young lady who is linked to the home and a sad and dark history. The timelines and shifts are well written and flow, teasing out secrets and written accounts that will bring them all together, past and present with secrets and scandal. There is also a spooky, ghostly vibe throughout, nothing horror or anything like that but woven in so well it brings the home to life and the hairs on the readers neck up a wee bit. An atmospheric read that covers love, relationships, deceit, secrets, lies set mostly in or around a historical house that I am now dying to go visit! 4/5 for me this time, I have a fair few Coleman books on the tbrm, I need to bump them up for sure!

Emily Bronte, a missing husband, a mysterious and magical ancestral home, a dark history, and present-day family tensions; this is a book of many threads.
Trudy is the mother of Will, and following the disappearance of her husband, she retreats to the ancestral home in Howarth. There she attempts to heal herself, her son, repair her fractured relationship with her mother and assess the work that is required on the building she grew up in. The beginning of the book felt a little slow but soon picks up pace as Trudy remembers how she met her husband and discovers a new focus in the present day. She discovers a letter penned by Emily Bronte as well as what appears to be a diary entry from a girl named Agnes, written hundreds of years earlier. This leads her on a hunt to try and find more of Emily Bronte's work including potentially a second novel. Simultaneously Trudy is trying to solve the mystery of who Agnes was and whether her fate is tied up with her own ancestors and the ghostly happenings that go hand in hand with her home.
I enjoyed the book, but my only criticism is that there were so many different threads that the story didn't flow as well as other books from the same author.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Trudy's husband Abe, a surgeon, is missing presumed dead after a light aircraft he was in crashed in rainforest in Peru where he was working as a volunteer for a medical charity.
After 8 months Trudy and their young son Will return to Trudy’s childhood home Ponden Hall in Howarth, Yorkshire. It has always felt special to Trudy as though the house speaks to her and understands her sadness and she hopes that it will work it’s magic and help her and Will heal.
Unfortunately Ponden has fallen into disrepair over the years and Trudy has to find a way to mend both it and the rift between her and her mother who she hasn’t seen for 16 years.
When Trudy discovers some letters that date back hundreds of years she begins a quest to find out what happened to the young servant girl who wrote them. But will disturbing the ghosts that still roam Ponden bring Trudy peace or is she stirring up things better left alone.

Brilliant brilliant brilliant. I have absolutely adored this book well done Rowan.

Trudy Heston returns to her childhood home Ponden Hall after twenty years with her son Will after a tragic accident has left her husband Abe missing and presumed dead in Peru. Trudy a huge fan of Emily Bronte loves that the childhood home she grew up in had such close connections to her much loved heroine. Ponden is a house that holds secrets but is ready to give them up to Trudy giving her glimpses into Emily’s last days as well as telling the story of Agnes.

A beautifully written and haunting ghost story of love, loss and happiness.

This was the first book I have read by Rowan Coleman so I had no idea how powerful her writing was. It is a while since I have felt so emotional throughout most of a novel.

There are three stories of three women. Tru, Emily and Agnes. Emily was the one who featured the least but she was one of the more important characters, because without her there wouldn’t be a story. She is also the one who was a real person. She was a Bronte. The book takes place in the house where she spent a lot of her time, the family home of the Heaton’s, Tru’s home.

When Tru returns home after her husband is presumed dead after a plane crash it is the first time for sixteen years. She has always had a difficult relationship with her mother that they both have to try and repair, has to be a support to her young son Will, and make Ponden Hall more safe to live in. The life of Emily Bronte is always something she has been interested in and even more so when she starts to find letters written by her.

I have to admit that I know little about the Bronte family, I have never read Wuthering Heights and even though I visited Haworth and watched a programme on children’s TV many years ago I cannot remember much about it. Apart from strangely, images of an ailing Emily lying on a sofa.

Despite knowing little, I adored this novel. The tragic story of Agnes, researched many years later by Emily and still being prominent in the modern day story was one that affected me more than any other. The relationship between Tru and Ma and the way they realised that they did care for each other and the way Will helped bring them closer together. The ghostly happenings which made me feel chilled alongside the local legends.

I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. Emily’s and Agnes’s story appearing at the end of chapters so the reader could see what Tru found out at the same time. The way Tru met Abe was revealed the same way. I have never read a book this way before and I found it added to the emotion, devastation and at times outrage.

It was a book that had me looking at information and photographs on the internet to see of they were real or invention. I was very grateful for the author notes which provided the information I couldn’t find.

An absolutely wonderful read. I don’t usually read novels twice now but I could make an exception for this. After I’ve revisited Haworth, obviously.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

"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..."

Wow, what an amazing book! When I requested this book from Netgalley, I admit, I only half-read the synopsis and went into the book thinking it was more of an easy-read, a bit of romance etc. I did not expect this! There is so much history, paranormal romance - definitely a book I would not have picked up had I read the description properly!

The book is so magical! I just couldn't put it down. It's creepy but not in the horror sense, and is beautifully written, so descriptive. Emily Bronte and the real-life Ponden Hall feature heavily, with the book being set around Ponden Hall's disrepair and the Heaton family who live there, and it feels like that the author has clearly done her research.

I loved the main character, Trudy - she feels so real, it was like a friend was speaking to me and I wanted to keep reading to learn more about Trudy and her life, as well as the previous residents of Ponden Hall.

I could easily read this book again! Thank you, Rowan, for keeping me hooked and giving me such a fantastic read!

How do you cope when your husband is missing presumed dead? With all the history surrounding Ponden it's surprising that Trud would want to go back with her son. Nice to learn more about the Brontes from this novel and not a usual supernatural ghost story, more about the history and story behind it. Not my usual type of book but couldn't put it down just had to know what happened in the end.

Thank you net galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Whenever I pick up a Rowan Coleman book I never know what to expect and this was no exception. This is a well researched ghostly story which weaves together a modern day story of Ponden Hall and Emily Brontë’s connection with it in the 1800's and the story of Agnes, a servant girl of the 1600s.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. That said, I still recommend it as it held my attention to the end and I think readers who like atmospheric books set in old mansions with ghostly happenings and bit of romance sprinkled in will enjoy it.

3.5 stars from me.

If you don’t read anything this year but The Girl at the Window you will have read what to my mind is the book of the year.
From the minute you read the first page you are hooked and it is so difficult to put down. It is firstly and for most a love story of unrequited love plus a gothic mystery. There is also a Brontë connection and the intimidation of lost letters sent between Emily Brontë and Robert Heaton who was the owner of Ponden Hall.
Part of the book is based on historical facts because PondenHall does exist situated near Haworth and Emily Brontë is alleged to have written some of Wuthering Heights there.But also there is some poetic license taken by the author which enriches the story and the gothic mystery.
Five stars all the way.

It is rare that anything makes me speechless, truly lost for words, but THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW by Rowan Coleman has done it. I know that's no good when I'm expected to write a review so I will try my best, but this novel is so spectacularly beautiful and emotive that whatever I write will never do it justice so I'm telling you now to buy it and fall in love with it for yourself.

Ponden Hall is a beacon on the Yorkshire Moors, a place of history, tragedy, love, and loss and when Trudy loses her husband in a plane crash, she returns to Ponden Hall's welcome embrace with her little boy, Will. Even the presence of her mother whom she has always had a strained relationship with cannot dim the love and warmth she feels among these walls where the Heatons and Brontë sisters lived and breathed. Trudy feels it all at a time when she has been so lost in grief for herself and her son. But when Trudy uncovers a lost letter from the past she becomes determined to find out what happened to the young girl who wrote it but as she gets lost in the mysteries of the past, the past begins to reach out into the present.

THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW by Rowan Coleman needs to be pictured beside the word enthralling and captivating in the dictionary because it is that and so much more. Bringing together past and present in such an effortless and fluid way that it took my breath away, I couldn't put this story down as I learned more about Agnes back in the 1600s and then Trudy's life from her childhood to the present day. Ponden Hall is a character completely in its own right, and my favourite I might add, as I got lost in the author's bewitching descriptions of a place that is steeped with history and memories - and you can actually visit this place in real life!!
​
If I ever see a book translated onto my screen, I hope beyond measure that it will be THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW. This is a story that will move you, that will affect you, that will stay with you long after you finish the final page, and it is a story that will inspire you to never give up when you feel like all is lost.

THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW by Rowan Coleman is my favourite book from this author so far and it needs to be read by every fiction fan in every country around the world. Simply stunning!

Abe loves Tru and their son Will. Then Abe disappears on a flight in the Peruvian rainforest and Tru and Will move in with Tru’s estranged mother to Ponden Hall, family seat of the Heaton family since the 1600s..
Yeah and your blasé self thinks: I’ve heard it all before, ghosts in an old house...things that go bump in the night...but this is a story on so many levels woven into the history of Emily Brontë’s connection with Ponden Hall and reaching even further into the story of a servant girl of the 1600s.
There are a bit too many things being found in unlikely places and the book title is dull and doesn’t do the book justice, but that’s about my only criticism. All in all, a very readable ghost story.

I loved this, an amazing read full of heart, family, mystery and love. A fast paced read that you will struggle to put down once you’ve picked it up. A fascinating book, beautifully written with a wonderful story. This is a must read for 2019.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The publisher tells us that this book is all about “love, hope, and family secrets”, but not how exquisitely it’s all handled. If you enjoy a story with a dual time thread, this book will take your breath away – there aren’t just two, but three, and the way they’re entangled makes this book such a compelling read. There’s a present day story, as Trudy returns to her family home of Ponden Hall on the Yorkshire moors, her grief at the loss of her husband palpable as she wrestles with the echoes of both their past and the layers of history she uncovers; there’s the story of Agnes, told through her discovered letters; and there’s the intriguing link with the later years of Emily Bronte’s life and legacy.

I read this book on a steaming hot afternoon in the garden, and really did it something of a dis-service – this is a book that should perhaps be read on one of those days of more usual Yorkshire weather, as the darkness closes in and the shadows gather. I’ve noticed that others have said how they were hooked from the first page – I’ll admit it took me a little longer, but once I became immersed in the twists and turns of the story, its atmospheric setting, and its different threads I read breathlessly to the end, lost in its pages, and was enchanted throughout. There’s an intriguing mystery – actually, there are several – and a strong element of the supernatural, handled in that cleverly unsettling way that keeps you on the wrong foot, each occurrence somewhere in the realms between the very real and the world of nightmares.

The characterisation is quite wonderful. Trudy herself, although sympathetically drawn (particularly in the anguish of her loss and her relationship with her young son), was a character I struggled at times to find likeable – but she’s a strong focus for the story that unfolds, as her belief and persistence drives her on in her personal recovery and her quest to uncover the secrets of the past. Her mother begins as a caricature – and perhaps was one reason why I briefly struggled – but I loved the way she became fleshed out as their relationship built and family history was uncovered. Agnes’ story is totally heartbreaking, the letters a wonderful way of slowly revealing her story – and I really liked the way her tragedy was gently mirrored in the present day. And as for the Bronte elements – the author’s love for her subject shines through, and this was maybe the element I enjoyed more than any other. And when discussing characters, it’s impossible to ignore Ponden Hall itself – steeped in history, deeply atmospheric, slowly revealing its secrets – and the descriptions of it and its surroundings are just stunning, so much more than a simple backdrop.

I hardly need to say that the writing is wonderful – I expected nothing less. Rowan Coleman has a unique ability to remove the barrier between the reader and the story, to draw you into the world she creates, to breathe their air, to feel what they feel – and I don’t think her writing has ever been better than it is in this book. Highly, highly recommended.

In this novel, Rowan manages to blend fact and fiction together to achieve a wonderful story, full of mystery, chills and atmosphere. I have loved all of Rowan’s books and this is no exception.

The book is set in Ponden Hall, the real life home of the Heaton family and built in 1541.

There are two stories running through the book. One of Agnes, a poor child sold to a horrible man in the 1800s, who plots and murders to take over Ponden Hall. The modern day story is of Trudy who having lost her husband is forced to return, with her young son, to her estranged mother who lives at Ponden Hall. She must find a way to reconnect with her mother, help her son, Will, through his grief, and solve the mystery of Ponden Hall with the help of the ghosts of the past, and the house itself.

Trudy finds that the house welcomes her back with love and warmth, and even her mother seems pleased to see her and Will, however until she solves the mystery of the house, the ghosts of the past can never be at rest.

Throw into the mix a previously unknown novel by Emily Bronte, Emily Bronte’s relationship with one of the previous Heatons who owned the house, and her connection to Agnes, and the mystery of Trudy’s husband, you have the makings of a magical story.

Wow!! This is how I love books I read to be! Full of heart and mystery, sprinkled with lashings of history and ghostly goings on!! It was just a wonderful read and has me now itching to read more of the Bronte Sisters and especially to revisit Wuthering Heights!

Ponden Hall is where the story is based - Trudy Heaton grew up there but was quick to escape, but finds herself returning there along with her son, Will, as they try and deal with the grief of losing her husband who is presumed dead after a plane crash. This also means repairing a long rift with her mother - a woman not backward in coming forward and her comments over the years have never gone down too well with her daughter.

The story also goes back to the past - 1654 onwards - and what happened at Ponden Hall when a mystery girl was taken in by Robert Heaton and I found the storyline of Agnes just as captivating as that of Trudy in the present. The friendship she formed with Robert was truly touching and the treatment he received from his stepfather was abhorrent.

In the present Trudy does her best to try and move on, but the ghosts of her life and those of Ponden Hall are never far away and it was always intriguing to find out what she'd discover next about the house and her family history. In looking into restoring Ponden Hall she calls in an expert and he seems even more obsessed with her home and the literary links it has than she can imagine.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time at Ponden Hall with these characters and found it to be such a captivating story that I just lost track of time whilst I was reading!

This is the story of Trudy and her young son Will. When her doctor husband Abe goes missing, presumed dead, in the Peruvian jungle, she and Will eventual returns to her childhood home, Ponden Hall. If that name sounds familiar to you, that is because it has strong connections to the Brontes, and Emily Bronte in particular. Yes, Ponden Hall is a real place, and somewhere that I am now desperate to visit! Much of the story draws on the real historical connections but Rowan Coleman weaves her magic into the book too.

Because this story isn't just about Trudy and Will and their coming to terms with their grief and a very different way of life. This is the story of a 17th century woman told, very unusually for the time, in her own words. It's the story of an imagined lost work by Emily Bronte. It's the story of a very special house and it's a story of enduring love.

As someone who has done a fair bit research into my family history, I loved the part of the story about archiving old books and documents and making some very special discoveries. That is definitely an archivist's dream! There was a strong element of voices from the past pointing Trudy in the right direction. Sometimes though, these voices seemed to be putting her and Will in danger and there were a few heart-racing moments.

The Girl at the Window is a story which encompasses several genres. It is part mystery, part ghost story, part historical fiction and part love story. Rowan Coleman blends the different strands together so beautifully and I can honestly say that I enjoyed all the different parts. I went through so many emotions with the characters while reading it from aching for their sadness, being outraged at injustices, sharing the happy moments, being excited at discoveries and fearing for their safety. Rowan Coleman writes beautifully and has a way of connecting her characters with this reader's soul. The Girl at the Window is an atmospheric and haunting story about love and loss and hope. I absolutely adored this book and can't recommend it enough.

A fascinating book, well written and enthralling.
Even if it's a bit slow at times I couldn't put it down and it kept me hooked till the last page.
I was fascinated by the well written cast of characters, the amazing description and how the author mixes different ages and storyline.
it's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Ever since we visited Haworth when I was younger, I have been an addict of everything Bronte. I devoured the books, read every autobiography in site, I wanted to be the fourth Bronte sister, I wrote miniature books, I ran about on the Moors with Emily, all from my imagination. I think I have a kindred spirit in Rowan Coleman (and our shared love of Emily) and this book spoke to me all the way through.

I will admit to a little trepidation when I saw the subject matter (ie as a Bronte addict it could have been sacrilege!) but just reading the opening verse, I knew I would love this book. And when I got to the lines "You're one of those girls", he said after a moment. "One of those thinking girls" , I recognised myself immediately because "I'd made books and long-dead writers my friends" too!

Beautifully written in a gothic style, interweaving the layers of past and present, I was on my beloved Yorkshire Moors (actually in my Scottish Garden) , totally draw in by the authors descriptions and character drawing.,

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars? One of the best books I have read this year.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.