Nonfiction

Walking the Invisible

Walking the Invisible

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  • Create Date：2021-07-19 10:19:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michael Stewart
  • ISBN：0008430187
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Summary

Michael Stewart has been captivated by the Brontes since he was a child， and has travelled all over the north of England in search of their lives and landscapes。 Now， he'd like to invite you into the world as they would have seen it。

Following in the footsteps of the Brontes across meadow and moor， through village and town， award-winning writer Michael Stewart takes a series of inspirational walks through the lives and landscapes of the Bronte family， investigating the geographical and social features that shaped their work。

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 Invisible also encompasses the history of the north and the changing lives of those that have lived there。

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Reviews

Jackie ，

This is such a beautiful book。 So may of us are fascinated by the Brontes and so this book was a must read for me。 Michael takes us on a beautiful descriptive walk around the Brontes world。 It is so amazing how he whisks you off to another time and place with his beauty descriptions。 I listened to this book as an audio and I think it made the whole experience even more thrilling as Michael reads in a mesmerising way。

Tony Swinton ，

I was not sure what to expect from this book and firstly loved the narration having been born in ManchesterI found the descriptions of the landscapes and mixed with the history and personal stories that the author has of places and I liked how there was so much information of the lesser known Bronte，s such as Anne and Branwell BrontëThe authors love of the books by the fiction of the Brontë family comes out in the reading of the book and the Kate Bush hit song Wuthering Heights is even explored I was not sure what to expect from this book and firstly loved the narration having been born in ManchesterI found the descriptions of the landscapes and mixed with the history and personal stories that the author has of places and I liked how there was so much information of the lesser known Bronte，s such as Anne and Branwell BrontëThe authors love of the books by the fiction of the Brontë family comes out in the reading of the book and the Kate Bush hit song Wuthering Heights is even explored and parts of that hit that I had not thought about beforeOverall I loved this genital book and if you like the Brontë novels and want to walk in their footsteps this is the book for you where you can walk the same earth and same mud with Inky clouds 。。。more

Kate ，

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Karen ，

I became totally immersed in this wonderful book for several days。 I enjoyed the richly descriptive and humorous writing style， which draws you into the book。 It was a delight accompanying the author on his walks through some beautiful， wild and rugged countryside and all the places that had connections with the Brontë family。 The descriptions of the countryside are vivid with attention to the minutest of detail。 The author entertains us with snippets of information， amusing stories and the char I became totally immersed in this wonderful book for several days。 I enjoyed the richly descriptive and humorous writing style， which draws you into the book。 It was a delight accompanying the author on his walks through some beautiful， wild and rugged countryside and all the places that had connections with the Brontë family。 The descriptions of the countryside are vivid with attention to the minutest of detail。 The author entertains us with snippets of information， amusing stories and the characters he meets along the way。 I was fascinated with the lives of the Brontës and learning about the areas of their lives I knew nothing about。 Walking the Invisible is a must read for every book/literary enthusiast with a love of the great outdoors。 It may help if you are familiar with the Brontës’ work but it can still be appreciated without this knowledge。 The content is fascinating along with some very thought-provoking theories。 It is accompanied by some interesting notes， poems， sketches and walking routes。 The author clearly shows his depth of knowledge and has researched the subject in considerable depth。 It may even tempt you to revisit the work of the Brontës and perhaps look upon it in a slightly different light。 A fabulous book and I learnt so much。Thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this book for review。TWISTED IN PAGES BLOG 。。。more

J。A。 Ironside ，

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewAudio review: Great choice of narrator however the audio in this ARC is far too quiet！ It was almost impossible to listen while driving， even with the volume on both my phone and the car radio maxed out。 It wasn't much better with headphones。 I'm assuming that the audio will be cleaned up before release but it ruined an other wise great audio book。The book itself; I haven't got around to reading 'Ill Will'， Stewart's fictional accou Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewAudio review: Great choice of narrator however the audio in this ARC is far too quiet！ It was almost impossible to listen while driving， even with the volume on both my phone and the car radio maxed out。 It wasn't much better with headphones。 I'm assuming that the audio will be cleaned up before release but it ruined an other wise great audio book。The book itself; I haven't got around to reading 'Ill Will'， Stewart's fictional account of Heathcliff's life， but I'll bump it up the tbr based on this book。 Walking the Invisible is a book about walking （strangely enough）， literature and how authors are shaped by the landscapes they grow up in。 Stewart - a long time Bronte devotee - was involved with the Bronte stones project - the creation of a series of trails， marked by stones for each of the Bronte family and bearing commemorative poems by acclaimed modern poets。 This book follows these walks， reflecting on both the landscape and the inspiration for the famous 19th C novels and poems。 Although that's too simplistic a description。 What Stewart excels at doing throughout the book is creating an intense personal connection with each of the siblings and with Patrick Bronte himself。 He delves into the texts of the novels and poems， working through the connections he can see between the literature and the land。 To give this true tensile， intellectual strength， he considers the historical time period and the mores and morals of that time。 Finally， he is very open about his own relationship with this gifted family - now 140 yrs or so dead。As an enthusiastic reader of all things Bronte and an amateur Bronte scholar myself， I found myself agreeing with many of his conclusions and agreeably disagreeing with others。 His suggestion that Earnshaw may have been headed to Liverpool to purchase a slave and that those might have been Heathcliff's origins， for example， just does not work for me in the light of the text。 （For one thing if Earnshaw could afford a slave， why wasn't he riding to Liverpool on a horse instead of walking？ Why would he favour a slave over his own children or give the child his dead son's name？ And references to Heathcliff being dark skinned or 'black' were far more likely to have been in reference to Romany heritage and bad disposition。 The mention of gibberish could easily have been a reference to Romany， Irish or even Welsh。 Heathcliff's later rise to fortune is increasingly unlikely if he couldn't at least pass for white， given the time period。 Stewart also ignores the fact that Wuthering Heights arose out of Emily Bronte's Gondol stories （Gondol was the name of the imaginary world she and Anne wrote about together） and may well have been set there and not in Yorkshire at all！ So while Earnshaw may have been in Liverpool on insalubrious business， that one just doesn't hold water。 Stewart is also too inclined to give Branwell the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Lydia Robinson， the married woman he allegedly had an affair with。 Let's be clear here， there is no conclusive evidence that the affair ever took place。 Branwell was a highly strung individual， already leaning on opiates （probably to treat an undiagnosed form of epilepsy and chronic migraines）。 He was also a fantasist， a trait he shared with Charlotte。 Interesting to note here that Charlotte and Branwell were close playmates as children， and devised the kingdom of Angria， in the same way that Emily and Anne were close confidantes。 It's interesting to me that Charlotte and Branwell were both over come with unrequited passion for married individuals。 Whereas Emily and Anne both share a sense of proportion their older siblings lacked when it came to matters of the heart。 Basically， Branwell always had difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction。 We only have his word that the affair eve happened。 Lydia Robinson and her husband and everyone connected with them denied it。 Anne said her brother's behaviour had been inappropriate but there is no surviving account as to what that entailed， nor does she seem to have held a grudge against Mrs Robinson。 The letter to Lydia Robinson's solicitor which is so often held up as evidence， could as easily mean that she had been in the unfortunate position of having to report Branwell's increasingly inappropriate attentions to her and was thoroughly embarrassed by the entire situation， as you would expect for a well off， married woman in her 40s in Victorian England。 Branwell might have been in love with Lydia but there is no evidence that she so much as flirted with him。 To me the situation reads that it was entirely one sided with Branwell - most likely a TLE sufferer - unable to parse fantasy from reality。 Love did not cause his decline， obsession and the desire to be in love worked upon an already frail constitution， mental ill health and eventual addiction。 I have a lot of sympathy for Branwell - especially if he was a TLE sufferer， since I am likewise - but his choices were bad， he was consistently immature and egocentric。 He may well have had far more aptitude than any of his sisters， he was certainly given far more in the way of opportunities。 Ultimately he 'made a bad use of both advantages'。 People want to believe the illicit love story and affair because it's the soap opera option。 It was 'all in Branwell's head' just isn't as interesting even if it is true。However， despite these disagreements， I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 I felt Stewart got very close to Emily and Anne's characters （could've spent a bit more time on Anne tbh - really interesting person）。 I liked his take on Mr Rochester as a character， on Jane and Rochester's love being something that transcended societal bounds and set them as equals。 It's fashionable to paint Rochester as an abusive partner or a creepy old man and honestly he was neither; sometimes your perfect match doesn't come conveniently packaged in the correct social strata， age bracket or form。 That was the point。 I did enjoy his consideration of whether or not Charlotte wasn't as radical as her sisters but in a different way。 I hadn't considered it in quite this manner before and I found I agree。 I could go on but I'll leave it there， having really enjoyed this intelligently written and introspective book， that was part historical travelogue， part autobiography， part nature meditation。 Excellent。 。。。more

travelsalongmybookshelf ，

‘𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓭𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮？’ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽ëWalking The Invisible - Michael StewartI’ve enjoyed this walk along paths and byeways， exploring the world of the Brontë’s and some of the origins of their work。The Brontë Stones project that Stewart devises， creates and walks， not only celebrates the Brontës but modern female writers。 On the stones are carved poems written to be bold and experimental and to show what is great about our language today， ‘𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓭𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮？’ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽ëWalking The Invisible - Michael StewartI’ve enjoyed this walk along paths and byeways， exploring the world of the Brontë’s and some of the origins of their work。The Brontë Stones project that Stewart devises， creates and walks， not only celebrates the Brontës but modern female writers。 On the stones are carved poems written to be bold and experimental and to show what is great about our language today， as the Brontës did in Victorian times。 I found these poems really interesting。 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。The physical locations are explored with links explained to the Brontës works such as ‘𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕃𝕖𝕖𝕤 ℍ𝕒𝕝𝕝， 𝔸𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕥， 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕， 𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖。’ I love this connection to Jane Eyre and the inspiration for Thornfield Hall。 I loved the feel of bruised and brooding clouds over moors， almost permanent rain and mizzle， pubs， pints， camping and characters。 It’s a really wonderful journey。Much of the landscape is unchanged， you can walk in the footsteps of these 4 siblings who all became published writers， be inspired and think of what they did。 I have a very tenuous connection way back in history to some of the places they walked and when restrictions are lifted I would love to Walk The Invisible with them。 There are route descriptions at the end with maps so you can also explore the Brontës world。Perfect for Brontë fans who enjoy walking and the great outdoors too。✩✩✩✩[AD- PR PRODUCT]Thanks to Jecca Boyce， HQ Stories and Michael Stewart for my copy of this book 。。。more

John Newsham ，

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。The book is thoughtful and humorous and perfectly evokes the character and landscapes of the places described。 The Brontes are discussed not in a detached， academic way， but through a number of walks covering large parts of the north of England in which their lives and works were rooted。 For those who have read Michael Stewart' 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。The book is thoughtful and humorous and perfectly evokes the character and landscapes of the places described。 The Brontes are discussed not in a detached， academic way， but through a number of walks covering large parts of the north of England in which their lives and works were rooted。 For those who have read Michael Stewart's novel Ill Will， which re-imagines the story of Heathcliff， this book is its perfect non-fiction counterpart。 The journeys taken cover the Haworth moorland and the streets of Bradford， inner-city Manchester， the Peak District and Scarborough。 The author also retraces the walks he took along the Lancashire canals whilst writing Ill Will。 The chapters span those places that held the deepest personal significance to the Brontes themselves， as well as those that held wider political and historical importance to the times in which they were writing。 There is again something about connecting these history lessons with the act of walking which makes them seem even more significant。 Discussions of the Liverpool slave trade， the Yorkshire Luddites， and the private co-opting of England's wild lands all seem far more relevant when discussed in relation to the land as it exists today。 Like the best nature writing and walking guides， Walking the Invisible presents walking as a radical and creative process and one necessary for anyone wanting to understand the political and cultural history of England。The book includes maps and instructions for a number of walks inspired by the Bronte siblings （complete with some excellent local pub recommendations！）。 The walks cover some of the most beautiful scenery in West Yorkshire and step off the beaten-track of the traditional Bronte tourist trails。 This book is aimed at those familiar with the Brontes' work but it is accessible and engaging enough for those new to it。 The insights into their lives and work spring from walking， the natural beauty of the north of England， and the quirky， humorous， and touching conversations the author strikes up along the way。 The book offers the kind of insights and connections that would be much harder to reach in a lecture hall than out among the landscapes the Brontes wrote of。 It is a reminder that the Brontes' work was rooted in the splendour and intensity of nature， and in the conflicts， passions， and complexity of ordinary people。 Highly recommended。 Read it and get walking！ 。。。more

John Wheatley ，

An inspirational journey in thought and timeWhat I like very much about this book， and liked from the start， was simply the feel of it。 It's a book about going on walks， and about the Brontes - Patrick， Branwell， Emily， Anne and Charlotte - and you know from the outset that you couldn’t find a more companionable guide or walking mate than Michael Stewart。 It is a serious book， of course， but it contains lots of mirth。 There is also Wolfie， the patient dog who accompanies every walk， shares the t An inspirational journey in thought and timeWhat I like very much about this book， and liked from the start， was simply the feel of it。 It's a book about going on walks， and about the Brontes - Patrick， Branwell， Emily， Anne and Charlotte - and you know from the outset that you couldn’t find a more companionable guide or walking mate than Michael Stewart。 It is a serious book， of course， but it contains lots of mirth。 There is also Wolfie， the patient dog who accompanies every walk， shares the tent when necessary， and who must be the most Bronte savvy dog in the entire universe。Michael Stewart begins by telling us of his own background， educated at a run-down comp in Salford， giving little to its students and expecting little from them， and from there to a job in a factory。 The journey from this unpromising start to the inspirational figure who created the Bronte Stones project， who wrote ‘Ill-Will’， an imaginative recreation of the years when Heathcliff absented himself from Wuthering Heights， is， in part， the journey which ‘Walking the Invisible’ takes。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。 The book is accompanied by sketches， notes and maps， so that in a way it is reminiscent of Wainwright， and could well act as a practical guide for readers who wish to follow in Michael Stewart`s [and the Brontes’] footsteps。 If I say that I am planning to read my way through the Bronte works again， to follow up on various books cited in the bibliography， and to embark myself on a number of long walks （which I may， however， have to break down into manageable chunks） you will be able to judge what an impact this book has had on me。 。。。more

Emma Hardy ，

This was packed with so much more content than I was expecting and its simply wonderful。I expected a- here is a map， visit these places， this is a bit about them。 It does this， but so much more。Michael really knows his Bronte's， and better still he covers them all in this book。 Bronte fans will get a chance to revisit passages of the some of the work， learn so much more about them as people and challenge perceptions too （the Jane Eyre queer theory section to mention but 1）。 I think what I loved This was packed with so much more content than I was expecting and its simply wonderful。I expected a- here is a map， visit these places， this is a bit about them。 It does this， but so much more。Michael really knows his Bronte's， and better still he covers them all in this book。 Bronte fans will get a chance to revisit passages of the some of the work， learn so much more about them as people and challenge perceptions too （the Jane Eyre queer theory section to mention but 1）。 I think what I loved about this the most though was that you get Michael's stories whilst he's reliving these trails along the way。 There are some truly thrilling stories and characters he meets along the way which adds to the richness of this book。If you are a Bronte fan， be prepared to look at your favourites with a new lens， and expect a desperate need to re-read， if you are new to any Bronte work， then this will make you pick up your first one for sure。Just off to download Wuthering Heights。。。。。。。。 Thanks to Michael for sending me a proof。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Walking the Invisible

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Walking the Invisible&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Walking the Invisible&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0