The Girl at the Window by Rowan Coleman

 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.