Book of the day - Nelly Dean

    Here's a book to look out for, to be published later this week.

     Nelly Dean is the debut novel by Alison Case, professor of English and nineteenth century specialist, and it has acquired a powerful advocate in Tracy Chevalier whose support for it extends much further than simply contributing a jacket quote to appearing alongside the author at literary festivals.

    Tracy (who knows a thing or two about the Brontes and their novels) says, "Alison Case has cracked open Wuthering Heights and inserted into the gaps her own richly imagined story. In doing so she manages to pay homage to Emily Bronte without copying her. I never thought I needed more Wuthering Heights. Now I wonder how I could have been satisfied with only the original telling."

    Nelly Dean is "a gripping and heart-breaking novel that reimagines life at Wuthering Heights through the eyes of the Earnshaws' loyal servant, Nelly Dean.

    Nelly has been Hindley's closest companion for as long as she can remember: as long as she has been victim to the lashing out of her father's hand, and as long as she has lived freely at the great house, Wuthering Heights, at her mother's insistence.

    When the benevolent master, Mr. Earnshaw, brings a wild child into the house, Nelly must give up playing with her beloved Hindley and be called servant, following in her mother's footsteps to give herself to the family.

    Soon Nelly is not the only one in the house who must serve. As Hindley takes his place as heir apparent, Heathcliff is rejected and a reign of violence begins that cannot be stopped, even by the will of Nelly herself. And when the new heir of Wuthering Heights is born, Nelly will be tested like never before, as she finds out what it is to truly 'know thy master', and in doing so, know great sacrifice.

    .... Nelly Dean is at once an enthralling literary tale, and a clever, rich testament to Bronte's work."

Comments

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

This sounds fabulous, thanks!

[Mary Ronan Drew]

Just the book for me to read this summer while it's hot and I'm going to be sitting in the shade drinking iced coffee. But, alas, it won't be published in the US until 15 February 2016.

Why can't the British, Canadian, Australian, and US publishers get together and publish books at the same time everywhere? Have they not noticed that we all read much more widely than we used to do and that it's to their advantage to have the book available to me when you are blogging about it and not six months later!

Sorry . . . you aren't to blame except in that you have made me very eager to read this. I may just swallow the extra cost and get it from abe.com.

[Dorothy]

Thank you for this timely post; i am going to her 'event' at the Edinburgh Book Festival next week! All the way from Massachusetts via Castle Douglas, I may add...

[Dot Scribbles]

This sounds amazing!