Always Emily (28 page)
Authors: Michaela MacColl
He was famous for his punctuality and his prodigious memory. He feuded frequently with the laundrywomen in town, who insisted on draping their wet sheets over the tombstones to dry. I couldn't resist using this detail in the final confrontation between Emily and Robert Heaton in the graveyard. Cataracts nearly blinded the reverend until 1847, when he had an operation to remove them (using a hand-cranked drill!) that enabled him to regain his sight. Rev. Brontë survived all of his children.
Many details from the lives of the Brontës inspired events in this novel.
Top Withins is a remote and lonely house that many consider to be Emily's inspiration for
Wuthering Heights
. The Heatons were a family who lived nearby in Ponden House. Ponden House is widely considered to be the basis of Thrushcross Grange, a house in
Wuthering Heights
.
My favorite scene in
Wuthering Heights
is when Cathy and Heathcliff are outside, staring into the luxurious library at the Grange. I deliberately recalled that moment when Emily and Harry look into the well-lit library at Ponden House.
It was rumored that a daughter of the Heaton family made an imprudent marriage and had a sickly son who would have been a contemporary of the Brontë sisters. Another Heaton family story tells of an exiled son of the house coming back to take his revenge on other members of the family who had wronged him. I combined the two stories to invent my fictional Harry's quest to find his mother, Rachel.
The bog burst that occurs when Emily and Charlotte are racing back to the parsonage is based on an event that happened in 1824. While the children were out on the moors, a seven-foot-high mudslide swept across the moor, taking out bridges, ruining fields, and poisoning the water table.
The Freemasons are not nearly as sinister as I made them appear. The group has existed since the late sixteenth century and today claims six million members. While the Masons do have secret rituals, their main purposes are charitable works, living by high moral standards, and the fostering of fraternal friendship. Branwell did join the Freemasons for a time under the tutelage of the Worshipful Master, Sexton John Brown. The Three Graces Lodge was on Newall Street, which is now called Mason Street.
Emily did, in fact, cauterize her own arm to prevent hydrophobia, or rabies, after a dog bite. Charlotte used the detail in her novel,
Shirley
, written after Emily's death.
Despite having the benefit of reading the biography and their work together, I often couldn't decide which Brontë
sister was my favorite. Only Emily could have written Cathy and Heathcliff's story in
Wuthering Heights
, and only Charlotte could have given a voice to
Jane Eyre
. In
Always Emily
, Emily owns the mystery that takes place on the moors, and the chance of romance is hers. But Charlotte, despite fighting her own demons, manages to rescue a stranger and her beloved brother.
In the end, I leave the choice of favorite Brontë sister to you, the reader. And if you haven't read their books . . . what are you waiting for?
May 1825âintroductory segment
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter One
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Two
From a private letter by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Three
From a private letter by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Four
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Five
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Six
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Seven
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Eight
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Nine
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Ten
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Eleven
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Twelve
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Thirteen
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Fourteen
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Fifteen
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Sixteen
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Seventeen
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Eighteen
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Nineteen
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Twenty
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Twenty-One
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Twenty-Two
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Twenty-Three
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Twenty-Four
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Chapter Twenty-Five
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Chapter Twenty-Six
From
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Epilogue
From
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
W
riting is a lonely profession unless you are lucky enough to have a critique group like mine. Sari Bodi, Christine Pakkala, and Karen Swanson are my harshest critics and most vocal supporters. Incidentally, they are my closest friends.
My editor, Victoria Rock at Chronicle Books, has always championed my work and supported my creative decisions (except when I had gone a little astray . . . ). The team at Chronicle makes it easy to write, especially Taylor Norman and Lara Starr. I owe the gorgeous cover to Kate Cunningham and the clever art direction to Sara Gillingham.
My agent, George Nicholson, and his assistant, Caitlin McDonald, at Sterling Lord Literistic always offer encouragement and even more importantly explanations of those long contracts. They worry about stuff so I don't have to.
In the middle of the long process between idea and final draft, I was able to attend the Stone Spirit Farm Work in Progress Retreat. Five days later I had a clear plan to substantially revise my novel, and twenty new friends. I'd particularly like to thank Tanya Lee Stone and Laurie Halse Anderson, who convinced me that the Brontë sisters would applaud any historical liberties if it served my story. As Laurie said, “The back matter is your friend.” My group included Cheryl Bardoe, Leslie Cahill, and Sarah Goff. Their advice was thoughtful, useful, and generous.
Finally, I have to acknowledge my debt to my teenaged daughters, Margaux and Rowan.
Always Emily
is at its heart a story about brilliant sisters who could not be more different from each other. I only have to watch my children to see the same dynamic play out, day after day. Someday I hope they will learn to appreciate each otherâjust as Emily and Charlotte finally did.
Photo Credit: Melanie Lust
M
ICHAELA
M
AC
C
OLL
studied multidisciplinary history at Vassar College and Yale University, which turns out to be the perfect degree for writing historical fiction. This is her fourth novel. To learn more about Michaela and her work, please visit
www.michaelamaccoll.com
.
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