Hi all:
I bring you another great book from Pen & Sword, one recommended in particular to lovers of the Brontës and walking.

Literary Trails: Haworth and the Brontës by David F Walford, Catherine Rayner
This lighthearted but deeply researched book offers interest and guidance to walkers, social historians and lovers of the Bronte family, their lives and works.
Set in and around the town of Haworth it gives a dual introduction to walkers and lovers of literature who can explore this unique area of Yorkshire and walk in the footsteps of those who knew and loved this town and its moorlands two hundred years ago.
With guided tours around special buildings as well as outdoor walks and the history of people and places who lived and worked in Haworth over centuries, it offers an insight into life and death in the melee of the Industrial Revolution.
Its joint authors have combined their lifelong interests in Victorian literature and social history with writing, walking, photography and cartography and have included quotes from Bronte poetry and novels.
https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Trails-Haworth-David-Walford/dp/152672085X/
https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Trails-Haworth-David-Walford-ebook/dp/B07RL27PGS/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Literary-Trails-Haworth-David-Walford-ebook/dp/B07RL27PGS/
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Literary-Trails-Haworth-and-the-Bronts-Paperback/p/15341
About the authors:
About Catherine Rayner
Catherine Rayner is a Life Member of The Bronte Society, a Trustee on the Council of the Bronte Society and the Chair of its Conference and Publications Committee. She studied at Hull and Leeds Universities and has degrees in English and Philosophy with Social History, Health and Social Care, and an MA in Victorian Literature. She has studied and researched the lives of the Bronte family for over forty years, and has previously written two theses on Emily Bronte, as well as various articles. Alongside this, she is a qualified nurse and has studied the effects of childhood on the development and psychology of adults.
About David F Walford
David F Walford has a fascination with the great Victorian engineers, along with his passion for walking, mountaineering and photography. He has written several books about walking in Yorkshire, including a wealth of information on the development of the railways. As a qualified draughtsman, he includes detailed maps of every route to enhance each walk around Haworth.
My review:
Thanks to Rosie Croft of Pen & Sword for providing me a paperback copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
I love walking. Perhaps because I was a clumsy child (and I can’t say I’m the most graceful of adults, either), overweight, and lacking a good sense of balance, many sports didn’t like me (it was mutual!), but walking I could do, and I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity it gives us to contemplate life at a slow pace and to discover things, people, and places that might pass us by if we use other means of transport.
I love the Brontës as well. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre have long been among my favourite novels (I must read some of Anne’s novels in English, I know), and I’ve lived and worked in Yorkshire, quite close to the area where they lived for lengthy periods, and loved the landscape as well. So, of course I had to have this book.
Wherever I visit, if I can fit in, I try to join a literary walk. It’s a great way to combine two of my favourite activities: reading and walking. (I also listen to audiobook while going for walks sometimes). If the guide is skilled and knowledgeable, you can learn fascinating information about the city or area, about the author or authors, and feel as if you were going back in time and experiencing what the place might have been like when the author lived there. This book offers us the same kind of experience. Although it is written as a companion for people planning a visit to Haworth and its vicinity, it is so packed with information, photographs, maps, literary references, and advice, that it will be indispensable to anybody who wants to learn more about the sisters and submerge herself or himself in the landscape the authors loved so much.
The book is divided into 20 chapters, it contains 19 walks of varied difficulty (some are short walks within the town of Haworth itself, and the first one, in fact, is a walk around the Parsonage where the Brontës lived, now a museum), and a few introductory chapters. There is the introduction proper, explaining the reasons behind the writing of the book, chapter 2 talks about West Yorkshire and the Haworth area, chapter 3 offers a guide to safe and responsible walking, chapter 4 summarises the history of the Brontë family and chapter 5 talks specifically about the Brontës in Haworth and what happened to them there. Then follow the chapters about the walks (some containing one walk in detail, while some of the later ones, which are longer and stray farther away from Haworth, sometimes include a couple of walks that might be combined, always offering options to reduce their length. There are even some that include the option of jumping on a train). The final chapter talks about the art of walking and what effects it had (positive and negative) on the Brontës. There is also a bibliography that will be of interest to anybody keen on increasing their knowledge on the sisters.
All the chapters are structured in a similar way, first offering a narrative, a fact file of the walk (including the Ordnance Survey Map, general information as to the terrain, level of difficulty, length, likely duration, facilities, and also any relevant warnings), followed by maps or graphics (depending on the topic), and then a collection of photographs, all in black and white, which can aid people going for the walks to find their location easily, but will help readers imagine what the place is like as well. (I must confess I would have liked to see colour photographs, but I can see how the black & white pictures recreate the nostalgic air of the area and help us imagine the old times, as they combine more seamlessly with the archival old photographs. It is also true that the moors change colours so dramatically with the seasons that it would be difficult to give readers an accurate idea of what the place is like in different times of the year).
What did I enjoy the most? Having visited Haworth, the surrounding area, the Parsonage, and having walked around (in town, but also some of the longer walks that include landscapes and buildings said to have inspired the sisters’ writing), I enjoyed the pictures, which reminded me of many familiar places and others that had passed me by (I must visit Thornton, where the family lived before they moved to Haworth, if I can). I also enjoyed the titbits of information about buildings, how those had changed over time, and how the authors managed to make readers imagine what the sisters and their family would have experienced and seen at the time, including also poems, and references to their work.
These are the moors above and beyond Haworth spreading for miles to the west and containing old farmsteads and ruined houses dating back to the Elizabethan era and where people have lived and worked for centuries. They can be covered in swirling mist or blazing sunshine, snow and piercing gales, or have an eerie calm. They can be loud with the cries of animals and birds or silent as a tomb in their deep holes and clefts. They are harsh and they are beautiful. (Walford & Rayner, 2018, p. 5).
While most of the book centres on the beauty and the wonders one can see and experience when visiting the place, the authors excel also at explaining what the living conditions were like at the time. Although today Haworth might feel quaint, charming, and romantic (yes, it is all that and lovely to visit, believe me), this is quite different to what it had been like at the time, when the living conditions were quite terrible, the industrial revolution was steamrolling everything, mills were popping up all around, filling the atmosphere with smoke and soot, transport was difficult, sanitation ranged from bad to inexistent… It is not surprising that the six Brontë children died young, as did their mother, and they were not the only ones.
“Through hard and dangerous work, squalid living conditions, polluted water supplies, poor sanitation and disease, the town of Haworth was killing its own community in the nineteenth century” (Walford & Rayner, 2018, p. 8).
The chapter of the walk around the graveyard attached to the Parsonage, chapter 8, reads at times like a gothic horror novel, with graves piled up 10 to 12 high, and rainwater running from the moors down the graveyard filtering into the drinking water, and likely being the cause of cholera, typhoid fever, and some of the other illnesses common at the time. (Life expectancy was 25 at the time). On the other hand, this same chapter also includes information on the symbolism of the carvings on the graves (for instance, a Celtic cross would mean eternity, and an angel with open wings, the flight of the soul to Heaven).
One of my favourite chapters (and yes, if I go back to the area I’ll be sure to take the book and follow as many of the walks as I can) is the last one, on the art of walking. It is a fascinating reminder of a time when people mostly walked everywhere, and they didn’t have appropriate clothing or shoes in most cases (the authors remind us that the father of the Brontës never owned a horse, and tells us of a visit of Branwell [their brother] to Charlotte that would have meant a 65 km (40 miles) round trip, walking, in one day. If you didn’t have a lot of money, there weren’t many options then, and your health could suffer if the weather was bad. But nowadays, we are lucky, and walking is a healthy option with many benefits, for our bodies and minds.
In summary, this is a fantastic book for people planning a visit to Haworth and the surrounding area, but also for anybody who loves the Brontës and wants to learn more about their time and lives in a visual and tangible way. It will inspire readers to visit (even if it is only with their imagination) the landscapes and the streets the sister walked, and will help them understand better what makes their voices so haunting and distinct. This book is also a beautiful gift to walkers and historians who want to learn more about this time and area in an engaging and enjoyable way.
As the authors say:
It is important to remember the old ways and the people of the past and the efforts they made to improve and enhance society, so that in the 21st century people in this country, and many others, can live healthier, easier and more entertaining lives. There is still much evidence of the past remaining which can help modern society to recall and appreciate its heritage. (Walford & Rayner, 2018, pp. 273-4)
Thanks to Rosie Croft and the team, and to the authors of this wondeful book, thanks to all of you for reading, and remember to like, share, comment, click, review and always keep smiling and walking!
I swear you get more stunning every day Olga. Is it a radio show in Spain now or do you somehow still manage the one in the UK? Your reviews are always thorough and well written so we know just what to expect from a book. I wish you continued good luck with your books. One of mine has been translated into Chinese and is currently being translated into Spanish, Italian and Portugese which is not to say it will sell any more.
Massive Hugs xxx..
Thanks, David. It’s great to hear from you and to know that your books are spreading their wings. One never knows how the translations will go. You know what they say about not being a prophet in your own land, and that is the case sometimes. A Spanish author I know had some of his books translated into Greek, and they were a big success there, although he’s never known why.
You’re very kind. Some books give me a lot to say, and I try to give readers the information that might help them decide if they want to read a book or not.
I am now volunteering at a local radio station in Barcelona (Sants3Ràdio), in Catalan, doing features for their news programme (Sants al dia), and writing for their website. I’ve also participated in some of the events they are involved in, including local fairs, awards, Christmas events for children… I want to do a post updating people on what I’m up to, especially because I’ll be away for a while although there will be some reviews programmed anyway, but we’ll see!
Good luck with the books, David, and have a lovely summer! Love to Mike as well.
Thank you, I wish you a beautiful Summer too. I hope you’re not away too long and that it’s for reasons of pleasure not pain.You are a beautiful lady inside and out and if I were 20 years younger………….
Massive Hugs xxx
You’re a charmer, David. I’m literally quite grey (I’ve given up on colouring my hair a few months ago), so age is not an issue… No, I’m going away with my mother to visit the place where my father was from and try to take care of some things there. I won’t have regular access to internet and will be quite busy, but I will leave some reviews already programmed, in case people are looking for books to read during the holidays. Keep well and good luck!
At first I thought this would be a very niche market, concentrating on such a single-interest aspect of tourism in the UK. However, research tells me that the museum in Haworth had 90,000 visitors in 2018, and the general area attracts well over 120,000 visitors a year, just because of the Bronte connection. Given those figures, the book should do very well.
(I went there in the 1970s, but haven’t been back since)
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. Yes, The Brontes are a fairly big attraction, and the area is gorgeous (of course, it wasn’t a great place to live in at the time, but things have changed). I know quite a few readers in review platforms who’ve expressed an interest. It’s particularly interesting because, compared to the setting of some other books, although the conditions have changed, the landscape hasn’t, and you can vividly imagine the action of Wuthering Heights, for example, as you walk around. I’ve visited quite a few times, and the museum has expanded and added features and information, so I’m sure you’d find it changed if you went again (although I know it’s a bit of a trek). They do a great job of keeping the legacy and explaining what life was like at the time.
Thanks for the comment, Pete, and I hope you have a good week.
Such an interesting review Olga. I’m checking out this one. 🙂 x
Thanks, Debby. A lovely present for somebody who plans to visit the area, for Bronte fans, or for yourself! Have a great week!
Absolutely Olga! Thank you, and happy week to you too! <3
🙂
A fabulous review, Olga. I love the Bronte’s and we are going to Haworth in August. I have read a large number of books about the family.
Thanks, Robbie. I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time. It’s a great place to visit. I look forward to hearing about it! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Another great review. Olga. It sounds great. I’ll be checking it out.
Thanks, Luccia. I thought you’d enjoy this book, although I don’t think you’ll learn anything new, but it gives one more reasons, if needed, to visit Haworth. ♥