The Vanished Bride

Critics Review

• Romps along and is lashed with Gothic colour. Fun and inventive.

  Daily Mail

• Brontë fans will undoubtedly get the most out of this: possible inspirations for Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are everywhere. But you don’t need insider knowledge to enjoy either the splendid adventure, or the touching and often funny portrayal of the sisters’ devotion to and exasperation with one another and their debauched brother.

  Guardian

• Brilliantly entertaining and original

• Elegant, witty and compulsively readable – I think the Brontë sisters would have been delighted. A standout book

  Rosie Walsh

• a gorgeous book – perfectly paced and completely charming. As a mystery, it is compelling and satisfying; as a portrait of the Brontës it is insightful, moving and inspiring. It is an absolute treat from start to finish

  Jane Casey

• Incredible . . . Bella Ellis is a very special talent: the Brontës are magically brought to life in this gripping, twisty mystery. I need more!

• Brontë aficionados are sure to enjoy the accurate characterization and context, the twists turns and Gothic touches of the plot, and the strong feminist streak that manifests itself throughout, but most triumphantly at the end. Happily, more Brontë mysteries are to be expected.

  TLS

• Evocative and utterly enchanting

  Sarah Hilary

• Great, gothic fun . . . the Brontës are so skilfully and cleverly depicted that it’s no stretch at all to imagine the sisters, and their wastrel brother, Branwell, as amateur sleuths

  Red Magazine

• Wonderful . . . A treat for everyone. I loved it so very much

• Ms. Ellis – writing under a pen name – hews to the biographical facts in fashioning this swift story, while her plot (Gothic touches included) seems suitably Brontë-esque. The Vanished Bride is a delight

  The Wall Street Journal

• Compelling, clever and hugely imaginative, it brings the three Brontë sisters magnificently to life . . . Glorious fun – I adored it!

• Clever and captivating

• What a breath-taking concept that Rowan has completely pulled off – setting up our most beloved literary heroines as investigators in a compelling mystery that asks us to think about the constraints of women in that time . . . Fun, charming and intriguing.

• A joy from start to finish. I’ve gone from loving Charlotte Brontë to wanting to be her.

• What a treat! The Vanished Bride is an absolute delight from start to finish. Dashing across the Yorkshire moors with the Brontë sisters felt like visiting dear old friends, and Bella Ellis does the most wonderful job in imagining Emily, Charlotte and Anne as ‘detectors’. Beautifully written, deliciously atmospheric, and enormous fun, this series is certain to become a firm favourite

• An absolute delight, period perfect, a racing romp of a mystery in the best tradition of the Brontës – I loved it with my whole heart.

• The Vanished Bride is a clever and unique historical mystery that offers fascinating insights into the lives of the Brontë siblings alongside an equally compelling atmospheric, gothic, and twisty tale. Fans of the Brontë sisters’ exquisite books will find much to love as Ellis pays homage to the spirit of their rich literary oeuvre. The Vanished Bride is sure to delight historical mystery lovers

• The Vanished Bride hooks you from the first page with intricate characters, a wonderful plot and best of all, an amazing sense of time and place. I look forward to reading Ms. Ellis’s next adventure of the Brontë Sisters

• The Bronte sisters as sleuths – what a delicious idea! Bella Ellis has brilliantly recreated the feel and atmosphere of the Brontë novels, as well as bringing the three sisters (and their dissolute brother) vividly to life. What’s more, it’s a rattling good story!

• Appropriately gothic touches as well as the author’s solid research on the lives and works of the Brontës . . . enrich a diverting adventure. Brontë aficionados won’t want to miss this one

  Publishers Weekly

• Move over, Jane Austen, for the latest literary ladies who snoop . . . [a] lively series debut

  Kirkus

• The Vanishing Bride twists the lives of Brontës, with blurred lines between fact and fiction, and as much imagination as the siblings… Clues to familiar characters, glimpses of what novels they might create are all woven into a mystery that that lures you into the Brontës world.