Fifteen Wild Decembers

A blazingly creative re-imagining of the short life of one of England’s greatest writers, picked as one of the best historical fiction novels by The Times.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023


A best historical fiction book of 2023 (The Sunday Times) 


“Unbearably moving.”–Financial Times


“Enthralling.”–Victoria Hislop


"Compelling, atmospheric and raw."–Ruth Jones, writer, actor and comedian


Isolated from society, Emily Brontë and her siblings spend their days inventing elaborate fictional realms or roaming the wild moors above their family home in Yorkshire. When the time comes for them to venture out into the world to earn a living, each of them struggles to adapt, but for Emily the change is catastrophic. Torn from the landscape to which she has become so passionately bound, she is simply unable to function.


To the outside world, Emily Brontë appears taciturn and unexceptional, but beneath the surface her mind is in a creative ferment. A violent phenomenon is about to burst forth that will fuse her imaginary world with the landscape of her beloved Yorkshire and change the literary world forever.


Fifteen Wild Decembers is the dazzling second novel from a writer who has been compared to Shirley Hazzard and Graham Greene, and whose first novel was described as ‘utterly stunning’, ‘mesmerizing’ and hailed as ‘a masterpiece.’