Product Description

A beautiful and mesmerizing debut, Coldwater is the tale of three sisters, the dangers of isolation, and the explosive repercussions when seemingly absolute power is challenged.

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Wolf live on Coldwater, a penal colony off the coast of Australia, where their father, Captain Wolf, rules the household with the same unyielding sternness he imposes on the inmates. The young women rarely venture beyond their corner of the island and meet no one but the prison guards. Their imaginations, however, know no boundaries, and together the three conjure up complex and magical lands. They vow to become novelists, dreaming of literary fame and of lives far from the harsh desolation of Coldwater.

As governor of the convict island, Captain Wolf is working on a masterpiece of his own–the perfect prison. His theories of prison management have proven remarkably effective: During his tenure, not one prisoner has escaped. The arrival of an unusual convict from famine-stricken Ireland seems an opportunity to create a model prisoner–until one of his daughters becomes obsessed with the handsome young man and the delicate balance the family has constructed is shaken beyond repair.

This remarkable story grew from the author’s lifelong curiosity about the Brontë sisters and their classic novels. Taking the few seeds that history reveals about Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Brontë, McConnochie has skillfully reimagined their lives and created a work of fiction as imbued with passion as their novels and as psychologically riveting as any contemporary thriller.

Mardi McConnochie’s first novel, told through the eyes of the Wolf sisters, is an unforgettable portrait of the love and fear, the trust and betrayal, and the potential for freedom in one extraordinary family.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1225360 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-30
• Released on: 2002-07-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Three sisters named Charlotte, Emily and Anne have literary aspirations in Australian writer McConnochie's intriguing but overwrought first novel. In this scenario, however, the family name is not Bront‰, but Wolf, and they live far from the Yorkshire moors, in Coldwater, a penal colony off the coast of Australia, where their father reigns as an enlightened dictator. Well educated and graced with a philosophic turn of mind, Capt. Edward Wolf is nonetheless capable of inflicting brutal punishments on the prisoners and behaving in tyrannical fashion toward his daughters. By 1847, when the narrative begins, the family has lived on Coldwater for eight years. To relieve their boredom and in hopes of earning an income, the sisters decide to write novels, an undertaking that coincides with the arrival of a brooding, enigmatic Irish convict. When Capt. Wolf appoints Finn O'Connell as his valet, bringing him into the family cottage, the sexually charged atmosphere is inevitable. Charlotte serves as the principal narrator of the novel, providing a blunt, tart perspective on events and engaging the reader with her pragmatic attitude and loyalty to her family. Ultra-sensitive Emily's breathless, tormented musings reflect her volatile mental state; Anne's thoughts are rendered third person, as are her father's journals, in which he records his theories of prison management. After he forbids his daughters to continue their own writing, blaming the "pernicious rubbish" of romances for their untrustworthy behavior, he slips into madness, raving about betrayal and conspiracies. When Anne encounters a mysterious man who then involves her in a prison uprising, the novel slips into melodrama, culminating in prison revolts and considerable angst acted out near cliffs and roiling seas. McConnochie's attempt at imaginative Bront‰ revisionism has some commendable aspects, notably her depiction of the siblings' different personalities, but the narrative founders in the character of Capt. Wolf, whose behavior is enigmatic throughout .

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Wolf live on Coldwater, a penal colony off the coast of Australia where their father serves as prison governor. Captain Wolf takes pride in his island domain and its inviolability: no prisoners have ever escaped. Hoping to create the perfect prison, he is stern and unbending. His ideas about prison management work well until a new prisoner named Finn O'Connell arrives from Ireland. This most unusual convict benefits from the captain's desire to create a model prisoner. Eventually, however, one of the captain's daughters develops feelings for the young man, starting a chain of events that ultimately threatens the security and emotional well-being of the entire family. Obviously modeled after the Bront sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are aspiring novelists who long for a different kind of existence and look forward to leaving Coldwater eventually. Australian playwright McConnochie, who has done a great deal of research about the Bront s, writes the story of the Wolf girls with compassion and understanding. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, MD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-In this intriguing work of fiction inspired by the Bront' family, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Wolf are the only female inhabitants of Coldwater, a desolate Australian island where their father runs a notorious penal colony from which, he brags, no one escapes. The same can be said of his family. Scarred by the tragic death of his son Branwell, Captain Wolf has withdrawn from his three daughters even while he keeps them virtual prisoners. The girls pass their days with housekeeping and writing, punctuated by sibling conflicts and shifting alliances. When one sister falls in love with an Irish convict, another with a soldier posted at the prison, and a third with a mysterious swimmer who rises from the sea, the fates of all three are changed in ways they could not have imagined. This fast-moving plot is full of cruelty, danger, and passion; has an elegant style; and makes use of multiple points of view, so that each story is narrated both firsthand and by others who see it differently. The icing on this literary cake is that Charlotte and Emily are reincarnations of Jane Eyre and Catherine Earnshaw, and their narrative styles imitate those of the real Bront' novels. Readers who love to be swept away by passionate, tragic dramas of the past should find huge enjoyment in this book.

Jan Tarasovic, James Madison High School, Fairfax County, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Not what I expected...
I was expecting a historical novel about the three Bronte sisters, and although a completely rivetting tale, and well written, it is NOT historical fiction. I was disappointed to find out at the end of the novel that it is 100% fiction, and these characters did not exist. I guess I expected more of an embellishment of history, and not 100% fiction. The sisters NEVER were on Coldwater, their father was never a warden, and their brother did not die when they were younger.

I enjoyed the fiction, I enjoyed the story and it was very suspenseful. I thought I was "learning" about the Bronte sisters in Coldwater, but actually, the author was using the Bronte sisters within her book.

-fascinating story-
This is a captivating story that's beautifully told. It's gripping and, in the middle and towards the end, full of suspense. The characters are intriguing. The way the story is told (through the eyes of different characters in the story) is quite effective. The ending is unpredictable..

Gem
Excellent Read. I had the hardest time finding this book in the bookstores. The story is so unique, beautifully written - true literature. Not to mention intriguing (I read it in a day). It is a shame it has not gotten the recognition it deserves. Hopefully, her next book will get more publicity so this book will get some spotlight it deserves.