Author's latest novel - set in Haworth - is up for award

By Alistair Shand https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/20670753.authors-latest-novel---set-haworth---award/

AN author's latest novel – which is set around Haworth – is amongst the contenders in this year's Best Indie Book Awards.

Paul Rushworth-Brown's Red Winter Journey is based against the backdrop of the English Civil War in 1642.

It follows the fortunes of 16-year-old Tommy Rushworth and his battle for survival after being kidnapped into the Parliamentary Army to fight.

Paul's other work includes the widely acclaimed Skulduggery, which was also set locally. He turned his hand to writing in 2015, after embarking on a six-month project to produce a family history for his children.

The resultant 400-page book traced his family back to Haworth.

"I believe it is easy for readers to empathise with my characters in Red Winter Journey," says Paul.

"Some people have said they couldn’t wait to find out if Tommy makes it home or not."

Read a preview:

Latest review:

Beautifully written

Submitted 14 days ago

By Alex From Sydney

This novel transports us back to Yorkshire in the time of the English civil war. Young Tommy Rushworth is kidnapped by the Parliamentary army and taken to their camp in Bradford to be trained as a pikeman. Meanwhile Tommy's father and grandfather race against time to get him back. The politics of the era and the stunning backdrops are portrayed very skilfully. The trials and tribulations that Tommy and his family must face keep you spellbound and their struggles are very real for the time. The weaving together of history, mystery, thriller, and love story is very well done. The character development is outstanding, especially when it comes to the villains. Full of intrigue, surprise, and a dose of romance, this mystery will keep you enthralled.

Paul Rushworth-Brown was born in Maidstone, Kent, England in 1962. He spent time in a foster home in Manchester before emigrating to Canada with his mother in 1972. He spent his teenage years living and going to school in Toronto, Ontario where he also played professional soccer in the Canadian National Soccer League. In 1982, he emigrated to Australia to spend time with his father, Jimmy Brown who had moved there from Yorkshire in the mid-fifties.​

Paul was educated at Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia. He became a writer in 2015 when he embarked on a six-month project to produce a written family history for his children, Rachael, Christopher and Hayley. ​

This four hundred page book traced his family's ancestry back to Haworth, Yorkshire where his ancestors had been living as copyholders or peasant farmers since 1590. His Great Grandfather James Rushworth Ist was a carpenter and the first to move away from the dales in the mid 1800s with his wife and nine children. Through this research, he developed a passion for writing and Skulduggery, Red Winter Jouney and the soon to be released Dream of Courage is a continuation on from this.​

"The history of these people is rarely thought of and even less rarely written about because there are few records as most would have been illiterate. There is much written about the lords and ladies but what about the common people."​

Paul Rushworth-Brown - January 2019

Skulduggery - The bleak Pennine moors of Yorkshire; a beautiful, harsh place, close to the sky, rugged and rough, no boundaries except the horizon, which in places, went on forever. Green pastures and wayward hills, the colours of ochre, brown and pink in the Spring. Green squares divided the land on one side of the lane, and on the other; sheep with thick wool and dark snouts dotted the hills and dales. The story, set on the Moors of West Yorkshire, follows wee Thomas and his family shortly after losing his father to consumption. Times were tough in 1603 and there were shenanigans and skulduggery committed by locals and outsiders alike. Queen Bess has died, and King James sits on the throne of England and Scotland. Thomas Rushworth is now the man of the house being the older of two boys. He is set to wed Agnes in an arranged marriage, but a true love story develops between them.A glorious read of a period well versed and presented with accuracy and authentic telling by an author who is as much engrossed in his prose as the reader he shares with...masterful and thoroughly enjoyable...5 stars."

'Red Winter Journey'- Come on this historic journey, which twists, turns and surprises until the very end. If you like history, adventure and intrigue with a dash of spirited love, then you will be engrossed by this tale of a peasant family unexpectedly getting caught up in the ravages of the English Civil War in 1642. A GREAT STORY CLEVERLY WEAVING WELL RESEARCHED INFORMATION. The research for this book was thorough. The author describes the environment and conditions of Yorkshire in the 16th century, building these facts into fictional circumstances and families living in the times. I found it fascinating that this book came as a result of a search for the family history. Very cleverly done and a must-read for those interested in the periodand a good read. Looking forward to the next book.

If you like adventure and intrigue with a dash of spirited love, then you will be engrossed by this story of sons, John and Robert, who leave the moors and travel to Leeds to earn their fortune. In misguided ways, they try to help their family fight their way out of poverty. Facing fear head on! Follow Robert Rushworth as you are transported back in time to 17th century Leeds. Meet professional beggars, cutpurses, felons, debtors, lifters, prostitutes, and sneak thieves, "You’ll find ‘em all in the Shambles." At a time when any person caught stealing goods worth more than thirteen shillings was to be tried and hanged. Will Robert pay for his indiscretions? Murder, mystery, and mayhem keep you guessing until the very end.Reading this novel one can immerse themselves and discover the more colourful, candid details of what it was like to live in this time. The story is full of colourful characters like John Wilding, a brute of a man, with no manners or decorum, typical of the lower sort of the time. Will he catch Robert Rushworth and earn the reward to pay back the 'Company' who he is hiding from and dangerously indebted to. Meet Captain Girlington, with a secretive past who must choose between life on the seas and a love for another.