Sharon Wright

Between wild walks, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte spent most of their lives indoors, their imaginations firing behind firmly-closed doors. Join two expert writers on a very personal journey around Britain and Ireland, enjoying privileged access to private houses that shaped and inspired the Bronte sisters and their writing.Echoing Cathy's ghost in Wuthering Heights, Ann and Sharon ask to be let in - and invite you on an eye-opening odyssey that combines the surprising Bronte history of key houses with their sometimes glorious, sometimes heartbreaking, always fascinating afterlives. Join Ann and Sharon as they explore historic buildings where the extraordinary Bronte story unfolded.Discover the untold secrets of the world-famous Bronte Parsonage, Bradford's literary shrine where they wrote their novels, and the nearby birthplace of their early childhoods. Learn of the ghosts and legends of the real Wuthering Heights, the legacy of Ulster and Cornwall in the sisters' DNA, the restoration of the real Lowood School in Jane Eyre - and follow a Bronte pub crawl around the inns and taverns of Victorian England frequented by wayward brother Branwell.The book includes a foreword by author and broadcaster Rebecca Fraser and an exclusive interview with award-winning writer and director Sally Wainwright, revealing how and why she built a replica of the 1840s Haworth Parsonage on the moors for her acclaimed BBC biopic To Walk Invisible.This is a beautifully-illustrated voyage of discovery through the precious, often-overlooked places of our literary past - and why they matter today.

Winner of SPA Richard Titmuss Prize 2024. Recent welfare reforms, based on austerity narratives and a gender-neutral rationale, have failed to recognise the ways in which women and men experience the different demands and rewards of paid employment and unpaid care. This book draws on a wealth of qualitative longitudinal evidence to cast light on women’s lived experiences of welfare and work. Giving voice to social security recipients, this book uncovers the hidden gendered bias of conditional welfare reforms to challenge dominant political discourses, policy design and practice norms. It combines and develops three interdisciplinary perspectives – feminist analysis, lived experience and street-level bureaucracy – to offer a new understanding of British welfare reform policies and practice.

Winner of SPA Richard Titmuss Prize 2024. Recent welfare reforms, based on austerity narratives and a gender-neutral rationale, have failed to recognise the ways in which women and men experience the different demands and rewards of paid employment and unpaid care. This book draws on a wealth of qualitative longitudinal evidence to cast light on women’s lived experiences of welfare and work. Giving voice to social security recipients, this book uncovers the hidden gendered bias of conditional welfare reforms to challenge dominant political discourses, policy design and practice norms. It combines and develops three interdisciplinary perspectives – feminist analysis, lived experience and street-level bureaucracy – to offer a new understanding of British welfare reform policies and practice.

Schools have the potential to empower communities by connecting people better with the places they live. But how can these benefits be baked into a design brief?As complex institutions, schools not only provide education and pastoral care for children, as they grow and develop, but also act as workplaces for staff and civic assets or hubs for the wider community. Yet they're not often perceived to be critical infrastructure.Community Schools reconsiders what is required from physical school environments, building on the learning gathered from the sector over the past two decades. To meet the new social, environmental and economic challenges it advocates designing differently, both in terms of the form that buildings take and the evaluation of their impact and performance.By calling for a reframing of the way that schools are regarded as community-wide amenities, this book explores the potential for architects to deliver design in a manner that supports healthy lifestyles and promotes wellbeing. Through encouraging social connections, new possibilities open up for educational facilities to become open, welcoming and inclusive.Featuring:Over 12 international case studies from practices including: Architype, Argyll + Bute, Bogle Architects, DRMM, Revaerk, Scott Brownrigg and XDGA Key themes of wellbeing, connectivity, inclusion, indicators and evaluationPractical guidance and learning points throughoutA new design brief for community schools

At long last, the untold story of the mysterious Mrs Brontë. They were from different lands, different classes, different worlds almost. The chances of Cornish gentlewoman Maria Branwell even meeting the poor Irish curate Patrick Brontë in Regency England, let alone falling passionately in love, were remote. Yet Maria and Patrick did meet, making a life together as devoted lovers and doting parents in the heartland of the industrial revolution. An unlikely romance and novel wedding were soon followed by the birth of six children. They included Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, the most gifted literary siblings the world has ever known. Her children inherited her intelligence and wit and wrote masterpieces such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Yet Maria has remained an enigma while the fame of her family spread across the world. It is time to bring her out of the shadows, along with her overlooked contribution to the Brontë genius. Untimely death stalked Maria as it was to stalk all her children. But first there was her fascinating life’s story, told here for the first time by Sharon Wright.

When space is tight how can a city provide the best education experience for children? Is a multi-storey school really a poor option? Can high-quality play opportunities be provided without playgrounds? This book explores the design of schools in urban settings, the increased challenges in meeting the typical expectations of school design, and what the successful new typology of a school in a city might be. A practical guide as well as a theoretical exploration of ideas, this book outlines successful international contemporary and historical case studies, providing much-needed guidance for architects and others working in education design in dense urban environments.

The DeVos children have a terrible secret. Nan is very good at protecting her brother and sisters from anyone finding out what happens on the Vos farm. Her family have kept secrets for generations. The neighbours, professionals and even the school doesn't suspect a thing. But the roses growing behind the house tell the world the secret that has been kept for generations. One of unimaginable abuse in one of the most heinous cases of child abuse and one that would change child protection laws for years to come.

Worlds apart, two girls will soon change each other's destiny. Sophie finds a magical locket. The bully's at school will never be the same. Under a curse, Princess Lillijannah waits to be rescued.

Nana is going to visit her friend Nancy and she's taking the family with her. Nancy can't wait as she has a special surprise ...

Anne has always believed in fairies, but when she is asked to help a magical princess, she finds out that believing in fairies and believing in herself are two very different things ...Anne and her friends Samantha, Vera and David are about to go on an adventure of a lifetime ...and Fairy Land isn't just for the fairies.

Alicia is in trouble. All she wanted was to save the universe but it doesn't look like she can do it. Not alone anyway, but with the help of a Seeker, a Starian and the Chosen One, the universe might just stand a chance!

Jonah's family is broken. He lives with Mum and visits Dad. He loves his parents, but its not easy pleasing them both. Jonah feels he's being pushed in different directions - and nobody is happy. Then something amazing happens and things will never be the same.