A Northern writer has brought the women in his family’s history to life through a unique fictionalised memoir, drawing on more than 100 historical documents.
Ben Robinson, 23, is set to publish his debut novel Finding Charlotte, inspired by the life of his great-grandmother, later this year.
Finding Charlotte tells the story of Ben’s great-grandmother Charlotte Smith and her family, as they navigate life during one of the most volatile times in modern history.
Spanning World War I and World War II, the book takes readers on a journey of love, loss and resilience from the family’s Yorkshire home to the battlefields of Europe and beyond – as far as Singapore and New Zealand.
Ben, an educator currently based in Newcastle upon Tyne who has written for regional publications in the North East and Yorkshire, has used over 100 family letters and photographs to piece together the interwoven stories of Charlotte and those around her.
“Finding Charlotte is a fictionalised biography of my great grandmother’s life inspired by real family history documents and research, including letters and photographs that bring an emotional depth you can’t get from fiction alone,” Ben explained.
“It’s really important to me to tell this story carefully and with compassion; it’s not only deeply personal, but it looks at the experiences of Northern working class people as well as the often unspoken female perspective of war – not just the battles or the men fighting.
“This book serves as a reminder of what happens when dangerous people get into power. I’ve had the story in the back of my head for years, but now feels like the right time personally and politically to tell it.”
Finding Charlotte will be published on 12th June 2026, and will be available through Waterstones and Amazon. For more information and updates on pre-sales, go to https://findingcharlotte.carrd.co/.
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