LOCAL author Elizabeth Hopkinson is celebrating the “secrets, history and mystery” of historic houses, in an anthology of new writing.

Her story, The Yorkshire Defiance, is one of ten shortlisted entries from a competition, run by Corazon Books in partnership with The Historic Houses Association, to write a short story either inspired by or set in a historic house.

The inspiration for Elizabeth's story, about a mother affected by tragedies that befell her and her family, came from medieval Shibden Hall in Halifax.

“I’ve been visiting Shibden Hall since I was a child. It’s a truly inspirational place, full of mystery and romance," says Elizabeth. "The characters in my story are based on real Shibden inhabitants from the 18th century. I wanted to tell the forgotten stories; there’s more to the Hall than Anne Lister!”

She adds: "Historic houses have so many stories to tell, and I think this book will bring them to life in a new way.”

Ian Skillicorn, publisher of Corazon Books, says: "We were looking for compelling tales with lots of atmosphere that took place in the past or present, in either a real or fictional setting. The stories in the anthology take us on imaginative journeys through time and place, and encompass a wide range of characters and emotions. I'm sure you'll enjoy reading these inventive and entertaining stories as much as the judges did."

Nick Way, Director General of Historic Houses Association, says: “The Historic Houses Association is delighted to have partnered with Corazon Books in this competition. Many of our members’ properties have inspired great works of literature for centuries and continue to stir visitors’ imaginations today. Thirteen million people a year visit HHA member properties, and these imaginative short stories will transport readers with tales of their secrets, history and mystery.”

The HHA is a not-for-profit organisation that represents more 1,600 of the UK’s privately and charitably owned historic houses, castles and gardens. Around 500 of these open their doors to visitors for days out, special tours, school visits, film locations, weddings and events, or as memorable places to stay.

HHA homes and gardens have been inspiring authors for centuries. Literary links include Norton Conyers, near Ripon, Yorkshire (winner of HHA’s Restoration Award 2014), which Charlotte Bronte is known to have visited and whose attic is said to have inspired the story of the “madwoman” in Jane Eyre. Restoration House, in Rochester, was used by Charles Dickens as a model for Miss Havisham's Satis House in Great Expectations; Arthur Conan Doyle was a student at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire which is said to have inspired some of the locations in his Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles; and Evelyn Waugh was a frequent guest at the stately Madresfield Court, Worcestershire and is said to have based the Flyte family in Brideshead Revisited on the Lygons family who owned it.

* Come into the House is published by Corazon Books on July 12 and will be available as a paperback and ebook from Amazon. Visit amazon.co.uk