Millie Bobby Brown is once again reminding us that there is almost nothing she can't do. Award-winning actor? Check. Founder of a beauty brand? Check. Director? Check. Next on the list? Published author.
On March 24, the 19-year-old Stranger Things star announced that she has written her debut novel, titled Nineteen Steps. The historical fiction novel is inspired by true events and Millie's own family history during World War II, specifically her grandmother Ruth's survival of the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster in 1943. (Per BBC, the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster was the “largest single loss of civilian life” in the UK during the war.)
“Writing Nineteen Steps has been a really special project for me,” Millie said in the announcement video she posted to Instagram. The book will be published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins. “I really hope you will find the true spirit of love and strength in Nineteen Steps, and I can’t wait to share it with you.”
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MBB's novel takes place three years into World War II and follows 18-year-old Nellie Morris, who lives in London — in the Bethnal Green neighborhood — with her family. According to the novel's official description, Nellie “becomes enchanted with the idea of a broader world" after a “chance encounter with Ray, an American airman stationed nearby."
“Just when Nellie begins to embrace an exciting new life with Ray, a terrible incident occurs during an air raid one evening, and the consequences are catastrophic,” reads the synopsis. “As the truth about that night is revealed, Nellie’s world is torn apart. When it seems all hope is lost, Nellie finds that, against all odds, love and happiness can triumph.” The Enola Holmes star's first novel is already being described as a “mesmerizing page-turner” and “an epic story of longing, loss, and secrets.”
“Inspired by my Nanny Ruth, this book is very personal and close to my heart," Millie Bobby Brown said about the book in a press statement. "I grew up listening to stories about her time living through the war. I’m honored to keep her story alive.”
Millie has always been a vocal advocate for strong female characters in film and TV, so it only makes sense that she'd feel the same way about female characters in literature and feel compelled to write one of her own.
"Nineteen Steps is a tender, inspiring story about female resilience and the human spirit,” Liz Stein, the executive editor at William Morrow, also said in a statement. “Both heart-warming and heart-breaking, it’s a novel that portrays the strength and courage we find in family, friendship and community. I was incredibly moved by the haunting, true tragedy at the core of the novel and enchanted by the unforgettable portrait of love in the time of war.”
Nineteen Steps will hit shelves on September 12, 2023, and you can pre-order it here.