Yorkshire estate becomes the heart of BBC director’s feminist ghost story
A haunting Yorkshire estate lies at the heart of The Difficult Wife — a chilling new gothic novel from award-winning BBC director Tim Robinson, released this week by Northside House.
Set in Edwardian England, the story follows Lucy Lake, a young painter who marries a man haunted by the suicide of his first wife. As Lucy settles into his remote Yorkshire home, she begins to feel the dead woman’s presence creeping into her thoughts — and possibly her body. Is she being possessed, or slowly unravelled under the same pressures that drove the first wife to her death?
The book, described by early readers as “a feminist reimagining of the madwoman in the attic trope”, blends ghost story with psychological thriller, tackling themes of mental illness, control, grief, and gendered power.
“Ghost stories have long been a way to give the silenced a voice especially women, queer people, and those on the margins,” says Tim, who was raised working-class in Fenland and didn’t learn to write until age 11 due to severe dyslexia.
Despite this, Tim went on to study at Oxford and build a career at the BBC, producing acclaimed documentaries such as Racism: A Savage Legacy and Zulu: The True Story.
“The Difficult Wife is about what happens when authority is misused under the guise of care,” he explains. “The ghosts in this story aren’t just haunting a house — they’re haunting a system that silences women who don’t comply.”
The novel aligns with a new wave of modern gothic fiction, exploring the psychological weight of gaslighting and emotional control. Its release also coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month.
Publisher Chris Jackson calls the novel “haunting, elegant, and subversive.”
Now in his sixties, Tim lives between London and Spain with his husband, a spoiled Cavalier Spaniel, and an indifferent cat. He continues to explore gothic fiction and queer literary history on his blog, Gothic Subversion.
“This story lived inside me for years,” he says. “It’s about power. It’s about women. And it’s about how the past never really stays buried.”
The Difficult Wife is out now via Northside House. Available from Waterstones, Amazon, and UK booksellers.