Actor Millie Bobby Brown will make her literary debut later this year with a historical novel set during World War II.
William Morrow will publish Brown’s Nineteen Steps this summer, the HarperCollins imprint announced in a news release. It describes the novel as “a moving tale of love, longing, and loss, inspired by the true events of her family’s experience during World War II.”
Brown, 19, is best known for her starring role as Eleven in the Netflix series Stranger Things, and as a star and producer of the Enola Holmes films, based on Nancy Springer’s series of mystery novels for young readers.
Nineteen Steps is based on the 1943 Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, in which 173 people were killed in a stampede on a subway station staircase after an air raid siren sounded.
The novel follows Nellie Morris, an 18-year-old woman whose life is altered by the disaster. “Nineteen Steps is a deeply affecting, mesmerizing page-turner inspired by the author’s family history,” Morrow says. “An epic story of longing, loss, and secrets, Millie Bobby Brown’s propulsive debut introduces an unforgettable, brave young woman and boldly portrays the strength in the power of love.”
“Inspired by my Nanny Ruth, this book is very personal and close to my heart,” Brown said in a statement. “I grew up listening to stories about her time living through the war. I’m honored to keep her story alive.”
Nineteen Steps is slated for publication on Sept. 12.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
