The Brontës at Haworth

by Ann Dinsdale, Simon Warner (Photographs)

The three Brontë sisters – Anne, Charlotte and Emily – moved to Haworth Parsonage as children in 1820. It was there, on the edge of the dramatic landscape of the Yorkshire Moors, that they produced some of the most memorable, influential and best-loved novels in the English language. Ann Dinsdale paints a detailed picture of everyday life at Haworth in the 1840s, recounting the Brontë family history and describing the local village and surrounding countryside. She goes on to consider the Brontës' poetry and novels in the context of their socio-historic background. This book provides fascinating insight into the lives of the authors of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and will be a must for both literature students and Brontë admirers. It is illustrated with numerous rarely seen images from the Haworth archives, including drawings by Charlotte and Emily, together with evocative pictures by local photographer Simon Warner.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, British Literature, Autobiography, 19th Century, Historical

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Auntie Terror · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a good overview of the lives of the Bronte family, including parents and other siblings apaprt from the three famous sisters - especially the father and brother. The reader gets a feeling for the struggles the family had to go through concerning education and social life. Haworth seems such an unlikely place for a family which seems to have put so much stress on intellectual development and the arts.
The book also shines a light on the friendship of Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell, her first biographer. It points out how much this famous friend did for the proper reception of the sisters' works, but also for the sinister reputation of the father.

All in all, I now desperately want to visit the Bronte Museum in Haworth.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book. I suppose this is a sort of coffee table book. I seem to have a life long weakness for coffee table books.
It has the most wonderful photographs, some new and some old black-n-whites of the town, the homes, the people, even their sketches and the manuscripts. A day may go by before you turn a page because there is so much to see on each page. I feel like I have really been to Haworth myself, poking around the kitchen, sitting in the family's chairs and looking out the very same windows that Emily or Charlotte may have.
This book is most thorough, covering not only the family and the home but also the servants, friends and neighbors-with photos of all. This is the kind of book that makes a great gift that any Bronte fan would really really love to get.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful pictorial essay of the Brontes and their home in Haworth.

The book contains a few surprises for Bronte scholars.

Above all else, enjoy this wonderful work.

[Carla Acheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful hardback catalogue of everything related to the wonderful Bronté family. The glossy photographs are exquisite and show in great detail the atmosphere of the village, the lifestyle of the characters and the Bronté Parsonage itself. Branwell Bronté was a pleasant discovery, and a section dedicated to him alone revealed his many talents, of which few had ever truly embraced.

As you flick through this memoir it is almost as if you can feel the eerie mist which spreads across the isolated moors, feel the creative furnace which burns brightly through the family and the personal charms they each reveal through the possessions they left behind.

I enjoyed every page of this book and it is never finished for me as I know that I will refer back to it again and again to top up my Bronte fix.

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gets an extra star for it's physical quality, wonderful pictures. Nicely done all around, good brief biography of the entire family.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice mix of photos and text. So sad that they all died relatively young. There were some older sisters I was unaware of, who also died young. We take for granted a long life. In those days, there were so many illnesses with no cure. In this case, consumption (AB and EB), and childbirth (CB).

[Malvina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Christmas gift, given to me by a friend who also enjoys everything Bronte. It is an excellent introduction to the Brontes, providing an immensely readable background to their lives and works. The famous novels of Charlotte, Emily and Anne are introduced, and subsequent critical acclaim recorded. Also eventual biographies (including brother Branwell), and the ongoing legacy of the Brontes. The lavish illustrations are a joy, so sharp and clear it is a pleasure to indeed 'visit' Haworth from your armchair. A lovely book to have on your bookshelf.

[Jennifer Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

To my neighbors who are Bronte fans: Who loves you? I do!

I bought this beautiful coffee table book about All Things Bronte at a library castoff sale because I thought you'd enjoy it (after I read it, of course!), and I'm putting it in my little free library now so you can enjoy it as well.

Not long ago, I watched the PBS dramatization "To Walk Invisible" about the Bronte family and thought it was interesting, so when I saw this book for sale, I wanted to know more. (Ok, it didn't hurt that it was on the $1 rack.) The text, written by a curator at the official Bronte museum, is comprehensive, covering everything from each person in the family (including long-term servants), the landscape, a summary of each of the sisters' books, their friends and biographers, and how the museum and its collection came together. The book is rich with illustrations the famous siblings drew or painted and beautiful photos, including of places that were the inspiration for locations in the Brontes' books.

To be honest, I have not read all of the books by the Bronte sisters, but this book gave me a broader understanding and appreciation of their novels as well as the life and times of the entire Bronte family. I savored this book slowly for some really enjoyable virtual sightseeing. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it as well.

[East Greenbush Community Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although brief in length, this is a rich account of the lives of the Bronte family, especially the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne that includes their lives, their literary output, accounts of their lives and the harsh physical world in which they lived.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely perfect sort of "Bronte 101" by the always reliable parsonage curator Ann Dinsdale.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book with lovely photographs and told in very readable sections. Read in preparation for a visit to Haworth and it was very helpful.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The Bronte family has always been really intriguing to me. It's so amazing to me that three of the Bronte daughters became writers and famous ones at that. This book is part biography and part history of the Bronte family centering on their gorgeous house in the English countryside.

I really liked reading the biography of all of the family members. I actually didn't realize that the Bronte sister writers (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) had any other siblings. They actually had several! They had a couple sisters who passed away and a brother. You learn something new everyday! Their brother, Branwell, was actually quite a good artist. I loved learning about him as well as learning a little bit more about the sisters. These sections were brief but really informative.

This book is chock full of fantastic pictures that give you a good sense of the Bronte's life and their environment. This would make a great coffee table book! You can almost imagine being at Haworth with the Bronte family. This is a pretty good book to introduce those that are new to the Bronte's as well as those that are already fans.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

In einer interessanten und ansprechenden Komposition (mit erstmals abgebildeten Zeichnungen und Gemälden der Brontë-Geschwister!) tritt uns eine neue Brontëbiographie entgegen. Zunächst werden kurze Einzelporträts der Brontëfamilientmitglieder gezeichnet, wobei mit einigen unwahren Urteilen aufgeräumt wird, die auf die berühmte Charlotte-Brontë-Biographie Elizabeth Gaskells zurückzuführen sind. Im zweiten Kapitel wird der schriftstellerische Werdegang der drei Brontë-Schwestern geschildert, wobei eine kurze Studie jedes ihrer Werke erfolgt. Das dritte Kapitel widmet die Autorin Haworth und seiner Umgebung im Allgemeinen sowie dem Pfarrhaus im Speziellen. Ein kurzer Überblick über die Biographielandschaft sowie die Inszenierungen und Verfilmungen der Brontë-Werke runden Dinsdales Beschreibung der Brontë-Welt ab. Eine Perle sowohl für große Brontëfans als auch für diejenigen, die die Brontëwelt gerade erst kennen lernen.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about the Bronte family, which provides abundant information about the history of the family as well as details about each member of the Brontes, their maidservants, and friends! Furthermore, the book describes the works of the Bronte sisters, the critical reception of their works, and the places that were the source of their inspiration; it even describes the village, the churchyard, and life, death, and illness then. Finally, the book talks about the legacy and the history of the Bronte Society. I loved very much the wonderful photos and pictures included in the book, which supported the very interesting information about the Bronte family.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly loved this book. It gave such great in sight into the Bronte family.

I felt it was very sad that they were all born within years of each other (the siblings) and yet they all died within a matter of months and years of each other, particularly Charlotte, I found that extremely sad, especially as Jane Eyre is my favourite.

It was nice to have the little insight of anecdotes based on school experiences by Charlotte Bronte that she brought into her books, and it makes me see the novel in a new light.

Definitely feel more equipped to visit the Bronte home and Haworth now :)

Also really liked the pictures in this, the visual touch really helped.

[Poonam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a lovely coffee table book that I've finished in one sitting through some delicious meals. I have such strong urge to visit Yorkshire after reading this to see The Brontë Museum. Book covered their social circle, their friends, influences and some of erstwhile authors of the day connected to them. it also captures real people who were inspiration of characters in their books. Most importantly, book captures beautifully through both words and photographs that locations - the Moors and the houses - that made their way in the book.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. A glimpse of the Brontes family & their home. After reading this...I have to read Jane Eyre again and the other books they written. There are some parts that are quite sad...Mother they rarely know,...the only person that outlived them is the father.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of the lives of the Bronte family, complete with lots of photos. Seeing where they lived puts such.a human face on them. I had no idea that they were of Irish descent, or what the last name meant. Having abrother with those kinds of problems musthave reallybeen difficult.

[Sarah]

very interesting to read about this families history.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book at the Parsonage Museum. Excellent overview and many photos.