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Emily Brontë. A Chainless Soul
Emily, the most gifted and intelligent of the Brontë sisters, was a woman of inflexible will and immense courage. Katherine Frank's incisive biography reinterprets her mysterious and troubled life.
In the austerity of the parsonage at Haworth, Emily Brontë greuw up to be a determined, headstrong woman who deliberately chose seclusion as a way of life. Her obsession with self-control, the importance she placed on self-denial and deliberate starvation, affected not only her body but her writing as well. This is a careful and evocative study of her life and her flights into an imaginary world—the 'world within'—which produced her poetry, so often overlooked, as well as her novel Wuthering Heights.
Katherine Frank sheds new light on our understanding of Emily Brontë's personality, experience and writing. From a feminist perspective, she fundamentally changes the traditional patriarchal view of Emily. She depicts a sometimes forbidding woman who lived bravely, consistently and with unassailable integrity. Under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, she suffered the condemnation of her contemporaries, but was in time justly to become renowned as a remarkably talented poet and novelist.
In the austerity of the parsonage at Haworth, Emily Brontë greuw up to be a determined, headstrong woman who deliberately chose seclusion as a way of life. Her obsession with self-control, the importance she placed on self-denial and deliberate starvation, affected not only her body but her writing as well. This is a careful and evocative study of her life and her flights into an imaginary world—the 'world within'—which produced her poetry, so often overlooked, as well as her novel Wuthering Heights.
Katherine Frank sheds new light on our understanding of Emily Brontë's personality, experience and writing. From a feminist perspective, she fundamentally changes the traditional patriarchal view of Emily. She depicts a sometimes forbidding woman who lived bravely, consistently and with unassailable integrity. Under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, she suffered the condemnation of her contemporaries, but was in time justly to become renowned as a remarkably talented poet and novelist.
302 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1990
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439 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 25, 2025
Frank’s intriguing hypothesis regarding the role of food and self-deprivation in Emily Brontë’s life gives this biography a sharp and frequently discomforting edge. Furthermore it gives the many eccentricities of the entire family a fierceness of multi-faceted hues.
Essential reading for Brontë enthusiasts.
Essential reading for Brontë enthusiasts.
November 30, 2025
چقد ترجمه خوب بود. چقد این کتاب رو دوست داشتم. چقدر زندگیشون و تجربههاشون قابللمس و روشنگر بود. چقدر به این سهتا خواهر علاقمندتر شدم.
البته باید در نظر داشت که چون کلا منابع محدودی در مورد امیلی در دست بوده جزییات بیشتری از شارلوت میخونیم تا امیلی. اما تقریبا هر چیزی از امیلی میشد پیدا کرد تو این کتاب هست
خوندنش خیلی تجربهی قشنگی بود برام.
البته باید در نظر داشت که چون کلا منابع محدودی در مورد امیلی در دست بوده جزییات بیشتری از شارلوت میخونیم تا امیلی. اما تقریبا هر چیزی از امیلی میشد پیدا کرد تو این کتاب هست
خوندنش خیلی تجربهی قشنگی بود برام.
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June 3, 2009I always feel a certain amount of voyeuristic guilt in reading biographies, particularly those of private people. Any woman whose last words were "If you will send for a doctor, I will see him now." clearly knew what she wanted out of life, and what Emily Bronte wanted was to be left alone.
In the Biographical Notice of Ellis And Acton Bell, Charlotte comments "My sister Emily was not a person of demonstrative character, nor one, on whose mind and feelings, even those nearest and dearest to her could, with impunity, intrude unlicensed". Mrs Gaskell described Emily as 'reserved', explaining that she distinguished between reserve and shyness 'because I imagine shyness would please if it knew how, whereas reserve is indifferent whether it pleases or not.' Further, in one of her letters, Charlotte asks her publishers not to refer to Emily by any other name than her nom de plume, Ellis Bell.
So why am I reading this book? Not with any realistic hope of setting aside the 'interpreter' which Charlotte insisted should always stand between Emily and the world--that interpreter is probably ineradicable by now. And any hope that I would get a better understanding of a woman with similar personality to mine (In the sense of the woman in the Punch cartoon commenting of her husband that "He has the same personality as Spike Milligan, but without the sense of humor") coped with the 'world without'. This book can't do those things--though it appropriates Emily's own conjuration of a 'chainless soul', it postulates several dozen chains, including some that even the boldest previous researchers hadn't suggested before (I doubt very seriously that Emily was anorexic, and the evidence adduced to support the claim is shaky at best.) Further, I don't know why 'modern researchers' have decided that Emily was not mystical--the traits they describe sure sound mystical to me.
I wish I could find the book that did give some insight into Emily, based on her own writings. It'd help if I could remember which one that was. Until I do, I guess I'll have to settle for this, though I drag my heels and argue with every page.
In the Biographical Notice of Ellis And Acton Bell, Charlotte comments "My sister Emily was not a person of demonstrative character, nor one, on whose mind and feelings, even those nearest and dearest to her could, with impunity, intrude unlicensed". Mrs Gaskell described Emily as 'reserved', explaining that she distinguished between reserve and shyness 'because I imagine shyness would please if it knew how, whereas reserve is indifferent whether it pleases or not.' Further, in one of her letters, Charlotte asks her publishers not to refer to Emily by any other name than her nom de plume, Ellis Bell.
So why am I reading this book? Not with any realistic hope of setting aside the 'interpreter' which Charlotte insisted should always stand between Emily and the world--that interpreter is probably ineradicable by now. And any hope that I would get a better understanding of a woman with similar personality to mine (In the sense of the woman in the Punch cartoon commenting of her husband that "He has the same personality as Spike Milligan, but without the sense of humor") coped with the 'world without'. This book can't do those things--though it appropriates Emily's own conjuration of a 'chainless soul', it postulates several dozen chains, including some that even the boldest previous researchers hadn't suggested before (I doubt very seriously that Emily was anorexic, and the evidence adduced to support the claim is shaky at best.) Further, I don't know why 'modern researchers' have decided that Emily was not mystical--the traits they describe sure sound mystical to me.
I wish I could find the book that did give some insight into Emily, based on her own writings. It'd help if I could remember which one that was. Until I do, I guess I'll have to settle for this, though I drag my heels and argue with every page.
April 18, 2018
Excellent. Another user's review had me concerned that the book would have a preoccupation with food issues and eating disorders, (which in terms of their relevance to the Bronte's I was skeptical of.) But I was pleasantly surprised this was not the case. This is a solid all-around biography. I really only had one criticism, and that is more that a personal interest was not satisfied. I was hoping that since she spent so much of the book discussing the Brussels episode that the author would delve into the possible connections raised by Daphne Du Maurier in The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte, between Martha Taylor, and Cathrine Earnshaw. It was cursorily mentioned, but no question was raised as to the cryptic letter written by Mary Taylor to Charlotte that hinted at a more salacious end to Martha's tragically short life. The author's thoughts on this would have been interesting. Still, an excellent book, on par with Stevie Davies' wonderful bio. My quest for determining the best Emily Bronte book continues! On to Winifred Gerin's. Though this book is definitely a contender.
Literary Efforts/Poetry/Wuthering Heights
****
Mysticism/psychoanalysis/ sexuality
****
The Early Years/Juvenilia and Gondal years
****
Abroad in Brussels
****
Home life/domesticity
****
20/25
Literary Efforts/Poetry/Wuthering Heights
****
Mysticism/psychoanalysis/ sexuality
****
The Early Years/Juvenilia and Gondal years
****
Abroad in Brussels
****
Home life/domesticity
****
20/25
May 8, 2020
I just loved this. I know, it's proof of my absolute nerdiness that during the pandemic I read a biography of Emily Bronte. But what a ferocious, uncompromising spirit. What an intellect. Plus I always loved that she wandered the moors with her giant dog Keeper. That'd be me.
April 29, 2013
Excellent book! I can't believe that all that information could fit in 272 pages. I'm a big fan of Emily so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Katherine Frank presents her new insight into Emily-- a victim of anorexia nervosa and social isolation which, Frank believed, helped her write stories with a wild imagination. I don't know if I totally agree with that. I think that losing her brother was devastating to Emily, which would cause her to lose interest in her diet. I also believe that her Christian faith would often have periods of “fasting,” a common thing, in the church. According to what I read in this book, it did seem that when things didn’t go her way, she made a choice to "fast" which resulted in physical weakness, and was able to go home.
Want to read
November 24, 2009I'm dubious, yet obsessed.
April 29, 2024
rip emily bronte you would have loved lana del rey
October 2, 2011
Having found myself on a "Bronte-kick", I turned to Katherine Frank's telling of Emily Bronte's life. Not nearly as academic as Edward Chitham's attempt, this book was much easier and more rounded. Mr. Chitham's account seemed painstakingly intent on pouring over every inch of Emily's poems, looking for clues but never really confident to fully exclaim a belief over the potential facets of her life.
Here, thanks to Ms. Franks, Emily is more accessible. Interestingly enough, the author does not shy from her own assessments and forays into the potential psychological mind of Emily Bronte (for example, she contends Emily was an anorexic). Katherine Frank goes further by including all the Brontes in the telling of Emily's life for, not to do so, would leave out essential bits of valuable information since Emily was the most elusive and private of her family. By reading more of Charlotte, I came away with a new appreciation for her and berated myself for past judgments against her.
Of the two biographies I've read, this one is an easier one which valiantly paints the life of a brilliant-minded woman who was a spiritual anomaly...a force of nature who was at once misunderstood and elusive as the passionate characters she created. FINISHED: 10-1-11
Here, thanks to Ms. Franks, Emily is more accessible. Interestingly enough, the author does not shy from her own assessments and forays into the potential psychological mind of Emily Bronte (for example, she contends Emily was an anorexic). Katherine Frank goes further by including all the Brontes in the telling of Emily's life for, not to do so, would leave out essential bits of valuable information since Emily was the most elusive and private of her family. By reading more of Charlotte, I came away with a new appreciation for her and berated myself for past judgments against her.
Of the two biographies I've read, this one is an easier one which valiantly paints the life of a brilliant-minded woman who was a spiritual anomaly...a force of nature who was at once misunderstood and elusive as the passionate characters she created. FINISHED: 10-1-11
January 11, 2015
A lot of it just felt like fiction to me.
July 31, 2024
I learned a great deal about the short, sad, but creative life of Emily Bronte. Although the book started off slow, it seemed to be a biography about the all the Brontes, this ultimately provided a literary historical backstory and context that helped the reader move forward.
As the book progresses, Katherine Frank begins to hone in on Emily-her unusual eccentricities such as refusing to eat or speak when unhappy, her love of control of the Haworth household, her love of the moors, animals, and her literary creations as well as her anti-social feelings toward humanity in general.
The author of the now classic, "Wuthering Heights", Frank also delves into Emily's lesser known poems call the "Night Poems" for she was a devotee of the moon and stars. She cared not for the outside world, for fame, marriage, and money meant little to her. Here is a stanza from one of her most famous "Night Poems:"
"Riches I hold in light esteem
And love I laugh to scorn
And lust of Fame was but a dream
That vanished in the morn."
Here is the life of a very talented, troubled writer who ultimately knew herself and what she wanted. Along with her sisters, they created fantasy worlds to fuel their literary creations and often felt more comfortable in this world. Emily died far too young, but her literary legacy will live on.
A thorough and well-written biography that Bronte fans and lovers of literature will enjoy.
As the book progresses, Katherine Frank begins to hone in on Emily-her unusual eccentricities such as refusing to eat or speak when unhappy, her love of control of the Haworth household, her love of the moors, animals, and her literary creations as well as her anti-social feelings toward humanity in general.
The author of the now classic, "Wuthering Heights", Frank also delves into Emily's lesser known poems call the "Night Poems" for she was a devotee of the moon and stars. She cared not for the outside world, for fame, marriage, and money meant little to her. Here is a stanza from one of her most famous "Night Poems:"
"Riches I hold in light esteem
And love I laugh to scorn
And lust of Fame was but a dream
That vanished in the morn."
Here is the life of a very talented, troubled writer who ultimately knew herself and what she wanted. Along with her sisters, they created fantasy worlds to fuel their literary creations and often felt more comfortable in this world. Emily died far too young, but her literary legacy will live on.
A thorough and well-written biography that Bronte fans and lovers of literature will enjoy.
June 22, 2022
"زر و زیور این جهان را به خواری می نگرم
و عشق را به سخره می گیرم
و شهوت نام و آوازه
در چشم من جز خواب و خیالی پوچ نیست
که با طلیعه صبحدم رنگ می بازد
و اگر این لبها به راز و نیازی بگشاید
به جز این زمزمه دعایی بر لبم نیست-
" بار سنگین این دل را از من باز ستان
و به من رهایی بخش"
آه آری، همچنان که روزهای عمر من
شتاب آلود به سوی لحظه های واپسین گام بر می دارند
این است آنچه من به لابه و زاری می خواهم
در قلمرو مرگ و زندگی
مرا جانی آزاده عطا کن
و شهامتی که رنج را تاب آورم
به این فکر افتادم که آیا قرار است بهترین سال های عمرم را در این شرایط فلاکت بار به بردگی این و آن بگذرانم و از دیدن بطالت، بی تفاوتی و حماقت بی اندازه این آدم های زمخت و نچسب و کله پوک، و از اینکه مجبورم ریخت آدمهای مهربان و صبور و جدی و زحمتکش را به خودم بگیرم، از شدت خشم جان به لبم بیاید اما خم به ابرو نیاورم؟ آیا باید روزهای پی در پی خودم را به این صندلی زنجیر و در این چهاردیواری محبوس کنم و ببینم خورشید در آسمان تابستان شعله می کشد و زمان زمان ِ شادی و سرمستی است و هر روز که از روزهای تابستان به سر می رسد با من می گوید فرصتی را که اینک از کف می دهم دیگر دوباره به دست نخواهم آورد؟"
( از متن نامه شارلوت برونته)
و عشق را به سخره می گیرم
و شهوت نام و آوازه
در چشم من جز خواب و خیالی پوچ نیست
که با طلیعه صبحدم رنگ می بازد
و اگر این لبها به راز و نیازی بگشاید
به جز این زمزمه دعایی بر لبم نیست-
" بار سنگین این دل را از من باز ستان
و به من رهایی بخش"
آه آری، همچنان که روزهای عمر من
شتاب آلود به سوی لحظه های واپسین گام بر می دارند
این است آنچه من به لابه و زاری می خواهم
در قلمرو مرگ و زندگی
مرا جانی آزاده عطا کن
و شهامتی که رنج را تاب آورم
به این فکر افتادم که آیا قرار است بهترین سال های عمرم را در این شرایط فلاکت بار به بردگی این و آن بگذرانم و از دیدن بطالت، بی تفاوتی و حماقت بی اندازه این آدم های زمخت و نچسب و کله پوک، و از اینکه مجبورم ریخت آدمهای مهربان و صبور و جدی و زحمتکش را به خودم بگیرم، از شدت خشم جان به لبم بیاید اما خم به ابرو نیاورم؟ آیا باید روزهای پی در پی خودم را به این صندلی زنجیر و در این چهاردیواری محبوس کنم و ببینم خورشید در آسمان تابستان شعله می کشد و زمان زمان ِ شادی و سرمستی است و هر روز که از روزهای تابستان به سر می رسد با من می گوید فرصتی را که اینک از کف می دهم دیگر دوباره به دست نخواهم آورد؟"
( از متن نامه شارلوت برونته)
January 30, 2019
I picked this up in a charity book shop around 3 years ago and might not have gotten around to reading it if I hadn’t have been inspired by my trip to Haworth.
.
I generally struggle and get bored quickly with biographies but this is actually beautiful. It flows just like a story, and whilst it’s short seems to pack a lot in. There is so much detail and people, places and accounts are referenced (as what seems to me - and as it includes an extensive bibliography) quite accurately.
.
Admittedly there is probably a lot more of Charlotte, Ellen Nussey and Mrs Gaskell in this biography than Emily, but her being such a reclusive and mysterious creature, having destroyed a lot of her manuscripts and correspondences and only one painting of her existing - there isn’t much we know of her so are reliant on other accounts.
.
#QOTD :Are there any other Brontë biographies that you’d recommend worth reading? I’m really interested to read Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte and Daphne du Maurier’s biography of Branwell.
.
I generally struggle and get bored quickly with biographies but this is actually beautiful. It flows just like a story, and whilst it’s short seems to pack a lot in. There is so much detail and people, places and accounts are referenced (as what seems to me - and as it includes an extensive bibliography) quite accurately.
.
Admittedly there is probably a lot more of Charlotte, Ellen Nussey and Mrs Gaskell in this biography than Emily, but her being such a reclusive and mysterious creature, having destroyed a lot of her manuscripts and correspondences and only one painting of her existing - there isn’t much we know of her so are reliant on other accounts.
.
#QOTD :Are there any other Brontë biographies that you’d recommend worth reading? I’m really interested to read Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte and Daphne du Maurier’s biography of Branwell.
July 3, 2021
If you loved Wuthering Heights or any book by the Bronte sisters you might enjoy this delve into who characters might be based on. I felt this book was more about Charlotte than Emily. The prologue talks about the analysis of Emily and her anorexia but it’s rarely alluded too. I felt the author often lost herself in the romanticism of Charlotte and Emily and therefore overlooked the practicalities of life then. She once describes the ladies rising early at dawn in February, to be honest it doesn’t get light until 9.30am at that time of year.
September 24, 2023
One of the books that I regularly re-read when I want to deeply connect with what it means to be a writer. Emily and Charlotte come alive in these pages although I dont think Frank is right about how Emily responds to the moors. It is not that she feels insignificant and finds comfort in that, it's the opposite I would imagine. Solitude brings with it expansion and a sense of wonder, I'm sure that's what Emily treasured her whole life. Maybe SHE was Heathcliff, that occurred to me this time when re-reading this book again.
December 5, 2016
Emily Bronte is my favorite author, and I am fond of all the Brontes. A Chainless Soul was my secret passage into the Bronte's, centering on the especially elusive Emily. I loved every word, every second and have savored this book many times over. It is a classic and remains my favorite reference to the Bronte's of all time. Thank you Katherine Frank for your beautiful writing and for making me feel like I was there! I feel so intimately acquainted with all the Brontes from your lovely story
August 10, 2018
Brilliant! A must read for any Brontë fan. I was shocked by Emily’s extraordinary life and encourage anyone who has read ‘Wuthering Heights’ or her poetry to discover the author’s fascinating past. Frank produces an account that is easy to read and manages to fit an impressive amount of information into only 272 pages!
December 25, 2025
One of the best biographies I have ever read - gave me so much insight into the Brontes' lives. It is a lesson in how much can be done in a simple life. Her writing style was narrative and insightful; I actually hope to read it again soon!
July 20, 2021
The author makes some big leaps in trying to decipher the reasons behind certain events, especially pertaining to Branwell Bronte, but still an enjoyable book.
July 30, 2022
Explores the lives of the Bronte family.
November 11, 2017
This book was captivating! I had a hard time putting it down. In addition to Emily's life, it also discusses her family at length. I highly recommend this to any Bronte fan.
January 5, 2016
This biography makes the Bronte family come alive and the events seem recent. It depressed me to see how restricted their existence was and how different it would be now, but enthralled me to observe how they compensated for these restrictions by using imagination from the Gondal and Angria books and poems to the works they are remembered for today.
July 30, 2008
As anyone who has read Wuthering Heights probably has guessed, Emily Bronte was an unusual woman, with a rather tortured inner life. This bio explains her strange life.
November 30, 2008
Intriguing. Not sure I buy all the interpertations of personality
or events.
or events.
Read
January 17, 2015fascinating
November 10, 2011
Insightful, but I haven't read any other biography on the Bronte's to judge it properly. Frank's writing gets a little tedious in places and vague in others.
March 14, 2012
This non-fiction biography reads like a novel. Absolutely fascinating! Great read!
January 12, 2013
Beautiful, in depth biography of the entire Brontë family. At first I didn't like how selfish and spiteful the author made Emily out to be, but all in all the book was wonderful.
December 21, 2013
Very well written. Convincingly authentic, well researched - brought Emily and her family back to life for me!
March 19, 2014
So inspiring, yet again...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews