The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: Her Last Years and the Scandal That Made Her

by Graham Watson

'No one can know all she had to go through. The merciful judgement of all connected with that terrible life lies with God; And we may all be thankful that it does.'

Doomed survivor of a family of geniuses, Charlotte Brontë had a life as dramatic as Jane Eyre. Turning her back on her tragic past, she reinvented herself as an acclaimed writer, a mysterious celebrity, and a lover. Doing so meant burning many bridges, but her sudden death left her friends and admirers with more questions than answers.

Tasked with telling the truth about Brontë's life, her friend, novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, uncovered secrets of illicit love, family discord and professional rivalries more incredible than any fiction. The result, a tell-all biography, was so scandalous it was banned and rewritten twice in six months – but not before it had given birth to the legend of the Brontës.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Victorian

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2024

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Reviews

[Julie Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book which focuses on Charlotte Brontë’s later years, from 1850 onwards, and “the scandal that made her”. The main focus is the complex task Elizabeth Gaskell had in writing her biography and the obstacles she faced from her friends, family and acquaintances.
The result is a moving portrayal of Charlotte, revealing her to be a strong yet vulnerable woman but not without flaws.
A compelling read and welcome addition to my Brontë library 👏

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent new work exploring the last few years of Charlotte Bronte’s life and then the painstaking efforts of Elizabeth Gaskell to write the biography.
Gaskell’s “Life of Charlotte Bronte” was published only two years after Charlotte’s death and brought a firestorm down on the heads of everyone involved. Fascinating stuff for a Bronte devotee.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father, I am not a young girl, not a young woman even. I never was pretty. I now am ugly. At your death I shall have £300 besides the little I have earned myself. Do you think there are many men who would serve seven years for me?

Graham Watson's debut book: Add this book to your research shelves everyone!

Finally, readers of Charlotte Bronte now have a definitive research book covering the last years of her life (1850-1855). Graham Watson lets Charlotte Bronte's loved ones speak for themselves by including letter excerpts from Charlotte herself, her father and husband.

As the book opens, Charlotte is the surviving Bronte sibling left to care for her aging father, Rev. Patrick Bronte. She also struggles with being known in her own lifetime as a published author of Jane Eyre and Villette. Although, there were numerous obstacles in the way of Charlotte marrying Arthur Nicholls they were put there by Charlotte and her father themselves. Luckily, in the end Charlotte would have her wedding and sadly very brief marriage as Mrs. Nicholls.

One aspect of the book that surprised and shocked me was Charlotte's circle of female friends she kept during her lifetime. Author, Graham Watson includes three very specific women: Ellen Nussey, Elizabeth Gaskell and Harriett Martineau. Now, Ellen Nussey was Charlotte's lifelong friend from childhood, Elizabeth Gaskell wrote the first controversial biographhy on Charlotte Bronte and Harriett Martineau I am not familiar with.

You know that saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Well, unbeknownst to Charlotte, she had enemies disguised as friends who were very jealous of her since the publication of Jane Eyre. Sadly, it was Elizabeth Gaskell and Harriett Martineau who were the worst 'friends' taking every opportunity they could find to badmouth Charlotte in the press. I will say Harriett was 'evil' towards Charlotte and leave it at that. Graham Watson does a wonderful job giving varied information covering the rest of the lives of these three women up until and including their deaths. There is a lot to learn about Arthur Nicholls as well and you see a side to Rev. Patrick Bronte that I don't think is usually covered.

[Gabrielle Molyneux · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Invention of Charlotte Bronte' by Graham Watson, is more than a biography--it's an emotionally moving portrayal of one of the most mysterious and misunderstood literary figures in history.

With incredible research and obvious devotion, the author has brought Charlotte to life in a way that makes you feel as if you truly know her... and wishing you could be her friend, even on her lowest day.

The depth of insight into Charlotte's passions and the complexities of her inner world is incredibly impressive, particularly considering that the author is a young man. His sensitivity and understanding of a woman who lived and died almost 200 years ago is moving and refreshing.

'The Invention of Charlotte Bronte' is a must-read for anyone who loves the Brontes or classic literature in general. The biography touches on many famous authors of its day, offering a broader understanding of the literary world that Charlotte was part of... it is as entertaining as it is informative.

I purchased the book at an independent bookstore while on a trip to England. This is a wonderful book.

Well done, Mr. Watson.

[Nicola Friar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invention of Charlotte Brontë is the latest of a long line of Brontë biographies. Detailed and engaging, I appreciate the amount of research that has gone into Watson's labour of love. The book does exactly what its title suggests. It examines how readers' views of Charlotte were invented or shaped, mainly by her friend and fellow writer, Elizabeth Gaskell, who wrote the first-ever biography of Charlotte. Watson's book examines the legacy of and fallout from the writing and publication of Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857). It seems to build on the foundations built by Lucasta Miller in her pioneering dismantling of the stories that have sprung up around the family in The Brontë Myth (2001). Like Miller, Watson devotes much of his book to examining the initial "creation" of the image of the Brontë family in Gaskell's biography, however, he largely sticks to an examination of contemporary responses to Charlotte's novels and Elizabeth's motives and processes when compiling the biography of her friend. Watson gives fascinating insights into society at the time and the strength of reactions to Elizabeth's research and finished book. I think perhaps that Watson's book could arguably function as a micro-biography of Gaskell herself with the amount of information he includes about her life, career, marriage, and struggles encountered during the writing of The Life and following its publication. The most delicious aspect of Watson's book is the depiction of the battles that took place over Charlotte's posthumous legacy from those she loved (Arthur, Patrick), old friends (Ellen, Mary), and literary society (Gaskell herself, Martineau). It's clear that many people felt very passionately about Charlotte and sought to defend her reputation. The Invention of Charlotte Brontë does a fantastic job of capturing how and why Charlotte was presented to the world during that specific period in Gaskell's book. What it doesn't do though is give much time to Charlotte herself, perhaps stifling her voice somewhat. Although, as the book's focus is on the invention of the public persona, maybe that is exactly the point Watson is making.

[Fiona Woolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always with myself , anything remotely to do with anything “BRONTE “ will get a high rating, and this book
did not disappoint,
NB Elizabeth Gaskell (EB) is a constant through out the book.
I have broken it down to parts1,2 & 3.
PART 1
———-
This particular part was a little drawn out, but only I feel for me as the reader as I’m not very good at retaining dates, this happens a lot throughout but particularly in this part of the book. The corresponding letters to and from CB and her acquaintances were well chosen and pivotal to CBs friends and foes. From the onset my own personal thoughts of EG began to change for the better. Not only did CB loose her siblings but she lost her soul companions thus becoming a very lonely and at times a misunderstood adult.
PART 2
————
From the onset it amazed me how so many people who were known to CB sundry became her “ best friend & confidante “ after her death, Giving their own views as to the kind of person she was and at times getting it completely wrong.
It was a great shame that periodical newspapers got several facts wrong concerning her funeral, particularly the spelling of “ Bronte becoming “ Prunty “
However I was unaware of the amount of people attended the funeral.
EG had a monumental task in collating information about CBs formative years before she met her as the only form of communication was via letters, or traveling to personally speak to people.
A lot of comparing letters and conversations proved difficult as there were many contradictions.
Legal issues insured as to who and what EB could include in her writing “ The Life of CB.
PART 3
———-
The opening of part 3 starts with a an article in
“ The English Ladies Magazine “ it’s very poignant.
This was a remarkable ending to an awful lot of hard work on EGs part.After the first publication views about certain facts caused ill feeling and for the next publication, from legal perspectives, a lot had to be either amended or retracted.
I now find myself eating humble pie as I feel EB achieved an informative account of CB given the obstacles she had to manage.
FOOTNOTE
——————-
Graham Watson is an excellent author and his knowledge about “ The Brontes “ before during and after death is outstanding.
Would i recommend it….absolutely
Would I read it again….absulutely
A resounding 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

[Therese Borden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew pretty much everything of importance about Charlotte Bronte but this book provided some new information. This is basically about the myths and romance that rose up while Bronte was alive about her sad life. When she died, there was a tremendous struggle among her friends, publishers, family members and writers to shape the story of her character and life for the general public. Each had a viewpoint snd many an agenda.

The battle was won by novelist Elizabeth Gaskell who knew and loved Charlotte, and ended up writing the first and most prominent biography. Many of the people written about were still alive when the biography was published and many were furious at how they were portrayed. Legal threats ensued. The second edition has heavily edited to satisfy the complainers.

It is altogether a story of fame, celebrity, and notoriety that played out in the 1850s. These things haven't changed much! Public insatiable thirst for private details about artists and throngs of fans who want to tell the story. And some pretty nasty competition among them.

A very good book, highly recommended.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Perhaps, after all, the truth about Charlotte Brontë was just as Elizabeth [Gaskell] suspected from the moment she had met her seven years earlier: that after a lifetime of emotional starvation and grief, one of the most talented women of her generation was harried and manipulated by the men around her into their serf, that her wish for concord, balance and stability had been exploited into defeated compromise by all those who needed none and, broken in spirit, she crawled, she knelt, then she tremulously stood until the hammer blows of tragedy rained upon her again.

This is a riveting, meticulously researched, and frequently heartbreaking biography. A must read for anyone who has ever related to Jane Eyre's mental breakdown on a desolate moor after a man's terrible behavior. Charlotte Brontë's life is a Gothic novel in itself, and like all 19th century Gothic novels ultimately the mostly truly sinister villain is always the Patriarchy.

[Caroline Duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this rich narrative of Charlotte Bronte's last years and the exhaustive research done by Elizabeth Gaskell to try and honour her friend's memory with truth. The author incorporates so much detail and description without ever descending into dry recount. I have not read Gaskell's biography, which meant a lot of the content was new to me, but even if it had been familiar, this book is written as well-evidenced history and is engaging and serious.

[Ian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: a clever, multi-layered title. Initially, I took ‘invention’ to refer to the palatable version of Charlotte Brontë – as distinct from the real person – built up with the best of motives by her first biographer, Elizabeth Gaskell. But then I saw it could also refer to Charlotte’s literary creativity (inventiveness), and also to the set piece stories she told of her life to explain and contextualize herself for new acquaintances if she intended a meaningful friendship to develop. And still further, to the way in which her fans elaborated the figure from Gaskell’s biography into a yet more idealized and almost fictional character of unremitting saintliness.

Human nature doesn’t change, and very soon after her death, people were claiming to have known her more intimately than they had, and seeing how they might profit by it: Matthew Arnold, despite disliking Charlotte at their one and only meeting, commemorated it with a long elegy which he sold to Fraser’s Magazine; Haworth’s local stationer told Mrs Gaskell he had lost his ‘best friend.’ Meanwhile, Charlotte’s father and husband hardly seem to have noticed anything about her, but were still expecting to be treated uncritically by Gaskell; Watson writes:

It became clear that both men were counting on her discreet and courteous protection from the public and for Elizabeth to elevate them together in the same vein of tribute they expected for Charlotte. All that stood in their way were the contents of Charlotte’s letters and everything she had told her about both men.

I laughed at that last line. Around this time, sort-of friend and bombastic aspiring author Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth got his hands on the manuscript of The Professor and volunteered to edit and improve it for publication! Incredible stuff. There are some fabulous characters here, springing vividly to life through quotations from their letters (and where would historians and biographers be if the Victorians hadn’t been such assiduous letter writers?). I particularly liked Mary Taylor, Charlotte’s perceptive schoolfriend who had emigrated to New Zealand. Commenting on Mrs Gaskell’s problems in writing truthfully about the living people who had made her friend’s life so difficult, she remarks:

I wish I could set the world right on so many points, but above all respecting Charlotte. It would do said world good to know her and be forced to revere her in spite of their contempt for poverty and helplessness. No one ever gave up more than she did and with consciousness of what she sacrificed. I don’t think myself that women are justified in sacrificing themselves for others, but since the world generally expects it of them, they should at least acknowledge it.

[Liam Guilar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tells the stories of Charlotte Bronte’s last years and the writing of Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography. Unusually, Watson takes the command ‘show don’t tell’ and applies it to the writing of a biography, narrating events, but leaving his readers to draw their own conclusions. The style, with its obsession with the weather, hard journeys, long descriptions of the interior of houses, lingering descriptions of death bed details, and the portrayal of his characters as martyrs, echoes the novels of his protagonists.


'Perhaps after all, the truth about Charlotte Bronte was just as Elizabeth expected from the moment she had met her seven years earlier: that after a life time of emotional starvation and grief, one of the most talented women of her generation was harried and manipulated by the men around her into their serf, that her wish for concord, balance and stability had been exploited into defeated compromise by all those who needed none and, broken in spirit, she crawled, she knelt, then she tremulously stood until the hammer blows of tragedy rained upon her again (p. 231)'.

It's a fine paragraph. It epitomises a version of Charlotte’s life. It also reveals what’s wrong with this book. Charlotte is often, as here, presented as a victim. But her life is not all that different to thousands of women of her class, in her position. They served as governesses, and many hated it. They worked as teachers when they didn’t want to in a system that ground down teachers and pupils. They looked after widowed fathers or unmarried brothers because their society had no other outlet for them. And compared to millions living in the new urban slums, her life was one of genteel ease. Howarth parsonage was not an isolated place on the moors. There were people in the village. If the Brontes didn’t want to socialise with people they thought of as inferior that was their choice.

“One of the Most talented women of her generation”. One of the most talented writers perhaps, but Charlotte and her sisters were lucky to be talented in a way their culture found acceptable for women. Women who might have been talented in other ways had no chance. There were no doctors, or lawyers. Universities were barred to them, the visual arts and music were difficult to access. ‘Harried and manipulated’ are value judgements this book doesn’t investigate. After the publication of Jane Eyre doors opened in the literary world she and her sisters had dreamt about. That she couldn’t walk through doesn’t mean they weren’t open.

Specific to this book is that ‘perhaps’ which begins the sentence.

In a book about ‘The invention of Charlotte Bronte’ you might expect some analysis of this ‘truth’, or some attempt to see how such a story came to dominate alternative ones. Watson offers no such analysis.

If you’re looking for some new information or insight into Charlotte’s life, or Gaskell’s biography, there isn’t any. The perspective provided by over a century of fossicking in the small details of Charlotte’s life is missing. The material has been picked over since Charlotte’s death. The essential debates: was Cowan bridge school a nightmare; was Charlotte’s childhood as grim as she presented it, what exactly was her relationship with three men: her father, her husband, and her Belgian Professor? If you’re waiting for a verdict, a weighing of the evidence, or even a statement of the current consensus, you will be disappointed. The book is happy to narrate.

The subtitle of the book points to its structural flaw. It has two halves, and they don’t seem to have been introduced to each other. Logically, Charlotte’s relationship with her future biographer could be the subject of the first half, but Gaskell fades in and out and it’s padded with familiar stories from her last few years. The only coherence is chronological. The second part details the writing of Gaskell’s biography and its immediate reception. Presumably this is the ‘scandal that made her’ though it could be argued Jane Eyre deserves that title. The jacket blurb hints at ‘Illicit love’.

The title suggests the ‘real Charlotte’ has gone missing, has been recreated out of the facts as a figure that that isn’t ‘factual’, but there’s no analysis to distinguish between ‘truth’ and ‘invention’.

[Katy Larkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well-researched examination of Charlotte Bronte's last years & felt afresh the tragedy of her life & that of her family. I would have liked more on the Brussels years, & indeed, more on Ellen Nussey & her life, but this was a very good overview of the creation of Charlotte's public image. Watson is good on context setting & that aspect allowed me to particularly enjoy the quotes from the letters.

A purely personal note: My husband had ancestors in Haworth for at least two centuries (& quite possibly going back further) & I remain grateful nearly 200 years on to Patrick Bronte for his assiduous work in pursuing the relevant authorities for a pump for clean water for the inhabitants of Haworth, & for his general care of the population which experienced greater levels of child mortality than was average for the time. He continued his work after the deaths of his wife & six children, a fact I am in awe of. Arthur Bell Nicholls (who officiated at the wedding of Joseph Dawson & Mary Feather, my husband's 3x great-grandparents, in 1849) remained with Patrick Bronte after Charlotte's death & I feel sad for his great loss too, for the unexpected refusal of the trustees after Patrick's death to pass the ministry to him, & for his unasked-for struggle with fame in the aftermath. It's always good to revist the Brontes, & this work offers a different & welcome perspective.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve always been intrigued by the friendship between Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë. When I visited Howarth recently, a shop owner said they were never friends and that it was fabricated. This book notes that they were indeed friends and literary trailblazing together. As peers and female writers at a time when women were discouraged from writing, they must have been grateful for the support and respect they gave to each other. They were both intelligent, strong and paved the way for future writers.

[Patricia King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember when (if ever) a book of literary history felt so much like literary suspense!
This was an amazing read, so well-researched and so grippingly narrated. If you're interested in the Brontes and their legacy (and how it was created!) then I highly recommend.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this biography of Charlotte Bronte's literary afterlife. Watson examines how the men in Bronte's life sought to create and control her image, and how Elizabeth Gaskell pushed back to write her now-famous biography. A fascinating analysis of the beginning of Bronte's legacy.

[M. K. Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars: This was a very thorough look at not only Brontë's life but also the myth surrounding it. It felt fair and objective; I honestly would've liked more of the author's opinion, especially at the end! Still, I learned a lot from this and thought it was put together very well.

[Marcella Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Lots of interesting information delivered in an engaging way!

[Laurie Byro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham Watson has shown us Charlotte Bronte as: Friend, Author, Daughter, and Mrs. Arthur Bell Nicholls as Wife. It's very well researched and very well done brava.