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The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
A lucid, profoundly moving biography that challenges the established narrative to reveal the Brontë family as they’ve never been seen before.
Charlotte Brontë had a life as seemingly dramatic as her heroine Jane Eyre. Turning her back on her tragic past, Charlotte reinvented herself as an acclaimed author, a mysterious celebrity, and a passionate 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, the 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.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë presents a different, darker take on one of the most famous women writers of the nineteenth century, showing Charlotte to be a strong but flawed individual. Through evaluating key events as well as introducing new archival material into the story, this lively biography challenges the established narrative to reveal the Brontë family as they’ve never been seen before.
A lucid, profoundly moving biography that challenges the established narrative to reveal the Brontë family as they’ve never been seen before.
Charlotte Brontë had a life as seemingly dramatic as her heroine Jane Eyre. Turning her back on her tragic past, Charlotte reinvented herself as an acclaimed author, a mysterious celebrity, and a passionate 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, the 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.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë presents a different, darker take on one of the most famous women writers of the nineteenth century, showing Charlotte to be a strong but flawed individual. Through evaluating key events as well as introducing new archival material into the story, this lively biography challenges the established narrative to reveal the Brontë family as they’ve never been seen before.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2025
24 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Graham Watson
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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 25, 2025
A few years ago, I took one of my very rare forays into fiction and picked up Jane Eyre. No, I was not trying to better myself. I was trying to impress a woman. (Good news: It worked! Temporarily!) Lo and behold, I truly enjoyed the novel and became more interested in the woman who wrote one of the classics of English literature. As always, I found out that truth was stranger, and better, than fiction.
Graham Watson looks to illuminate the latter part of Charlotte's life in The Invention of Charlotte Brontë. There are many things I loved about this book, and it starts with Watson jumping to the time right after Charlotte is unmasked as the author of Jane Eyre. For the uninitiated, Charlotte published under a pseudonym for a multitude of reasons which become quite clear in the narrative. By jumping ahead, Watson can slowly reveal the challenges (to put it lightly) of Charlotte's life when the details become relevant. For someone who already knew about her life, it let me skip a lot of well-trodden (and supremely depressing) material.
Watson is most interested in showing the absolute mess that was Charlotte's death and its aftermath. Mostly, we get to see how the two men in her life, who can be charitably described as "difficult", are powerless to carry on Charlotte's legacy while fellow novelist Elizabeth Gaskell performs an act of superhuman literary resurrection. However, her efforts are not without seemingly endless controversy. Drama abounds.
I particularly liked Watson's prose and storytelling choices. He is liberal with quoting directly from the letters and sources. Most importantly, his own writing is charmingly old-fashioned. That may sound like a criticism, but I mean it in the best possible way. It's as if he wants to make the excerpts and his own commentary seamless as if he was writing in the same time period. As it is Watson's first book, I can't tell if this is just how he writes or if this was a choice. Either way, it was perfect for this subject.
If only Charlotte's father and husband could have been so complementary. Luckily, we will always have Elizabeth.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Pegasus Books.)
Graham Watson looks to illuminate the latter part of Charlotte's life in The Invention of Charlotte Brontë. There are many things I loved about this book, and it starts with Watson jumping to the time right after Charlotte is unmasked as the author of Jane Eyre. For the uninitiated, Charlotte published under a pseudonym for a multitude of reasons which become quite clear in the narrative. By jumping ahead, Watson can slowly reveal the challenges (to put it lightly) of Charlotte's life when the details become relevant. For someone who already knew about her life, it let me skip a lot of well-trodden (and supremely depressing) material.
Watson is most interested in showing the absolute mess that was Charlotte's death and its aftermath. Mostly, we get to see how the two men in her life, who can be charitably described as "difficult", are powerless to carry on Charlotte's legacy while fellow novelist Elizabeth Gaskell performs an act of superhuman literary resurrection. However, her efforts are not without seemingly endless controversy. Drama abounds.
I particularly liked Watson's prose and storytelling choices. He is liberal with quoting directly from the letters and sources. Most importantly, his own writing is charmingly old-fashioned. That may sound like a criticism, but I mean it in the best possible way. It's as if he wants to make the excerpts and his own commentary seamless as if he was writing in the same time period. As it is Watson's first book, I can't tell if this is just how he writes or if this was a choice. Either way, it was perfect for this subject.
If only Charlotte's father and husband could have been so complementary. Luckily, we will always have Elizabeth.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Pegasus Books.)
November 23, 2025
4.5 stars
August 26, 2025
This is a riveting book. I’ve been on a Brontë reading binge and ordered it for the library earlier this month.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë might be termed a joint biography of an author and her persona, moving from truth to invention and back again. It covers the last five years of the elusive writer’s life, following her over a lengthy period of poverty, grief, and romantic and professional disappointments through her success as the pseudonymous author of Jane Eyre – and how she meticulously crafted her public identity.
Then, following Charlotte’s marriage and tragic early death, the book explores how her friend, writer Elizabeth Gaskell, took up the charge of compiling her life story. Elizabeth diligently interviewed Charlotte’s remaining family members, friends, former friends, acquaintances, servants, and more, with the goals of showing the trials Charlotte had endured, and excoriating those who’d caused Charlotte such misery.
Arriving at the truth was challenging, given that Charlotte appeared to present a different face to each of her numerous correspondents. The first edition of Mrs. Gaskell’s work caused an uproar, as it showed too many people in a less-than-flattering light.
Based on primary sources, the writing is stellar, and the story takes a compelling arc as it investigates the deciphering of a literary puzzle and the ensuing scandal. Plus, the detail Watson provides for the interactions amongst the Victorian literati (gossip! personality clashes! hatchet job reviews and their aftermath!) is especially enlightening. So is the tale of how two women with contrasting personalities – an introvert living amid stifled circumstances and desperate for connection, and a gregarious family woman happily ensconced within society – were drawn together through literature. Now I must read Mrs. Gaskell’s book.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë might be termed a joint biography of an author and her persona, moving from truth to invention and back again. It covers the last five years of the elusive writer’s life, following her over a lengthy period of poverty, grief, and romantic and professional disappointments through her success as the pseudonymous author of Jane Eyre – and how she meticulously crafted her public identity.
Then, following Charlotte’s marriage and tragic early death, the book explores how her friend, writer Elizabeth Gaskell, took up the charge of compiling her life story. Elizabeth diligently interviewed Charlotte’s remaining family members, friends, former friends, acquaintances, servants, and more, with the goals of showing the trials Charlotte had endured, and excoriating those who’d caused Charlotte such misery.
Arriving at the truth was challenging, given that Charlotte appeared to present a different face to each of her numerous correspondents. The first edition of Mrs. Gaskell’s work caused an uproar, as it showed too many people in a less-than-flattering light.
Based on primary sources, the writing is stellar, and the story takes a compelling arc as it investigates the deciphering of a literary puzzle and the ensuing scandal. Plus, the detail Watson provides for the interactions amongst the Victorian literati (gossip! personality clashes! hatchet job reviews and their aftermath!) is especially enlightening. So is the tale of how two women with contrasting personalities – an introvert living amid stifled circumstances and desperate for connection, and a gregarious family woman happily ensconced within society – were drawn together through literature. Now I must read Mrs. Gaskell’s book.
September 10, 2025
Not a bad book on Charlotte and the Brontës, but almost none of the information presented was not something I read elsewhere before, so I’m not entirely sold on its premise that it is revealing anything particularly new about the family.
December 24, 2025
How a creative, melancholic writer became posthumously reinvented into a literary legend
June 26, 2025
Book Review: The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life by Graham Watson
Graham Watson’s The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life is a revelatory and deeply affecting biography that dismantles long-held myths about one of literature’s most enigmatic figures. As a woman and a reader, I found myself both captivated and unsettled by Watson’s unflinching portrayal of Charlotte Brontë—not as the saintly, suffering genius of Victorian lore, but as a fiercely ambitious, deeply contradictory woman navigating a world hostile to her intellect and passion.
Watson’s meticulous research and fresh archival insights peel back the layers of mythmaking that have obscured Charlotte’s true character. What emerges is a portrait of a woman who was as calculating as she was creative, as wounded as she was resilient. I was particularly struck by the exploration of Charlotte’s self-fashioning—how she carefully curated her public image, even as she chafed against societal constraints. There’s something profoundly relatable in this duality; the tension between authenticity and survival is one many women still grapple with today.
The biography’s most compelling moments come in its examination of Charlotte’s relationships—with her siblings, her publishers, and the men who shaped her emotional world. Watson does not shy away from the messiness of these connections, and I often found myself pausing to reflect on the emotional toll of Charlotte’s choices. The sections on Elizabeth Gaskell’s fraught attempt to memorialize her friend are especially poignant, revealing how even the most well-intentioned tributes can distort as much as they preserve.
That said, the book’s greatest strength—its willingness to challenge the Brontë mythos—can also be a stumbling block. At times, Watson’s revisionist approach risks tipping into overcorrection, leaving Charlotte’s vulnerability overshadowed by her flaws. A more balanced integration of her literary achievements alongside her personal struggles might have deepened the emotional resonance. Additionally, while the prose is engaging, some passages feel overly dense with archival detail, which may deter casual readers.
Despite these minor critiques, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë is a vital contribution to Brontë scholarship. It invites us to see Charlotte not as a tragic heroine, but as a complex, ambitious woman who defied—and was confined by—her time. As a reader, I closed the book with a renewed appreciation for her brilliance and a sharper understanding of the price she paid for it.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A compelling and thought-provoking biography that reshapes our understanding of Charlotte Brontë, though at times its revisionist zeal slightly unbalances the narrative.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Graham Watson’s The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life is a revelatory and deeply affecting biography that dismantles long-held myths about one of literature’s most enigmatic figures. As a woman and a reader, I found myself both captivated and unsettled by Watson’s unflinching portrayal of Charlotte Brontë—not as the saintly, suffering genius of Victorian lore, but as a fiercely ambitious, deeply contradictory woman navigating a world hostile to her intellect and passion.
Watson’s meticulous research and fresh archival insights peel back the layers of mythmaking that have obscured Charlotte’s true character. What emerges is a portrait of a woman who was as calculating as she was creative, as wounded as she was resilient. I was particularly struck by the exploration of Charlotte’s self-fashioning—how she carefully curated her public image, even as she chafed against societal constraints. There’s something profoundly relatable in this duality; the tension between authenticity and survival is one many women still grapple with today.
The biography’s most compelling moments come in its examination of Charlotte’s relationships—with her siblings, her publishers, and the men who shaped her emotional world. Watson does not shy away from the messiness of these connections, and I often found myself pausing to reflect on the emotional toll of Charlotte’s choices. The sections on Elizabeth Gaskell’s fraught attempt to memorialize her friend are especially poignant, revealing how even the most well-intentioned tributes can distort as much as they preserve.
That said, the book’s greatest strength—its willingness to challenge the Brontë mythos—can also be a stumbling block. At times, Watson’s revisionist approach risks tipping into overcorrection, leaving Charlotte’s vulnerability overshadowed by her flaws. A more balanced integration of her literary achievements alongside her personal struggles might have deepened the emotional resonance. Additionally, while the prose is engaging, some passages feel overly dense with archival detail, which may deter casual readers.
Despite these minor critiques, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë is a vital contribution to Brontë scholarship. It invites us to see Charlotte not as a tragic heroine, but as a complex, ambitious woman who defied—and was confined by—her time. As a reader, I closed the book with a renewed appreciation for her brilliance and a sharper understanding of the price she paid for it.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A compelling and thought-provoking biography that reshapes our understanding of Charlotte Brontë, though at times its revisionist zeal slightly unbalances the narrative.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2025
It is as if you traveled back from the 1850s and bear witness to the first meeting of Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë, which as the page continues, so as the rest of the history in the life of Charlotte unravels, even the ones never publicly declared and told. This biography entitled, “The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life” by Graham Watson is the reanalysis of her recorded history, thoroughly mapping the events that lead to debunking some myths chained with her from all those years, with the contributions of other fellow historians that fathom, decipher, and elucidate such mysteries as the people in connection with her, as Watson said, ‘battled to control how history would remember her.’
Reading the first chapters is as reimagining what it feels like meeting England's great enigma for the first time, the notorious and invisible author of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë where in the first few pages she was still in the era of her own pen name, her alter ego—Currer Bell, the most-talked author in town who’s more likely the subject of debate about her real existence and true gender. Every page narrates as though Charlotte has come to life and passes by the invisible you, walking through the timeline of hers, even in the explicitness of her life. From her conversations with Elizabeth Gaskell to her actual takes on readers’ criticisms and reviews to Jane Eyre and her other works, to how she was as a person alternating with her characters in her novels, her silent battles with depression, and some other hidden ruminations uncovered from the never before seen private letters, thoroughly reserched and scrutinized, this biography book of Charlotte Brontë, as exact as the title is, gave a new life and a new definition to who she is, as honest and raw as it is.
Still in the continuous journey in the phases of her life from these pages but there’s one thing I can say, whether you’re a fan of the Brontë sisters or Charlotte Brontë itself or not, one’s curiosity will continue to thirst in every page turned in this book for I, myself have been lost of time as I start reading it, feeling as if Charlotte is sitting beside me, guiding me all the way.
Reading the first chapters is as reimagining what it feels like meeting England's great enigma for the first time, the notorious and invisible author of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë where in the first few pages she was still in the era of her own pen name, her alter ego—Currer Bell, the most-talked author in town who’s more likely the subject of debate about her real existence and true gender. Every page narrates as though Charlotte has come to life and passes by the invisible you, walking through the timeline of hers, even in the explicitness of her life. From her conversations with Elizabeth Gaskell to her actual takes on readers’ criticisms and reviews to Jane Eyre and her other works, to how she was as a person alternating with her characters in her novels, her silent battles with depression, and some other hidden ruminations uncovered from the never before seen private letters, thoroughly reserched and scrutinized, this biography book of Charlotte Brontë, as exact as the title is, gave a new life and a new definition to who she is, as honest and raw as it is.
Still in the continuous journey in the phases of her life from these pages but there’s one thing I can say, whether you’re a fan of the Brontë sisters or Charlotte Brontë itself or not, one’s curiosity will continue to thirst in every page turned in this book for I, myself have been lost of time as I start reading it, feeling as if Charlotte is sitting beside me, guiding me all the way.
September 26, 2025
Graham Watson's examination of author Charlotte Brontë begins late in her life and career—in 1850, to be precise, five years before her death, at a moment when Brontë's privacy began to crumble.
Speculation was already rife among Britain's literary set; authors Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Gaskell were already busily gossiping that Currer Bell, the pseudonym of the author of Jane Eyre, must be a woman. Using both wiles and a sympathetic ear, Gaskell ingratiated herself to Brontë, beginning a cycle, as Watson points out, of Gaskell winning a very private woman's confidences and then sharing them with her acquaintances, then the world.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë is less a sweeping biography than a look at the circumstances of Gaskell's authorship of The Life of Charlotte Brontë, commissioned from Gaskell by Brontë's surviving father after he'd read an alarming anonymous summary of his daughter's life and legacy in a periodical. Ironically, that anonymous article had been written by Gaskell herself, in an attempt to capitalize upon their friendship.
Watson tells with great verve the saga of how Gaskell collected her stories for the proposed biography, assembling uncomfortable secrets along the way. Unfortunately, some of the tales included in The Life's first edition brought threats of lawsuits, forcing her to water down some of the more sordid details. He's also enthusiastic in describing The Life's legacy in the years after its publication, when the great Brontë myth was beginning to coalesce. Even though I've read other Brontë biographies and knew what was going to happen, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë made everything feel fresh again—and just a touch scandalous.
Which is exactly what I enjoy most in a literary biography.
Speculation was already rife among Britain's literary set; authors Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Gaskell were already busily gossiping that Currer Bell, the pseudonym of the author of Jane Eyre, must be a woman. Using both wiles and a sympathetic ear, Gaskell ingratiated herself to Brontë, beginning a cycle, as Watson points out, of Gaskell winning a very private woman's confidences and then sharing them with her acquaintances, then the world.
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë is less a sweeping biography than a look at the circumstances of Gaskell's authorship of The Life of Charlotte Brontë, commissioned from Gaskell by Brontë's surviving father after he'd read an alarming anonymous summary of his daughter's life and legacy in a periodical. Ironically, that anonymous article had been written by Gaskell herself, in an attempt to capitalize upon their friendship.
Watson tells with great verve the saga of how Gaskell collected her stories for the proposed biography, assembling uncomfortable secrets along the way. Unfortunately, some of the tales included in The Life's first edition brought threats of lawsuits, forcing her to water down some of the more sordid details. He's also enthusiastic in describing The Life's legacy in the years after its publication, when the great Brontë myth was beginning to coalesce. Even though I've read other Brontë biographies and knew what was going to happen, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë made everything feel fresh again—and just a touch scandalous.
Which is exactly what I enjoy most in a literary biography.
August 31, 2025
A wonderfully-written gem of a book for the Brontë scholar/devoted fan, history buff, or anyone with even a passing interest in Brontë's books or the context in which they were written.
After reading this, I felt so much sorrow and sympathy for Charlotte who was so loving and unapologetically genuine, but was let down by: a) her absolutely bonkers father; b) her husband; c) people (read: men) who continually underestimated her "worth" because of her class and appearance. The shocking physical descriptions given by William Thackeray, for example, were so mean-spirited, unnecessary, and bitter, that he's been swiftly added to my "19th Century Writer Shit List" (which is currently populated by the odious likes of Charles Dickens and Percy Bysshe Shelley).
The book is very easy to follow, despite its vast cast of "characters", and provides some fab insight into how Elizabeth Gaskell set out to write an honest biography of her friend (CB) and the scandals that ensued along the way. Having visited Haworth and the Parsonage Museum, myself, the scene setting really took me back there and sets a poignant backdrop to a home filled to the rafters with grief and loneliness.
Highly, highly recommend!
After reading this, I felt so much sorrow and sympathy for Charlotte who was so loving and unapologetically genuine, but was let down by: a) her absolutely bonkers father; b) her husband; c) people (read: men) who continually underestimated her "worth" because of her class and appearance. The shocking physical descriptions given by William Thackeray, for example, were so mean-spirited, unnecessary, and bitter, that he's been swiftly added to my "19th Century Writer Shit List" (which is currently populated by the odious likes of Charles Dickens and Percy Bysshe Shelley).
The book is very easy to follow, despite its vast cast of "characters", and provides some fab insight into how Elizabeth Gaskell set out to write an honest biography of her friend (CB) and the scandals that ensued along the way. Having visited Haworth and the Parsonage Museum, myself, the scene setting really took me back there and sets a poignant backdrop to a home filled to the rafters with grief and loneliness.
Highly, highly recommend!
August 23, 2025
How did the Bronte family, and Charlotte in particular, become almost mythic in their literary celebrity? This fantastically researched account is a biography of a biography in all the best ways. It begins as Charlotte has just lost her sisters to tuberculosis and is slowly revealed to be not Currer Bell, but Charlotte Bronte herself. She is introduced to many literary luminaries and is ill equipped to function socially, but her friendship with Elizabeth Gaskell sets forth a series of events that seals Bronte's prominence that lasts till this day.
Here, all the grievances of her friends and family who feel they were exposed or libeled by Gaskell's first edition The Life of Charlotte Bronte are revealed. Correspondence is the chief means of proof of Gaskell's interpretation of CB's life as it was shaped by deprivation and poor parenting; without letters, none of it would have been possible.
This book is a lively accounting of it all, so much fun.
Here, all the grievances of her friends and family who feel they were exposed or libeled by Gaskell's first edition The Life of Charlotte Bronte are revealed. Correspondence is the chief means of proof of Gaskell's interpretation of CB's life as it was shaped by deprivation and poor parenting; without letters, none of it would have been possible.
This book is a lively accounting of it all, so much fun.
October 4, 2025
Well after this book, I’m ready to read Jane Eyre again after many years and start a new Jane Eyre cross stitch, and now I really want to visit Charlotte Bronte’s home Haworth even more than I have wanted to in the past- which is a lot. The first part of this book got a bit confusing, but I think that was because I was picking it up and putting it down too often. After reading the final 2/3 of the book, I went back and reread the beginning and it all came together for me. I know I use the word fascinating too much in my reviews, but reading about Elizabeth Gaskell writing her biography of Charlotte Brontë was fascinating. There’s a section toward the end of the book about Charlotte’s father and her letters which is, yes- fascinating! (I don’t want to describe it, because it’s best for you to read it yourself.)
August 29, 2025
The Invention of Charlotte Brontë peels away more than a century of Brontë myth to reveal the complex woman at the heart of it, and the supreme act of friendship and fortitude it took to tell her story to the world.
-Peggy Kurkowski
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
-Peggy Kurkowski
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
October 30, 2025
I will devour anything related to the Brontes. This contribution to the canon focuses on the last years of Charlotte’s life and the controversial Gaskell biography.
December 14, 2025
Slow read
While the content regarding Charlotte is interesting. This kind of drags on while you read it, which is disappointing. It was also difficult to follow at times.
While the content regarding Charlotte is interesting. This kind of drags on while you read it, which is disappointing. It was also difficult to follow at times.
January 18, 2026
Interesting but hard to follow at times.
November 6, 2025
This book left me in awe of Gaskell and her dexterity and brilliant scheme to write the biography of Charlotte Brontë after her death. She took almost a year, during which she traced her steps to all the places Charlotte had been to, including Brussels. A lot of the letters and things we know about the Brontes can be credited to her since she took the task of gathering and documenting them.
The latter part of the book skews the narrative from Gaskell’s POV, and we see her prejudice toward Patrick and Charlotte's husband. However, after reading the complete set of Charlotte’s letters, I think he was a good father, and Arthur does take care of him till his death in 1961. The letter he writes to Charlotte in the voice of their pet dog, Flossy, is especially endearing (which is in The Brontes: A Life in Letters).
Another amazing biography, and this one had me in tears as well.
The latter part of the book skews the narrative from Gaskell’s POV, and we see her prejudice toward Patrick and Charlotte's husband. However, after reading the complete set of Charlotte’s letters, I think he was a good father, and Arthur does take care of him till his death in 1961. The letter he writes to Charlotte in the voice of their pet dog, Flossy, is especially endearing (which is in The Brontes: A Life in Letters).
Another amazing biography, and this one had me in tears as well.
October 25, 2025
What a fascinating book! It begins in a painful and utterly tragic period when Charlotte Brontë had lost the last of her beloved siblings to tuberculosis. She was in her middle 30s, suddenly lionized for having written Jane Eyre, wretchedly shy, and horribly lonely. She received an offer of marriage from her priest father’s curate and accepting it, became a wife. After her early death, a close friend Elizabeth Gaskell took it upon herself to write Charlotte‘s biography and with that began to create the legend of this lonely writer on the moors with her sisters, which helped make them so famous today. Still, friends and colleagues and family fought bitterly about what should be in and what should be omitted from the book. Everyone wanted control of how Charlotte should be seen and how they should be seen. The modest life of a bereft woman was slowly created into a literary industry with tens of thousands of pilgrims, yearly arriving from all over the world at her home which is now a museum in Haworth. I myself own a T-shirt with Charlotte’s picture on it.. She would have been astonished and probably mortified..
I read this book in every spare moment until I came to the ending. An absolute treasure.!
I read this book in every spare moment until I came to the ending. An absolute treasure.!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews