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The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects
An intimate portrait of the lives and writings of the Brontë sisters, drawn from the objects they possessed. In this unique and lovingly detailed biography of a literary family that has enthralled readers for nearly two centuries, Victorian literature scholar Deborah Lutz illuminates the complex and fascinating lives of the Brontës through the things they wore, stitched, wrote on, and inscribed. By unfolding the histories of the meaningful objects in their family home in Haworth, Lutz immerses readers in a nuanced re-creation of the sisters' daily lives while moving us chronologically forward through the major biographical events: the death of their mother and two sisters, the imaginary kingdoms of their childhood writing, their time as governesses, and their determined efforts to make a mark on the literary world. From the miniature books they made as children to the blackthorn walking sticks they carried on solitary hikes on the moors, each personal possession opens a window onto the sisters' world, their beloved fiction, and the Victorian era. A description of the brass collar worn by Emily’s bull mastiff, Keeper, leads to a series of entertaining anecdotes about the influence of the family’s dogs on their writing and about the relationship of Victorians to their pets in general. The sisters' portable writing desks prove to have played a crucial role in their writing lives: it was Charlotte's snooping in Emily’s desk that led to the sisters' first publication in print, followed later by the publication of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . Charlotte's letters provide insight into her relationships, both innocent and illicit, including her relationship with the older professor to whom she wrote passionately. And the bracelet Charlotte had made of Anne and Emily's intertwined hair bears witness to her profound grief after their deaths. Lutz captivatingly shows the Brontës anew by bringing us deep inside the physical world in which they lived and from which their writings took inspiration. 8 pages of color illustrations
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 11, 2015
77 people are currently reading
2279 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Lutz
19 books30 followersDeborah Lutz is the Thruston B. Morton Endowed Chair of English at the University of Louisville. She has published four books, most recently The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects and Relics of Death in Victorian Literature and Culture. She is the editor of the Norton Critical Editions of Jane Eyre and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the recipient of an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
July 24, 2015
I'd been really looking forward to reading this book and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped. In fact it is one of the best books I have read so far this year.
I've read several books recently that take various objects and build the narrative around them, Shakespeare's Restless World by Neil MacGregor being a particularly good example.
Lutz has done exactly this - taken 9 objects which are all material remnants and, by exploring them, has managed to expand on the Brontës lives and times in a fresh and original way.
This is not an easy task. Many might feel that 'the Brontës' are an overmined seam. Can there really be anything more to say that hasn't already been said in a dozen different ways?
Lutz doesn't have any startlingly new revelations. Instead each object chosen is cleverly studied. For example when talking about the miniature books they wrote whilst young we get information about where they would have bought the paper, how they would have sewed up the binding, what they would have used to write with etc. By this in depth study we get a real insight into their physical life.
In her introduction Lutz says "ordinary objects can carry us to other times and places". If this is what she set out to do then she has more than succeeded.
I've read several books recently that take various objects and build the narrative around them, Shakespeare's Restless World by Neil MacGregor being a particularly good example.
Lutz has done exactly this - taken 9 objects which are all material remnants and, by exploring them, has managed to expand on the Brontës lives and times in a fresh and original way.
This is not an easy task. Many might feel that 'the Brontës' are an overmined seam. Can there really be anything more to say that hasn't already been said in a dozen different ways?
Lutz doesn't have any startlingly new revelations. Instead each object chosen is cleverly studied. For example when talking about the miniature books they wrote whilst young we get information about where they would have bought the paper, how they would have sewed up the binding, what they would have used to write with etc. By this in depth study we get a real insight into their physical life.
In her introduction Lutz says "ordinary objects can carry us to other times and places". If this is what she set out to do then she has more than succeeded.
January 18, 2024
No tengo palabras. Ya había leído Cumbres Borrascosas y Jane Eyre, pero debo de admitir que después de leer este libro es cuando realmente empieza mi obsesión con las Brontë. Te da una perspectiva tan maravillosa del mundo en el que vivieron… un acercamiento tan íntimo y bonito!! Voy directita a hacer algunas reelecturas 💘
August 24, 2015
My favorite kind of book: where the imagination plays and interacts with facts of the past. The Bronte Cabinet uses the physical objects the Brontës left behind (clothing, desks, walking sticks, dog collars, jewelry) to illuminate their lives and world. My favorite chapter was on the sisters’ desks. Emily, in particular, comes to life in this chapter. She left a lap desk covered in ink stains and she drew illustrations of herself writing in her bedroom with various dogs snoozing around her. This was a lovely book to sink into—the carefully researched details make it a treat. Also, don’t miss the notes at the back of the book. They’re a great resource for anyone interested in further study of Victorian material culture.
September 4, 2020
Great book. Engaging. The author introduces the subject of the Bronte women by suggesting their household things that remain in collections are a way for people to understand their writing. Many people collect as a device to “touch” those who are gone. Your Grandmother’s vases might be a good example. Lutz suggests there is even more to the impulse to collect and see things that once had belonged to the Bronte’s. I’d recommend this book for those who’d like more understanding of the author’s works, those who are interested in Victorian history and everyday lives and definitely for those who just like to collect “objects”.
February 9, 2020
And now I desperately need a Victorian lap desk with secret compartments.
February 26, 2022
This was quite an in depth amazing book written by an incredible Victorian Literature scholar. It has given me a greater appreciation for the Brontë sisters.
January 10, 2025
This book was recommended to me by a docent at the Bronte Parsonage Museum. It’s sort of a Bronte biography, but organized into nine objects around which the story can be told. Includes a lot of interesting historical context for things like postage, mourning jewelry, writing desks, and so on. I quibble a couple of times with the author’s interpretations, but I did enjoy this approach to the family’s life.
May 25, 2016
Elegant and clever. To be taken with a shaker of salt.
February 4, 2016
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects is a very entertaining, accessible examination of the lives of the Brontë Siblings (most notably Anne, Emily, and Charlotte). Instead of being a linear biography, the book uses historical objects (for instance, a walking desk, a bracelet, and a dog collar) as entry points into the Brontë’s lives. This means that we get a sense of what the Brontës’ everyday lives might have been like, as well as a good sense of what their historical era was like, and how the world changed in the years right before their births through the period shortly after their deaths.
he Brontë Cabinet uses the same structure as my favorite biography of Jane Austen, The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne. This structure has disadvantages and advantages. The disadvantage to this structure is that it presents individual, isolated moments of a life, not chronological detail. Sometimes you need to know the timeline of the major events in a person’s life, and these books don’t lay out the structure of their subject’s lives in that kind of detail.
However, organizing a biography around material objects does have some advantages. It makes the subjects much more relatable and it breaks up the story, which keeps it interesting. The amount of historical context broadens the appeal of the book. If you have any interest in Victorian history, you are bound to enjoy The Brontë Cabinet, even if you have minimal interest in the Brontës themselves.
The Brontë Cabinet is much more accessible and fun, though less detailed. It provides an entertaining and well-researched overview of what the Brontë sisters’ lives were like and what might have driven their art. It’s a quick read (it took me two days) and because it delves into Victorian culture in a broad sense, instead of keeping the focus on what the Brontës did on any specific date, it has a more general appeal. I was fascinated by all the details about everyday life – what dog collars looked like, how women viewed walking as an act of rebellion, what a woman’s needlework revealed about her, and what you can tell about a writer by looking at (and in) their writing desk. This book made the Brontës feel human and relatable.
- Carrie S.
The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects is a very entertaining, accessible examination of the lives of the Brontë Siblings (most notably Anne, Emily, and Charlotte). Instead of being a linear biography, the book uses historical objects (for instance, a walking desk, a bracelet, and a dog collar) as entry points into the Brontë’s lives. This means that we get a sense of what the Brontës’ everyday lives might have been like, as well as a good sense of what their historical era was like, and how the world changed in the years right before their births through the period shortly after their deaths.
he Brontë Cabinet uses the same structure as my favorite biography of Jane Austen, The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne. This structure has disadvantages and advantages. The disadvantage to this structure is that it presents individual, isolated moments of a life, not chronological detail. Sometimes you need to know the timeline of the major events in a person’s life, and these books don’t lay out the structure of their subject’s lives in that kind of detail.
However, organizing a biography around material objects does have some advantages. It makes the subjects much more relatable and it breaks up the story, which keeps it interesting. The amount of historical context broadens the appeal of the book. If you have any interest in Victorian history, you are bound to enjoy The Brontë Cabinet, even if you have minimal interest in the Brontës themselves.
The Brontë Cabinet is much more accessible and fun, though less detailed. It provides an entertaining and well-researched overview of what the Brontë sisters’ lives were like and what might have driven their art. It’s a quick read (it took me two days) and because it delves into Victorian culture in a broad sense, instead of keeping the focus on what the Brontës did on any specific date, it has a more general appeal. I was fascinated by all the details about everyday life – what dog collars looked like, how women viewed walking as an act of rebellion, what a woman’s needlework revealed about her, and what you can tell about a writer by looking at (and in) their writing desk. This book made the Brontës feel human and relatable.
- Carrie S.
March 26, 2019
I loved this book. I found it to be a really fascinating autobiography of the Brontë family. The detailed information about specific historical objects that featured in the lives of various members of the Brontë family was really interesting and I learned a lot of new facts about life in the Victorian era.
The Brontë children seemed to be surrounded by death and sadness from a young age. They lost their young mother to cancer and their father was left to bring up six children , five girls and one boy, on his own. Only four of the Brontë children lived to adulthood with the two oldest girls, Maria and Elizabeth, dying of consumption at the ages of eleven and ten years old, respectively.
I enjoyed the descriptions of how the remaining four children entertained themselves by writing tiny books filled with stories of their own creation. I would love to go and see the surviving books in the Brontë Museum.
Patrick Brontë, the father, came across as a tyrannical man with some very strange ideas on raising children. Apparently, his children were fed a poor diet that excluded meat and they were not strong and robust as a result. This may have been part of the reason he outlived them all. He doted on his only son and spoiled him with the result that he grew up to be a tempestuous man with an inflated opinion of his own artistic abilities which ultimately led to his downfall. Branwell was given the most of Patrick’s four children and achieved the least.
The book describes the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne and how they each came to write their books and the circumstances that inspired their stories. Anne, Emily and Branwell also died of consumption as young adults. Charlotte was the only one to get married and she died during pregnancy of extreme morning sickness which caused her to waste away. She died at the age of 29 years old. Based on her letters, Charlotte was a woman capable of great passion and romance.
A uniquely presented biography of the Brontë family for lovers of the Bronte books and also those interested books about life during the Victorian era.
The Brontë children seemed to be surrounded by death and sadness from a young age. They lost their young mother to cancer and their father was left to bring up six children , five girls and one boy, on his own. Only four of the Brontë children lived to adulthood with the two oldest girls, Maria and Elizabeth, dying of consumption at the ages of eleven and ten years old, respectively.
I enjoyed the descriptions of how the remaining four children entertained themselves by writing tiny books filled with stories of their own creation. I would love to go and see the surviving books in the Brontë Museum.
Patrick Brontë, the father, came across as a tyrannical man with some very strange ideas on raising children. Apparently, his children were fed a poor diet that excluded meat and they were not strong and robust as a result. This may have been part of the reason he outlived them all. He doted on his only son and spoiled him with the result that he grew up to be a tempestuous man with an inflated opinion of his own artistic abilities which ultimately led to his downfall. Branwell was given the most of Patrick’s four children and achieved the least.
The book describes the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne and how they each came to write their books and the circumstances that inspired their stories. Anne, Emily and Branwell also died of consumption as young adults. Charlotte was the only one to get married and she died during pregnancy of extreme morning sickness which caused her to waste away. She died at the age of 29 years old. Based on her letters, Charlotte was a woman capable of great passion and romance.
A uniquely presented biography of the Brontë family for lovers of the Bronte books and also those interested books about life during the Victorian era.
November 15, 2021
If you're looking for a good bio in a quasi non-linear narrative of the Brontë sisters' lives, and don't really feel like going through Juliet Barker's book (which is excellent, mind you, but it's also around a thousand pages long), this one manages to catch the basis of it all and their many inspirations for their literary work. I would recommend reading this paired with watching To Walk Invisible, especially since the director for the film (Sally Wainwright) is also the creator of Gentleman Jack and she really does a great job with the historical accuracy and research.
September 8, 2025
SOOOOOO wonderful. everything i could ask for and more in a biographical work. you learn so much from this book, and not just about the brontës themselves.
each chapter begins by dissecting an artifact that belonged to the brontës, and then explains the significance of the artifact in relation to the Brontës, 19th century trends, contemporary literature, the Brontë novels, and fans today. a structure that grips you from beginning to end, with interesting prose and great footnotes! i cried lots of tears!!! every classic lit lover should read this!
each chapter begins by dissecting an artifact that belonged to the brontës, and then explains the significance of the artifact in relation to the Brontës, 19th century trends, contemporary literature, the Brontë novels, and fans today. a structure that grips you from beginning to end, with interesting prose and great footnotes! i cried lots of tears!!! every classic lit lover should read this!
April 10, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book that my darling niece Lauren picked out for me for my birthday knowing how much I love the Bronte family.
I learned a lot of very interesting information about the Bronte family in this very creative collective biography. I've read other biographies about them but not from the point of view of "objects" that were important to them.
In learning about the objects, I also learned a lot of really fascinating domestic history that I didn't already know about. The author gives a lot of general history of the objects, society, books & literature as well as mentioning interesting facts about other authors of the period.
Sigh.....my one complaint about this book......and the reason I won't give it 5 stars...
must all modern scholarship seek to impose 21st century views upon earlier eras? Um, for the record, I don't think that Charlotte Bronte was bisexual or a lesbian. Not only is the author's argument weak and anachronistic but it's insulating to all women 19th and 21st century who are not married for whatever reason. By the way, Charlotte did marry when she was 38...and he was a man.
I learned a lot of very interesting information about the Bronte family in this very creative collective biography. I've read other biographies about them but not from the point of view of "objects" that were important to them.
In learning about the objects, I also learned a lot of really fascinating domestic history that I didn't already know about. The author gives a lot of general history of the objects, society, books & literature as well as mentioning interesting facts about other authors of the period.
Sigh.....my one complaint about this book......and the reason I won't give it 5 stars...
must all modern scholarship seek to impose 21st century views upon earlier eras? Um, for the record, I don't think that Charlotte Bronte was bisexual or a lesbian. Not only is the author's argument weak and anachronistic but it's insulating to all women 19th and 21st century who are not married for whatever reason. By the way, Charlotte did marry when she was 38...and he was a man.
February 19, 2018
¿Pueden los objetos inanimados acercarnos a las personas que admiramos? ¿Pueden, esos mismos objetos, «hablarnos» sobre sus propietarios, y descubrir la personalidad y los secretos íntimos de los poseedores? Esto es lo que hace Deborah Lutz con su libro —¿biografía, ensayo?—, El gabinete de las hermanas Brontë: un recorrido a través de aquellas piezas que pertenecieron a Charlotte, Emily y Anne Brontë, y aproximarnos a los misterios de las hermanas cosa ya harto complicada teniendo en cuenta la gran cantidad de biografías, museos, y hasta rutas literarias existentes desde el mismo momento en que fueron reconocidas en el ámbito literario.
De manera cronológica, desde la muerte de la madre, y hasta la última superviviente de las hermanas Brontë, Charlotte —infortunado Patrick Brontë que enterró a su mujer y a todos sus hijos y vivió hasta la inusual edad, para la época, de 84 años—, Deborah Lutz construye un libro único y magistral sobre el mundo y el día a día de aquellas muchachas que pasarían a pertenecer a la literatura universal gracias a Jane Eyre, Cumbres borrascosas o Agnes Gray. http://www.abrirunlibro.com/2018/02/e...
De manera cronológica, desde la muerte de la madre, y hasta la última superviviente de las hermanas Brontë, Charlotte —infortunado Patrick Brontë que enterró a su mujer y a todos sus hijos y vivió hasta la inusual edad, para la época, de 84 años—, Deborah Lutz construye un libro único y magistral sobre el mundo y el día a día de aquellas muchachas que pasarían a pertenecer a la literatura universal gracias a Jane Eyre, Cumbres borrascosas o Agnes Gray. http://www.abrirunlibro.com/2018/02/e...
May 21, 2018
Interesante. Recomendado para quien quiera conocer algo sobre la época victoriana o sobre las hermanas Brontë.
May 13, 2023
Highly recommend for Bronte fans though a little light on Anne in my humble opinion! I think Lutz really did a good job helping me see Charlotte as a complex, multi-faceted person with flaws and brilliance, especially in contrast to movie portrayals of her. I think the stories about Emily and description of her relationship with Charlotte were really interesting and illuminating for me.
The author used objects that were prevalent not only in the Bronte's life but in Victorian life generally and she would talk about the personal item to the Brontes, using that to bring out their biography. These were the highlights for me--especially for Emily and her walking stick, the animals, the letters Charlotte sent to Ellen Nussey and M. Heger (that back story of how the Heger letters survive is wild!). At times when the book moved into the general significance of the item in Victorian society, I kind of wanted to get back to the Brontes but overall learned a lot from this book!
The author used objects that were prevalent not only in the Bronte's life but in Victorian life generally and she would talk about the personal item to the Brontes, using that to bring out their biography. These were the highlights for me--especially for Emily and her walking stick, the animals, the letters Charlotte sent to Ellen Nussey and M. Heger (that back story of how the Heger letters survive is wild!). At times when the book moved into the general significance of the item in Victorian society, I kind of wanted to get back to the Brontes but overall learned a lot from this book!
October 2, 2022
A fabulous spin on a Bronte biography: Using objects in the sisters lives to yarn their true story. I learned so many new things though this wonderful book. One of the most interesting biographies that I've read.
August 11, 2015
I admired this book because I felt like it provided a detailed insight into the Brontes' lives. For example, I didn't know that the Bronte sisters had a brother named Branwell, or that Emily Bronte had a pet dog named Keeper. I also got to learn about life in general in the middle of the 19th century. Including a lock of a loved one's hair in jewelry was a common practice back then, as was creating masks of dead people. Some of these practices seem weird to modern readers (especially the customs surrounding death), but it was intriguing to learn about them.
My favorite sections were the ones about Charlotte because I felt like they had the greatest emotional impact. Reading about her friendship with Ellen Nussey made me smile, and learning about Charlotte's grief for her three siblings was poignant. Also, I feel like Charlotte was the most well-rounded of the three girls.
There's a section of the book that uses a basement to symbolize dark or "Gothic" themes. Anne is described as only walking a couple of steps down into the basement; her works dealt primarily with the mundane. By contrast, Emily spent almost all of her time down there; her poems and stories (especially Wuthering Heights) were turbulent, dramatic, and otherworldly. Charlotte seemed to achieve a balance; the author says Charlotte could go all the way down into the basement and all the way up into the attic. Her book Jane Eyre has a spooky, Gothic feel to it, but her other works have a wide range of moods and themes. It's this versatility that makes her so appealing to me.
In fact, all of the Bronte siblings - even Branwell - captivate me. I'm not a huge Bronte fan by any means, but I find it fascinating that one family produced multiple talented and creative authors. I would definitely like to check out some of their stories and poems; I've only read an abridged version of Jane Eyre, and I'd like to see more of the Brontes at work.
My favorite sections were the ones about Charlotte because I felt like they had the greatest emotional impact. Reading about her friendship with Ellen Nussey made me smile, and learning about Charlotte's grief for her three siblings was poignant. Also, I feel like Charlotte was the most well-rounded of the three girls.
There's a section of the book that uses a basement to symbolize dark or "Gothic" themes. Anne is described as only walking a couple of steps down into the basement; her works dealt primarily with the mundane. By contrast, Emily spent almost all of her time down there; her poems and stories (especially Wuthering Heights) were turbulent, dramatic, and otherworldly. Charlotte seemed to achieve a balance; the author says Charlotte could go all the way down into the basement and all the way up into the attic. Her book Jane Eyre has a spooky, Gothic feel to it, but her other works have a wide range of moods and themes. It's this versatility that makes her so appealing to me.
In fact, all of the Bronte siblings - even Branwell - captivate me. I'm not a huge Bronte fan by any means, but I find it fascinating that one family produced multiple talented and creative authors. I would definitely like to check out some of their stories and poems; I've only read an abridged version of Jane Eyre, and I'd like to see more of the Brontes at work.
November 20, 2015
This is an interesting way to read about someone, through objects they owned. The Brontes themselves are not "stuck to", talking about their letters, for example, will segue off onto a description of the postal service at the time. I was amazed at the amount of research that must have gone into it. Very detailed. If the particular subject was not of particular interest to me I did start to bog down a bit, but then turned the page and got interested all over again. This is not a book for everyone, but if it is your cup of tea, then you will love it.
January 5, 2019
A beautifully written and often moving biography focusing on Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Bronte both as individuals and as a (very particular, fascinating) family. Focusing on material objects used by the Brontes in their daily housework, play, and writing, author Deborah Lutz finds new angles into these women's oft-told life stories.
July 8, 2018
Una maravilla de libro. Entretenido, lleno de datos y detalles y muy bien organizado en nueve áreas que alumbraba no solo a las autoras sino a su época y a otros escritores. Una joya!!!!
January 9, 2021
DISCLAIMER - I would not have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I didn't have an obsession with the Bronte sisters.
Lutz argues that we can gain a deeper understanding of the Bronte sisters and their books by examining the objects in their lives. She tracks the objects in their personal lives and brings in the same objects in their literature, showing a new way to analyze the classic novels.
I did enjoy this book, but at times, Lutz seemed to go off on tangents. Most of the time I enjoyed those tangents (learning about other authors during that time period or learning about the customs of that time period), but I can see how someone would dislike the fact that it wasn't solely focused on the Brontes.
Because objects have been destroyed / lost, I did find it a bit annoying with the amount of "this could be..." or "maybe this...", but I understand!
Here are some of my favorite quotes/ things that I learned (you may want to stop reading my review if you want to read this book yourself):
-"In many nineteenth-century novels, an introduction to a character's books is an introduction to the character. The Brontes often utilized this device in their fiction. If books appear well used and spread around the house, this implied genteel erudition. Anne, the least known of the three sisters, presents the heroine of her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, in a parlor with an old book case on one side of the fireplace, stocked with a motley assemblage of books. An apparently widowed woman who supports herself and her young son as a painter, Helen Graham can't afford richly bound volumes. Yet the description of her limited but choice collection of books tells us that she is meant to be taken seriously, as a reader and thinker. Likewise, we are not meant to lend much credence to characters who have books merely for show, with expensive spines, shiny because never opened" (15-16).
-"Dogs like Flossy and other spaniels and terriers were prime targets for the brazen pet kidnappers who had a wide and lucrative market in Victorian London...The Fancy, a well-known gang of dog stealers led by a man name Taylor, stole Flush, a beloved cocker spaniel that belonged to the young poet, Elizabeth Barrett, later Browning, in 1843. Barrett paid the ransom for the dog, but then he was stolen two more times by the same gang, a common occurence when the owner paid up promptly" (102-103).
-"In an even stranger act of memorialization, Charles Dickens had the paw and leg of his cat removed from its body after its death and made into a letter opener, which is inscribed, 'C.D. in memory of Bob 1862'" (103).
-Emily Bronte was bit by a strange dog, and "worried about rabies, she went directly into the kitchen, pulled a red-hot Italian iron out of the fire, and pressed it against the bite to burn away any infection...Emily's willingness to skirmish with, to be wounded by, and to master difficult dog exposes her view of intimacy as a difficult grappling with untamed natures. If love doesn't lead to wounds, then it's not passionate enough" (105-106).
-Charlotte fell in love with her professor who was married. She sent steamy love-letters to him even though he didn't respond.
-Charlotte wrote seemingly romantic letters to her friend, Ellen. Lots of them were destroyed / censored. She even asked Ellen for a lock of hair, but Ellen wouldn't send her one.
-It is possible that Charlotte destroyed Emily's second novel she was writing when she died. There is a letter in Emily's desk that proves the existence of a partial draft of her second novel.
Lutz argues that we can gain a deeper understanding of the Bronte sisters and their books by examining the objects in their lives. She tracks the objects in their personal lives and brings in the same objects in their literature, showing a new way to analyze the classic novels.
I did enjoy this book, but at times, Lutz seemed to go off on tangents. Most of the time I enjoyed those tangents (learning about other authors during that time period or learning about the customs of that time period), but I can see how someone would dislike the fact that it wasn't solely focused on the Brontes.
Because objects have been destroyed / lost, I did find it a bit annoying with the amount of "this could be..." or "maybe this...", but I understand!
Here are some of my favorite quotes/ things that I learned (you may want to stop reading my review if you want to read this book yourself):
-"In many nineteenth-century novels, an introduction to a character's books is an introduction to the character. The Brontes often utilized this device in their fiction. If books appear well used and spread around the house, this implied genteel erudition. Anne, the least known of the three sisters, presents the heroine of her second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, in a parlor with an old book case on one side of the fireplace, stocked with a motley assemblage of books. An apparently widowed woman who supports herself and her young son as a painter, Helen Graham can't afford richly bound volumes. Yet the description of her limited but choice collection of books tells us that she is meant to be taken seriously, as a reader and thinker. Likewise, we are not meant to lend much credence to characters who have books merely for show, with expensive spines, shiny because never opened" (15-16).
-"Dogs like Flossy and other spaniels and terriers were prime targets for the brazen pet kidnappers who had a wide and lucrative market in Victorian London...The Fancy, a well-known gang of dog stealers led by a man name Taylor, stole Flush, a beloved cocker spaniel that belonged to the young poet, Elizabeth Barrett, later Browning, in 1843. Barrett paid the ransom for the dog, but then he was stolen two more times by the same gang, a common occurence when the owner paid up promptly" (102-103).
-"In an even stranger act of memorialization, Charles Dickens had the paw and leg of his cat removed from its body after its death and made into a letter opener, which is inscribed, 'C.D. in memory of Bob 1862'" (103).
-Emily Bronte was bit by a strange dog, and "worried about rabies, she went directly into the kitchen, pulled a red-hot Italian iron out of the fire, and pressed it against the bite to burn away any infection...Emily's willingness to skirmish with, to be wounded by, and to master difficult dog exposes her view of intimacy as a difficult grappling with untamed natures. If love doesn't lead to wounds, then it's not passionate enough" (105-106).
-Charlotte fell in love with her professor who was married. She sent steamy love-letters to him even though he didn't respond.
-Charlotte wrote seemingly romantic letters to her friend, Ellen. Lots of them were destroyed / censored. She even asked Ellen for a lock of hair, but Ellen wouldn't send her one.
-It is possible that Charlotte destroyed Emily's second novel she was writing when she died. There is a letter in Emily's desk that proves the existence of a partial draft of her second novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2020
Lutz shapes her biography of the Bronte sister (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) around nine common objects that they owned, including a walking stick, tiny books they created as children, a silver dog collar, a lap desk, a collection of pressed ferns, and more. With some insight, some research, and a considerable amount of speculation, she connects the objects both to known events in their lives and to their novels and characters. The dog collar, for example, may have belonged to Emily's fierce companion, Keeper, but Lutz also connects it to the various dogs in 'Wuthering Heights': Cathy's favorite dog, Isabel's spaniel, and Heathcliffe's vicious guard dogs, among others. She also spends time discussing the role of dogs in Victorian society: which breeds were most popular, what kinds of dogs were owned by various famous persons, a notorious dognapping ring, etc. One might say that, like Emily wandering familiar territory (the moors), so Lutz wanders through each chapter, keeping her eye on the central object but often straying far afield. It's an interesting approach but might be frustrating to readers who were hoping for a well-researched and detailed biography or those already familiar with the Victorian era and its milieu.
April 20, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book--I tend to focus more on Jane Austen than the Brontes in my literary reading, but this made me want to dig into the Bronte sisters all over again. There were a few eye-rolling sections, mostly in how the author tried to make the Brontes 21st century feminists ( a section on abortion in discussing Charlotte's death, and a few things early in the book), but overall, a good work of scholarship and an intriguing look into the lives of the Bronte sisters, their belongings, and their world.
July 25, 2025
Not your typical biography, and not a book I would recommend to someone as a starting point for their research on the Brontës. But if you already have the basic timeline, events and names in your knowledge, then this is a fantastic addition to your library. There are so many details, wistful and poignant, that do not usually appear in books, and the author describes the everyday realities and sentiments behind every object mentioned. It is also quite beautifully written.
July 21, 2020
A wonderful piece of work that gives life to the Brontës through the patina of themselves they left on their things. I was fortunate enough to have Dr. Lutz guest-lecture and take questions in my Brontë graduate seminar, and her research literally makes the Brontës material.
February 23, 2024
uno de los mejores libros que he leído
December 26, 2024
4.5⭐️ indispensable para las amantes de las hermanas Brontë!!
May 20, 2018
I read this in preparation for the trip to the Brontë parsonage in Haworth, England, and I'm very glad I did. The background of the objects in the book added so much to my experience at the parsonage.
This is an excellent companion to a more traditional Brontë biography because it provides a personal look at Charlotte, Emily, and Anne through their possessions—their dresses, personal writing desks, walking sticks, dog collars, hair jewelry, and more. It's a fascinating context in which to learn about the girls' daily lives, and they way they interacted with the world and objects around them. In addition to providing biographical info, this excellently researched and engagingly written book illuminated the Victorian era, weaving in stories of other authors and important figures, as well as fads and habits of the time.
If you're a Brontë or literature fan, you need to add this to your reading list.
This is an excellent companion to a more traditional Brontë biography because it provides a personal look at Charlotte, Emily, and Anne through their possessions—their dresses, personal writing desks, walking sticks, dog collars, hair jewelry, and more. It's a fascinating context in which to learn about the girls' daily lives, and they way they interacted with the world and objects around them. In addition to providing biographical info, this excellently researched and engagingly written book illuminated the Victorian era, weaving in stories of other authors and important figures, as well as fads and habits of the time.
If you're a Brontë or literature fan, you need to add this to your reading list.
July 12, 2019
Si se quiere saber más del "Universo brontiano" (término que me acabo de inventar), este es un buen ejemplo. A través de objetos que formaron parte de la vida de estas tres hermanas geniales, la autora, Déborah Lutz, nos adentra lo que ocurría en esa pequeña rectoría del norte de Inglaterra, pero tambíen nos explica historias de la época victoriana en la que vivieron bien curiosas. Muy interesante.
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