Glass Town: The Secret World of the Bronte Children

by Michael Bedard, Laura Fernández (Illustrator), Michael Bedard

A revealing glimpse inside the secret world of the four Bronte+a5 children describes their strict lives in an English parsonage and the rich imagination that spawned some of the classic works of English literature.

Genres: Childrens, Biography, Picture Books

40 pages, Library Binding

Published September 1, 1997

About the author

Michael Bedard was born and raised in Toronto. His novels include Stained Glass, A Darker Magic, Painted Devil, and Redwork, which received the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year Award for Children. He has also written several acclaimed picture books, including The Clay Ladies, which received the Toronto IODE Book Award. His biography, William Blake: The Gates of Paradise and his picture book Emily attest to his interest in poets and poetry.

Reviews

[Jessie Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

My hopes were high that this book would be astonishing. My expectations were probably a bit too high. It is a sweet book, to be sure, but the story was a little bit boring. Not enough to have me stop reading it, though. The biggest takeaway is to understand what a day in the life of the Brontë children looked like. The paintings are not to my personal taste but they are beautifully reproduced. Well suited for a broad range of people. I would recommend this book to Brontë aficionados.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well there's probably a good book to be written on the Bronte's secret fantasy world...but this isn't it

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Cristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice story to learn from the Brontë sisters. The drawings were beautiful

[Sarah Coller · Rating 2 out of 5]

2026: I'd not remembered reading this but it was just weeks after my father died so that's probably why. I still very much agree with my thoughts from 2022. Not a children's book, by any means, but ok if you're a fan.

2022: The illustrations were beautiful but the story left much to be desired. It's relatable if you know the Brontes' story well and can catch all the little hints and nods to history---but I know my kids would likely be bored and lost with the story.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Match this with The Return of the Twelves

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful paintings and a lovely homage to the Bronte children's stories of Glass Town.

[Clementine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sentence construction is lovely. I wish I have a Glass Town of my own. :)

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

fantastic art! okay story, interesting