Charlotte Brontë and Her Circle

by Clement King Shorter

It is claimed for the following book of some five hundred pages that the larger part of it is an addition of entirely new material to the romantic story of the Brontës. For this result, but very small credit is due to me; and my very hearty acknowledgments must be made, in the first place, to the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls, for whose generous surrender of personal inclination I must ever be grateful. It has been with extreme unwillingness that Mr. Nicholls has broken the silence of forty years, and he would not even now have consented to the publication of certain letters concerning his marriage, had he not been aware that these letters were already privately printed and in the hands of not less than eight or ten people. To Miss Ellen Nussey of Gomersall, I have also to render thanks for having placed the many letters in her possession at my disposal, and for having furnished a great deal of interesting information. Without the letters from Charlotte Brontë to Mr. W. S. Williams, which were kindly lent to me by his son and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton Williams, my book would have been the poorer. Sir Wemyss Reid, Mr. J. J. Stead, of Heckmondwike, Mr. Butler Wood, of Bradford, Mr. W. W. Yates, of Dewsbury, Mr. Erskine Stuart, Mr. Buxton Forman, and Mr. Thomas J. Wise are among the many Brontë specialists who have helped me with advice or with the loan of material. Mr. Wise, in particular, has lent me many valuable manuscripts. Finally, I have to thank my friend Dr. Robertson Nicoll for the kindly pressure which has practically compelled me to prepare this little volume amid a multitude of journalistic duties.

CLEMENT K. SHORTER.

198 Strand, London,

September 1st, 1896.

Genres: Classics, Nonfiction

387 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2015

About the author

Clement King Shorter (19 July 1857 – 19 November 1926) was a British journalist and literary critic.

Reviews

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Composed mostly of Charlotte's letters, I can't give this less than 5 stars ❤️
I will say, though, that it's not a good place to begin for anyone unfamiliar with Bronte biography. It's organized into topics for each person in Charlotte's life, and so there's a lot of chronological criss-cross that could be a little much for the uninitiated.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shorter's book had plenty of interesting epherema in it. I enjoyed reading Charlotte's letters to her friend Ellen.

[Emmy Beamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this right after Mrs Gaskell’s ‘A Life’ and it was great to read more of each of the parts of Charlotte‘s life that could only be alluded to in the earlier biography. Really fascinating to read more about her friends Ellen and Mary, as well as more stories from London especially concerning her interactions with Thackeray and society, as well as her multiple offers of marriage. I found it poignant that she wrote letters until the day she died and was intrigued at the author’s allusion to her death being “incidental to child birth”. Really interesting history!

[Evelyn Erb Bognar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consisted of a collection of personal letters from Charlotte Bronte. Some were quite interesting. This book is a good read for any avid Bronte fan.

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a precious book for Bronte lovers! To be able to see a glimpse into the mind of Charlotte Bronte through letters from her to her friends and family. This is not a quick read, but one to be savored slowly.

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sono stata presa oltre ogni aspettativa dallo spaccato di vita messo a nudo nelle lettere che appartengono a vario titolo al 'circolo' di Charlotte: a partire da quelle (incredibilmente in tono con lo stile dei romanzi epistolari del primo ottocento) della giovane donna innamorata che sarebbe diventata sua madre. E poi, il grande tavolo su cui le tre sorelline e il fratello si cimentavano con entusiasmo nell'invenzione e la stesura di interminabili epopee, un mondo da 'piccole donne' in cui tutte scrivono come Jo ma muoiono giovani come Beth, con un Laurie che si lascia andare alla dissipazione e alla rovina – e le morti, le morti, una dopo l'altra, di tutte le persone più care, il successo letterario, la timidezza e lo smarrimento davanti alla società londinese, le amiche chiuse nel loro piccolo ambiente provinciale e quelle emigrate in Nuova Zelanda in cerca di fortuna, gli intelligenti scambi di impressioni con il giovane responsabile editoriale, fino all'ultima fiammata, un amore ormai 'fuori tempo massimo', rifiutato e poi accettato con gratitudine, come nelle migliori tradizioni del romanzo inglese.
Un 'lieto fine' avaro, che durerà solo per i pochi mesi che la vita riservava ancora alla grande autrice di Jane Eyre.