Western Winds: The Brontës' Irish Heritage

by Edward Chitham

The Irish heritage of the Brontë family has long been overlooked, partly because both Charlotte and her father Patrick did their very best to ensure that this was the case and partly because there was a strong understanding at the end of the nineteenth century that the Brontës were Yorkshire regional novelists. Yet their ideas and attitudes, and perhaps even their storylines, can be traced to Ireland.

This book, which develops ideas originally published in The Brontës’ Irish Heritage in 1986, sets the record straight. By re-evaluating the sources available, it traces Patrick’s Irish ancestry and shows how it prevented him from achieving his ambitions; it shows how that heritage influenced his children’s writings, particularly Emily; and it sheds further light on the genesis of Wuthering Heights.

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Edward Chitham (b. 1932) is an English writer and a leading authority on the Brontës and the history and heritage of the Midlands. He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Jesus College, Cambridge. In addition, he is also Education Consultant for the National Association of Gifted Children and Assistant Staff Tutor at Open University.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward Chitham is one of my favourite writers on the Brontes, and I greatly admire his dogged research. Of particular interest to me was the story of Hugh Prunty, grandfather to the famous Bronte sisters. The story of his early life - being farmed out to a cruel uncle who was himself a foundling - bears an obvious resemblance to the plot of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Even more interesting to me personally was that Hugh spent these difficult years in the Boyne Valley and Louth, where I spent summers as a child, and where many of my own relatives still live.