The Brontë Sisters

by Harold Bloom, Norma Jean Lutz

- A biographical and critical review of the world's most important writers- Expert analysis by Harold Bloom- A wealth of information on the writers that are most commonly read in high schools, colleges, and universities

Genres: Biography

160 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Cricket Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise yet thoroughly informative biography and literary criticism of the Bronte sisters and their works. Bloom's BioCritiques series is ideal for students, teachers, and dedicated readers wanting to know a bit more about an author, yet is short on time.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great choice for anyone who enjoys the Brontes' work and wants to know more about the women themselves. I picked this up because I grew curious to know more about Charlotte Bronte and her sisters as I was reading "Jane Eyre." Bloom's book consists of an excellent mini-biography of the Bronte family. As someone who knew almost nothing about them, I found the narrative of their lives that he presents both absorbing and informative. It’s a good baseline for further exploration into the topic. After the biography, there are four critical essays on the Bronte's works: one looking at all three writers in context of their historical period; one focused entirely on "Wuthering Heights"; one on Anne Bronte's "Agnes Grey"; and one on the main character of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." These essays were a surprise and a lovely treat--a chocolate cherry on top of the biography information.

I decided not to read the last essay, because it concerned a Bronte novel that I want to read and don't know very much about. I was already very familiar with "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre" before deciding to read them (I'd seen movie versions of both), and I thought it would be nice to go into "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" knowing as little as possible about it. I decided I didn't want to sacrifice the experience of reading it mostly "fresh." Maybe I'll check this book out again once I’ve read the novel--just for the last essay.

Before reading this, I appreciated the Bronte sisters’ writing, but Bloom's book made me love them, as people and as writers, even more. One of the best things I discovered from the biography was the fact that Charlotte and Anne Bronte both published a lot more than I thought they had. Now I'm excited to catch up with the Brontes, in both the biography section and the literature section of the library stacks.