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Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë won great fame with her semi-autobiographical novels Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor . Her life story is almost as well-known as the history of her most popular herione, from her bereaved yet extraordinarily creative childhood in a bleak Yorkshire parsonage to
her early death just months into a happy marriage to her father's curate. Few writers have had the facts of their lives so inextricably linked with the fiction they wrote. This book, written by an acknowledged expert on the Brontes and beautifully illustrated throughout, provides a fluent, objective
and compassionate account of the life of a much loved genius of English literature.
her early death just months into a happy marriage to her father's curate. Few writers have had the facts of their lives so inextricably linked with the fiction they wrote. This book, written by an acknowledged expert on the Brontes and beautifully illustrated throughout, provides a fluent, objective
and compassionate account of the life of a much loved genius of English literature.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2023
Well laid out and I very much enjoyed seeing Charlotte’s actual handwriting and drawings.
August 24, 2017
A comprehensive look at the Bronte family as a whole. Highly informative and featuring a lot of images of Charlotte's letters, the only way it could have been improved would have been if the author had chosen to transcribe more of the letters. Instead, a brief quote is chosen from each, leaving the reader to pore over the almost indecipherable images.
July 4, 2013
I love Charlotte Bronte, and have been meaning to pick up a biography on her for a while. I did enjoy this one, and am glad that I read this plain and straightforward little book before reading anything too exaggerated. It was comforting to know that her Father wasn't as horrid as is usually accredited to him, and knowing more about Charlotte's life has really made me look at her already loved literature in a new light. This is the first time I've read a biography purely for pleasure, and I loved it.
I did have one major problem, though, and that was that Jane Eyre was misquoted TWICE right next to a picture of the manuscript in which the quotes are correctly recorded. One instance was on page 61, which claims that "the fist page of this manuscript contains one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature: 'There was no possibility of a walk that day,' " when in fact the line is "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day." A small matter, perhaps, but surely someone in the publishing process would have noticed the omitted word in 'one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature.'
The other passage, page 64, claims that, "the key turned, Bessie and Albert entered." Albert? Really? I actually found this error pretty funny. (It is supposed to be Abbot.)
Like I said, I know that that was nit picky, but the publisher's job is to remove silly errors and I feel that those were almost too obvious to be missed.
Other than that, though, this biography was wonderful. I would definitely recommend it to anyone working on a project, because it was short and the information is easy to sort through. I would also recommend it to anyone who just wants to know more about Charlotte Bronte.
I did have one major problem, though, and that was that Jane Eyre was misquoted TWICE right next to a picture of the manuscript in which the quotes are correctly recorded. One instance was on page 61, which claims that "the fist page of this manuscript contains one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature: 'There was no possibility of a walk that day,' " when in fact the line is "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day." A small matter, perhaps, but surely someone in the publishing process would have noticed the omitted word in 'one of the most famous opening sentences in English literature.'
The other passage, page 64, claims that, "the key turned, Bessie and Albert entered." Albert? Really? I actually found this error pretty funny. (It is supposed to be Abbot.)
Like I said, I know that that was nit picky, but the publisher's job is to remove silly errors and I feel that those were almost too obvious to be missed.
Other than that, though, this biography was wonderful. I would definitely recommend it to anyone working on a project, because it was short and the information is easy to sort through. I would also recommend it to anyone who just wants to know more about Charlotte Bronte.
November 11, 2010
Had never learned about her life and enjoyed this book--it claims to "set the record straight."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews