Literature / Writers Datebook
English Novelists and Poets
Brief biography in a nutshell of three famous Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne
English writers all, the three Brontë sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne, are famous for their passionate novels which include two most popular books in the English language, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.
The Family Brontë
The Brontë family lived in the north of England on the bleak Yorkshire moors. Four years after Charlotte was born, the family to Haworth parsonage. After Anne's birth their mother died, leaving five sisters and a brother to be raised by their clergyman father and a strict, religious aunt. Both eldest sisters died in their early teens.
The other three sisters and only brother, Branwell, grew up at home, playing on the moors, reading avidly, and writing in tiny books about imaginary kingdoms. They attended school only briefly. Later, however, they worked as teachers or governesses.
Three Novelist-Sisters
In 1846, Charlotte, Emily and Anne published a book of poems together. The finest poems were Emily's. After only a few copies sold, the Brontës tried writing fiction. A novel by each sister appeared in 1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte, aged 31; Wuthering Heights by Emily, aged 29; and Agnes Grey by Anne, aged 27.
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre
All three books drew on each author's own experiences and intense feelings, but Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre were most arresting and powerful. Wuthering Heights is a story of love, hate and revenge set on the Yorkshire moors and Jane Eyre tells of a poor but brave girl who falls in love with a harsh and difficult landowner.
Premature Family Deaths
No other Victorian novel shares its fierce, wild and savage spirit. It was unfortunate that by mid-1849 Emily and Anne died of tuberculosis, and their brother had died from over consumption of drugs and alcohol. In 1854 Charlotte married a clergyman and died giving birth the following year.
Charlotte Brontë (April 21, 1816 – March 31, 1855)
She used the pen name Currer Bell. Born at Thornton, she was the surviving sister of a talented family, the only one to receive public acclaim but eventually, also died prematurely. She died at the age of 38.
Works by Charlotte Brontë:
Jane Eyre, 1847
Shirley, 1849
Villette, 1853
The Professor, 1857 (Published after she died)
Emily Brontë (July 30, 1818 – December 19, 1848)
She died at the age of 30.
Work by Emily Jane Brontë
Wuthering Heights, 1847
Anne Brontë (January 17, 1820 – Mary 28, 1849)
She died at the age of 29.
Works by Anne Brontë
Agnes Grey, 1847
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848
Resources:
Goring, Rosemary (Editor), Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994
Great British Writers, London: Colour Library Books, 1993
McGovern, Una (editor), Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002
(c) December 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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