The Brontë Sisters
It is striking to contemplate that an awesome, singular, irreproducible wave of literature that would sweep the world for two centuries began in a parsonage in remote Yorkshire, England. The Brontë sisters and, to a lesser subsidiary extent, their older brother Branwell worked hard and professionally at making childhood dreams and fantasies become real in the fields of fiction and poetry.
Charlotte (1816-1855), Emily (1818-1848) , and Anne (1820-1849) are responsible for seven finished novels and a fair scattering of poetry. Each novel has grown in critical estimation with the passing years. Each novel is acknowledged by both fellow writers and generations of critics as strange, powerful, textured, dense, and simultaneously of their time and ahead of their time. Each sister has her distinctive voice, each her reader-partisans, and yet the feeling of a family of voices and thoughts and concerns is strong.
A legacy of influence is mysteriously vague in later literature — perhaps Thomas Hardy? But just say the phrase “the madwoman in the attic” or breathe one name, “Cathy . . .” — and you have the staying power of their creations.
I have included some associated fiction, including a mystery series with the sisters as the detectives and a notable Young Adult novel. I will be alert to adding other material as I discover it. Enjoy!
Wuthering Heights [BE CLASSIC edition]
Wuthering Heights [BE CLASSIC edition]
BE CLASSIC with Wuthering Heights introduced by bestselling author S.E. Hinton.
Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discoveres the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: how Heathcliff, an orphan, was raised by Mr. Earnshaw as one of his own children. Lockwood learns of the intense and passionate romance between Heathcliff and Cathy Earnshaw, and her betrayal of him. As Heathcliff’s bitterness and revenge are visited upon by the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past. Heathcliff’s terrible vengeance ruins them all – but still his love for Cathy will not die…