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!
Jane Eyre [BE CLASSIC edition]
Jane Eyre [BE CLASSIC edition]
BE CLASSIC with Jane Eyre, introduced by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman.
As an orphan, Jane has a childhood full of trouble, but her sense of self and stubborn independence help her to steer through the miseries inflicted by cruel relatives and a brutal school. A position as governess at Thornfield Hall promises a kind of freedom. But Thornfield is a house full of secrets, its master a passionate, tomented man. When she falls in love with her sardonic employer, Jane faces her greatest struggle, in a choice between love and self-respect.