The Life of Charlotte Bronte (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of her close friend Charlotte Brontë was published in 1857 to immediate popular acclaim, and remains the most significant study of the enigmatic author who gave Jane Eyre the subtitle An Autobiography. It recounts Charlotte Brontë's life from her isolated childhood, through her years as a writer who had 'foreseen the single life' for herself, to her marriage at thirty-eight and death less than a year later. The resulting work - the first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist - explored the nature of Charlotte's genius and almost single-handedly created the Brontë myth.
About the Author
ELIZABETH GASKELL was born in London in 1810. She married a minister, and her literary output was substantial and completely professional. Many of her works are available in Penguin Classics, including NORTH AND SOUTH, SYLVIA'S LOVERS, and WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. She died suddenly in 1865.
ELISABETH JAY has taught and lectured at various universities in Great Britain and the USA, and is currently Head of Westminster College, Oxford. Her books include FAITH AND DOUBT IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN.
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Description of Keighley and its neighbourhood-Haworth Parsonage and Church-Tablets of the Bronte family Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Description of Keighley and its neighbourhood-Haworth Parsonage and Church-Tablets of the Bronte family Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have a confession to make - I am a bronte obsessive and I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone. For anyone remotely interested in the brontes, this book is essential. Yes, admittedly since its publication there have been an avalanche of biographies etc and few can match Juliet Barker's " The Brontes ", but Gaskell's now somewhat quaint account is one of the first and most tender presentations of a dear friend and there in lies its value.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As per the other reviews on here, this book is an essential read if you want to know the full life and times of the Bronte's.
However, one thing i will say, i found it annoying that some of the names of people mentioned in the book had their names blanked out to protect them as they might still be living, which after this amount of time is very doubtful.
And totally my ignorance is that I don’t speak French, so it meant skipping a few pages every now and then as some of the letters Charlotte had written were in French.
The pace of the book is a little uneven but this may be down to the events, still Definatly a good read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
A Beautiful Biography!
19 Mar 2001
Format:Paperback
A very nicely written biography by Mrs. Gaskell about the life of her friend Charlotte Bronte, although most of the content was made up of letters written either by or to Charlotte Bronte rather than Mrs. Gaskell's own writings. Still this is a very concise book containing mostly everything that an ordinary reader, or well, a beginner of the Bronte novels, should know about this famous family. Nonetheless at some point of the book, I do find Mrs. Gaskell a bit too subjective, especially when it comes to the depiction of Charlotte's brother Branwell Bronte and his downfall. But consider the fact that this book was written only within one and a half year, with Mrs. Gaskell herself alone traveling all the way from Manchester to Haworth, and then to Brussel, doing all the necessary researches and interviews on her own, I must say that this is just an awesome piece of work!! And just as what Patrick Bronte himself had said about this biography, 'It is every way worthy of what one Great Woman, should have written of Another...it ought to stand, and will stand in the first rank, of Biographies, till the end of time'.
One more word though. From a more scholarly point of view, however, I think so far the 'best' biography on the Brontes should be Juliet Barker's 'The Brontes'. If, after reading this biography written by Mrs. Gaskell, you still want to know more about the Brontes, then I will say: go and buy this other book by Juliet Barker and you definitely will never regret it!
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
An insight into Charlotte's life like no other.
18 April 1999
Format:Paperback
This book, written shortly after Charlotte's death by request of her father, shows the passionate and creative side to Charlotte's nature that her contemporary society were not aware of. You feel like you are actually watching her life pass by as Mrs. Gaskell describes every minute detail concerning the Bronte parsonage and the nearby surroundings. It is a happy story, particularly when the Haworth house learnt the news of their publications, and in general it tells of a very contented household. Their is a degree of poigency, however, as the reader follows Charlotte through the loss of her beloved siblings one by one. When after their deathes she eventually finds happiness, it is very shortlived as her untimely demise occurs shortly after her union with Athur Bell Nicholls. Mrs. Gaskell portrays her friend Charlotte as a warm and generous person and this book is a must for any Bronte lover.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
SAD BUT BRILLIANT
17 Jun 2000
Format:Paperback
Such sad lives were led by the the Bronte's, loneliness, loss, despair, all were experienced and fed into the imaginations on charlotte, emily and anne. This book is a brilliant book by E C Gaskell (who i normally dont really like), it is basically a collection of letters by charlotte and a great narrative, when speaking of the deaths of emily, anne and charlotte, i actually felt tears in my eyes!
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