Brontë Sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne
English Novelists and Poets of the Victorian Era
Dec 29, 2008
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 moved 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. later, both eldest sisters died in their early teens.
The remaining three sisters and only brother, Branwell, grew up at home, playing on the moors, reading voraciously, and writing about their imaginary and fantasy lands. They attended school only briefly. Later, 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. 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 Deaths
No other Victorian novel shares its fierce, wild and savage spirit as depicted in now classic books Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. 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. Charlotte, the only one left behind, married a clergyman in 854, but also died giving birth the following year.
Charlotte Brontë (April 21, 1816 – March 31, 1855)
Born - April 21, 1816
Died - March 31, 1855
Age at death, 38
Pen name - Currer Bell
She was the the last one to survive and receive public acclaim but also died few years later.
Charlotte's Work
- Jane Eyre, 1847
- Shirley, 1849
- Villette, 1853
- The Professor, 1857 (Published after she died)
Emily Brontë (1818-1848)
Born - July 30, 1818
Died - December 19, 1848
Age at death, 30
Pen name - Ellis Bell
Emily's Work
- Wuthering Heights, 1847
Composers with opera adaptation of Wuthering Heights:
Anne Brontë (1820-1849)
Born - January 17, 1820
Died - May 28, 1849
Age at death, 29
Anne's Work
- Agnes Grey, 1847
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848
Sources:
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
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