Book Synopsis
From an obscure country parsonage came the most extraordinary family of the nineteenth century. The Brontë sisters created a world in which we still live – the intense, passionate world of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights; and the phenomenon of this strange explosion of genius remains as baffling now as it was to their Victorian contemporaries. In this panoramic novel we see with new insight the members of a uniquely close-knit family whose tight bonds are the instruments of both triumph and tragedy. Emily, the solitary who turns from the world to the greater temptations of the imagination: Anne, gentle and loyal, under whose quietude lies the harshest perception of the stifling life forced upon her: Branwell, the mercurial and self-destructive brother, meant to be king, unable to be a prince: and the brilliant, uncompromising, tormented Charlotte, longing for both love and independence, who establishes the family’s name and learns its price.
Review
This was such a good read for me! If you’re a fan of the Brontë sisters- please slap yourself three times if you’re not- you will enjoy this book! Though it isn’t and cannot be an actual account of the Brontë family’s life, I think it’s a good idea of what their lives could have been like.
The story tells the tale of the Brontë family living in Yorkshire. They settled in Haworth where Mr Patrick Brontë became the local parish’s curate. When the youngest Brontë, Anne, was twenty months old, their mother Maria Branwell died from an illness- cancer I believe. There were six Brontë children: Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne.
The girls, except Anne, all went through boarding school- Cowan Bridge School- which is the basis of the school in Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. The horrible conditions are what led to Maria and Elizabeth getting ill, along with many other girls. They returned home and died a few months after- Maria died at the age of eleven and Elizabeth died at the age of ten, about a month after Maria. Charlotte and Emily were withdrawn and their father kept all his children at home where they were educated by him and his late wife’s sister, Elizabeth.
It’s sad to think this was almost the norm of family’s to lose so many members at such a young age because of health conditions back then. I think it’s quite admirable how you can keep persevering through such a life.
I’m sure if you’re a Brontë fan you’d love to know why the sisters wrote what they did and how such ideas came to mind. Whilst Charlotte’s Jane Eyre is rather quite telling of her own life, I think she was the only character I felt was really and truly fleshed out. I do wish there had been more on Emily but then again, this is a piece of fiction working within non-fiction. I guess nobody really has the answers to why the sisters wrote what they did but I, personally, would love to know what inspired Emily to write Wuthering Heights. In my eyes, it’s one of the best love stories because it’s so different, cruel but it screams passion. Common knowledge is the Brontë’s lived rather secluded lifestyles and didn’t know the company of men beyond their father, brother and teachers.
Final Thoughts
I would recommend you to read this book if you’re interested in what the life of the Brontë family was like. Although it isn’t an actual account, it does seem like a fair one of what their personal lives and thoughts could have been. I felt like Charlotte was the leading lady in this novel, but perhaps that’s because she lived the longest out of all of her siblings, dying at the age of thirty. This was an incredibly insightful read. Loved it!