The Brontes: A Family History

by John Cannon

What was the nature of the Brontes' strange genius? Where did it spring from and what inspired it? Patrick Bronte, father of the Bronte sisters, came from Ireland, changing his name from Brunty to Bronte when he won a scholarship to Cambridge. His children never met their Irish relatives and Patrick was deliberately vague about his origins: because of this little has been known about the family's Irish background. Yet it was a huge influence in their lives and in their works. The Bronte family's story is every bit as strange and romantic as those penned by the sisters in their classic novels.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, British Literature

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

John Ashton Cannon was an English historian specialising in 18th-century British politics. He was educated at Hertford Grammar School where he gained a scholarship to Peterhouse, Cambridge, and gained his PhD at Bristol University (where he was appointed Lecturer in 1961 and Senior Lecturer in 1967 as well as Reader in 1970). During his time at Bristol, he also became involved in Radio Bristol when it was first aired and was Chairman from 1970 to 1974. In 1976 he was appointed Chairman of Modern History at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 1979. He was Pro Vice Chancellor from 1983 to 1986 and was also employed by the History of Parliament Trust. In recognition of his contribution to Education, he was awarded a CBE in 1985

Reviews

[Cedar · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read to see a little further into the background of the Brontë family. The book tells a lot of old family stories and does a good job of making them relatable so that I felt I could almost picture things as they might have happened and even people who were born and died centuries ago seemed more recent. The story of Welsh Brontë and his courtship of his adopted sister was particularly fascinating.

The writing was very cyclical though and I kept finding myself reading the same phrases over and over in different parts of the book. It could have been more streamlined and sequential. The author also says it’s not a biography of Patrick Brontë, though much of the book does read that way.

Finally the subtitle seems odd, “Ireland to Wuthering Heights” just doesn’t make a lot of sense. The book tells the story of how the Brontë family came from Ireland to live in Haworth, so really the subtitle could have been better chosen.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but I would only take it as a part of a bigger look into the Brontës.

[Everett Sharp]

Haworth

Although referred to in the book as a village, Haworth is a small town that understandably promotes The Brontes and their local connections. This is done with great taste and the museum and church are well worth a visit as are the footpaths that thread throughout the area. The book is an excellent primer for those even like myself who have come to the authors initially from television programmes. The family fascinate, in celebration but also sadden anyone with knowledge for the issues they had to deal with.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

extremely repetitive - same phrases used over and over a-la-Grisham except in non-fiction, thank god a short book poor grammar

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read! I was looking for something about the background of the Brontes as opposed to their writing. This delivered just that.