Unquiet soul: A biography of Charlotte Brontë

by Margot Peters

Charlotte Brontë's tumultuous and passionate life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

460 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Ken Sroka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margot Peters' bio of the Bronte family, focussing on Charlotte, is a good intro to the context surrounding the famous works--esp. "Jane Eyre," "Wuthering Heights," Villette." The chapters treating the six years following the deaths of Branwell, Emily, and Anne are especially moving, suggesting Charlotte's extreme shyness, her isolation at Haworth, the tyranny of a possessive father, her "courtships" with 3 potential husbands. Peters favors "Villette" over "Jane Eyre" as C.B.'s most mature work. I especially enjoyed the accounts of Charlotte's trips to London, her desire to swallow up all that London had to offer, and her exclusion from the male literary lions' public celebrations. The book makes me admire Charlotte Bronte's achievement more and I'll surely go back to reread "Villette" in the light of Peters' treatment of it. As an overview to the condition of Victorian Women Writers, the book is very valuable.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few novels and biographies about Charlotte Bronte at this point so you would think I would know all there is to know. Apparently that is not even close. This biography showed a side of Bronte that I haven't come across before. Using many primary sources, Peters shows that Charlotte was far from content with her quiet life in Haworth and her lot as a Victorian woman. The biography is very thorough, giving just as much attention to Charlotte's life before she became a published author, as her life afterwards. There is also plenty of space devoted to the lives of her siblings, including a lot of things I had not known about Branwell before. It is a very fascinating look at her life and I would highly recommend it to those wanting to know more about the Brontes.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in high school--probably 1982, and really loved it, but I have to say that, regardless of what the author hypothesizes about Charlotte's death, hyperemesis gravidarum does not mean that you don't want your baby--but it would be difficult to treat in 1855.

[Jaimie Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered what 19th century Victorian England was like on a family of genius sisters, read this book. It's one of the best biographies I've read.

[Lucy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean I admire Charlotte not the lovely Margot although I am sure she is quite fine in her own way...

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a time where women were discouraged to write fiction, one shy small lady from Northern England wrote one of the most beloved English classics, Jane Eyre . The book took England by storm and everyone wanted to know just who was this new brilliant writer. Little did they know that she would be a woman, the daughter of a parson living in a remote Yorkshire town of Haworth named Charlotte Brontë.
Charlotte Brontë was born in 1816, the third child of six children. Her life was marred in tragedy from the early deaths of her mother and two elder sisters, to later on in life when she lost the last three of her siblings in under a year. In spite of everything she managed to become a literary icon and her works continue to inspire generation after generation of readers and artists.
Margot Peters' biography of Charlotte is well-researched and presented a lot of new information about Charlotte's life that I haven't read before. One of the aspects I enjoyed the most was the compilation of the different perspectives from those who met Charlotte Brontë, for instance Gaskell, Harriet Martineau, and Thackeray. Her personality seemed to spring off the page. And the title of this book is very fitting. Although on the outside Charlotte appeared to be calm and reserved, she was certainly an unquiet soul full of passion.
I would greatly recommend this book to fans of Charlotte Brontë as well as her siblings, Emily, Branwell and Anne.

[R. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography that not only covers Charlotte's life and writings but also the works and fates of her sisters. Makes ample use of primary documents such as letters. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Brontës, the cultural life of their times and the publishing world.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I parts of this for a research project on Bronte I did in high school. I think I was a sophomore, but I wouldn't have read Jane Eyre yet, so I don't know why I would have picked Bronte. Anyway, I'm not sure how much of the text I actually read or how I determined which parts to read for the report.

[Deena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly, reading this made me want to read other biographies of the Brontes.