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The Brontës: A Life in Letters
The Brontë story has been written many times but rarely as compellingly as by the Brontës themselves. In this selection of letters and autobiographical fragments we hear the authentic voices of the three novelist sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, their brother, Branwell, and their father, the Reverend Patrick Brontë. We share in their progress over the years: the exuberant childhood, absorbed in wild, imaginative games; the years of struggling to earn a living in uncongenial occupations before Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall took the literary world by storm; the terrible marring of that success as, one by one, Branwell, Emily and Anne died tragically young; the final years as Charlotte, battling against grief, loneliness and ill health, emerged from anonymity to take her place in London literary society and, finally, found an all too brief happiness in marriage to her father's curate.
Juliet Barker, author of the highly acclaimed biography The Brontës has used her unrivalled knowledge of the family to select extracts from letters and manuscripts, many of which are appearing here in print for the first time. Charlotte was a letter-writer of supreme ability, ranging from facetious notes and homely gossip to carefully composed pages of literary criticism and, most movingly of all, elegiac tributes to her beloved brother and sisters. Emily and Anne remain tantalizingly evasive. Very few of their letters are extant. Emily's are mere businesslike notes, though these have been supplemented by her more revealing diary papers; Anne's letters are equally frustrating, but only because their quality makes us regret their paucity.
Branwell emerges as distinctly as Charlotte from his letters. Whether trying to impress William Wordsworth with his literary abilities, showing off to his artistic friends or finally coming to terms with a life of failed ambition, his character is laid bare on every page. The Reverend Patrick Brontë's devotion to his children and passionate advocacy of liberal causes are equally well illustrated in what can only be a small selection from his voluminous correspondence.
The Brontë letters are supplemented by extracts from other contemporary sources, which allow us to see the family as their friends and acquaintances saw them. A brief narrative text guides the reader through the letters and sets them in context. By allowing the Brontës to tell their own story, Juliet Barker has not only produced an innovative form of biography but also given us the unique privilege of participating intimately in the lives of one of the most famous and best-loved families of English literature.
Juliet Barker, author of the highly acclaimed biography The Brontës has used her unrivalled knowledge of the family to select extracts from letters and manuscripts, many of which are appearing here in print for the first time. Charlotte was a letter-writer of supreme ability, ranging from facetious notes and homely gossip to carefully composed pages of literary criticism and, most movingly of all, elegiac tributes to her beloved brother and sisters. Emily and Anne remain tantalizingly evasive. Very few of their letters are extant. Emily's are mere businesslike notes, though these have been supplemented by her more revealing diary papers; Anne's letters are equally frustrating, but only because their quality makes us regret their paucity.
Branwell emerges as distinctly as Charlotte from his letters. Whether trying to impress William Wordsworth with his literary abilities, showing off to his artistic friends or finally coming to terms with a life of failed ambition, his character is laid bare on every page. The Reverend Patrick Brontë's devotion to his children and passionate advocacy of liberal causes are equally well illustrated in what can only be a small selection from his voluminous correspondence.
The Brontë letters are supplemented by extracts from other contemporary sources, which allow us to see the family as their friends and acquaintances saw them. A brief narrative text guides the reader through the letters and sets them in context. By allowing the Brontës to tell their own story, Juliet Barker has not only produced an innovative form of biography but also given us the unique privilege of participating intimately in the lives of one of the most famous and best-loved families of English literature.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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2053 people want to read
About the author
Juliet Barker
37 books145 followersJuliet R. V. Barker (born 1958) is a British historian, specialising in the Middle Ages and literary biography. She is the author of a number of well-regarded works on the Brontës, William Wordsworth, and medieval tournaments. From 1983 to 1989 she was the curator and librarian of the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
Barker was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School and St Anne's College, Oxford, where she gained her doctorate in medieval history. In 1999 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Bradford. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Barker was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School and St Anne's College, Oxford, where she gained her doctorate in medieval history. In 1999 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Bradford. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
October 31, 2023
Third read, Victober 2023: Earnest and introspective with an occasional zing, Charlotte’s letters testify to the struggle between being strong of mind and yet cursed with quiet anxiety that often rendered her mousy in public. Some of the most compelling reading I’ve ever done.
Second read, 2022: Reading Charlotte's letters is an Experience, which age cannot wither, nor custom stale (to borrow from Shakespeare). I find myself just as riveted and reflective the second time through, if not more so. So much of what she says goes straight to the heart and resonates there.
It's an odd feeling (and of questionable soundness) to be reading private letters at a remove of nearly 200 years and think, "This person is my friend," and yet that is the power of Charlotte's writing. At least for me. So much so that, paradoxically, I'm even uneasy with the fact that they've been published and that I'm able to read them. Part of me is always like, "She wouldn't like this..."
But I do love these letters so.
Original review from 2018:
I find the Brontes utterly fascinating. And their letters are as captivating as I would expect.
This book is almost entirely made up of letters, with a few editorial asides to explain context as needed. And really, how could one ever learn about them better than through their own words?
Most of the letters are Charlotte's. She's the only one of the sisters who really managed to develop strong friendships outside the home (thus giving her people to write to). There are letters and diary papers giving tantalizing glimpses of Anne and Emily, but they remain mysterious as ever when all is said and done.
If you've ever read Jane Austen's letters, you may have felt as I did that they are a tad... disappointing (though who wants to admit that they found Jane Austen's letters disappointing??!). She is a correspondent who relays mundane facts and sometimes skewers people with her satire, but one doesn't feel that she is opening her heart. Why do I bring that up? Because that is not the case with Charlotte Bronte's letters. She is earnest, thoughtful and passionate, and the words seem to spill from her heart directly to her paper.
(Incidentally, people kept telling her she should read Jane Austen, but they weren't compatible from a literary point of view. Charlotte found Austen's novels well crafted, but felt that her characters were too distant and their emotions too tidy. Her critique needn't offend ardent Austen fans... she isn't dismissive; she merely differs.)
But ANYWAY, this is not about Austen, this is about the Brontes. I'm still no closer to understanding how they learned to write with such power, but Charlotte's letters do make me feel that she would be my friend. As any biography of the Brontes must be, it's by turns tragic or triumphant, but always relatable.
Second read, 2022: Reading Charlotte's letters is an Experience, which age cannot wither, nor custom stale (to borrow from Shakespeare). I find myself just as riveted and reflective the second time through, if not more so. So much of what she says goes straight to the heart and resonates there.
It's an odd feeling (and of questionable soundness) to be reading private letters at a remove of nearly 200 years and think, "This person is my friend," and yet that is the power of Charlotte's writing. At least for me. So much so that, paradoxically, I'm even uneasy with the fact that they've been published and that I'm able to read them. Part of me is always like, "She wouldn't like this..."
But I do love these letters so.
Original review from 2018:
I find the Brontes utterly fascinating. And their letters are as captivating as I would expect.
This book is almost entirely made up of letters, with a few editorial asides to explain context as needed. And really, how could one ever learn about them better than through their own words?
Most of the letters are Charlotte's. She's the only one of the sisters who really managed to develop strong friendships outside the home (thus giving her people to write to). There are letters and diary papers giving tantalizing glimpses of Anne and Emily, but they remain mysterious as ever when all is said and done.
If you've ever read Jane Austen's letters, you may have felt as I did that they are a tad... disappointing (though who wants to admit that they found Jane Austen's letters disappointing??!). She is a correspondent who relays mundane facts and sometimes skewers people with her satire, but one doesn't feel that she is opening her heart. Why do I bring that up? Because that is not the case with Charlotte Bronte's letters. She is earnest, thoughtful and passionate, and the words seem to spill from her heart directly to her paper.
(Incidentally, people kept telling her she should read Jane Austen, but they weren't compatible from a literary point of view. Charlotte found Austen's novels well crafted, but felt that her characters were too distant and their emotions too tidy. Her critique needn't offend ardent Austen fans... she isn't dismissive; she merely differs.)
But ANYWAY, this is not about Austen, this is about the Brontes. I'm still no closer to understanding how they learned to write with such power, but Charlotte's letters do make me feel that she would be my friend. As any biography of the Brontes must be, it's by turns tragic or triumphant, but always relatable.
January 7, 2022
The subject was vert intresting, although not my favourite kind of format. Had difficult getting invested in the boo but it was well written
December 16, 2013
I have always been very interested in the Brontë family, and when I was 12 or 13, I really thought everyone knew who they were. Since then I've learned that this is far from the case, and that getting a man to read one of their books can prove very challenging. A wild guess would be that more men actually read their books when they were published than they do today (except under obligation from school/university). It fascinates me that "back then", these books apparently didn't seem "feminine" or "only suitable for women". Actually, at least Wuthering Heights was deemed unsuitable for women because of its masculinity and coarseness. Some people even refused to believe that Jane Eyre was written by a woman.
Wuthering Heights is my favorite Brontë book, but it actually never got much attention. Or if it did, it wasn't positive attention. When it was published, both critics and friends mostly referred to it as a "strange thing" and as too coarse, rough and portraying people too horrible to be real/put on paper. Emily isn't much present in this book either - Charlotte is the great letter write of the family, and only one or two of Emily's odd letters remain. People hardly knew anything about her, but as long as she was alive (i.e. not for long) Charlotte was described as pleasant looking, lively etc. in comparison to her. Once she, and the rest of the siblings, died, Charlotte is constantly referred to as solemn, silent, calm, plain - and absolutely tiny. So what on earth was Emily? Emily really remains a big mystery. Charlotte was extremely attached to her and thought her a great poet, but I think... no one else was actually very fond of her. She seemed to have no friends, was unable to go to school or work with other people, had no interest in leaving her home, and then she died.
Reading about the Brontës is really reading about a lot of people who die way too young. Their deaths are all very untimely. Both Emily and Anne die just when their books have finally been published and there is a very strong possibility for their continued literary careers - after years of struggle as governesses. Emily actually started another book, which is forever lost. Charlotte dies more or less straight away after she's finally married, at the age of 38, when she, after almost a decade, finally seems to stop feeling lonely and depressed. And what does she die of? "Hyperemesis gravidarum", i.e. she vomited herself to death during pregnancy.
Still, great book. It mostly just contains letters (as the title suggests), with helpful comments from Barker here and there. The book's composition is impeccable.
Wuthering Heights is my favorite Brontë book, but it actually never got much attention. Or if it did, it wasn't positive attention. When it was published, both critics and friends mostly referred to it as a "strange thing" and as too coarse, rough and portraying people too horrible to be real/put on paper. Emily isn't much present in this book either - Charlotte is the great letter write of the family, and only one or two of Emily's odd letters remain. People hardly knew anything about her, but as long as she was alive (i.e. not for long) Charlotte was described as pleasant looking, lively etc. in comparison to her. Once she, and the rest of the siblings, died, Charlotte is constantly referred to as solemn, silent, calm, plain - and absolutely tiny. So what on earth was Emily? Emily really remains a big mystery. Charlotte was extremely attached to her and thought her a great poet, but I think... no one else was actually very fond of her. She seemed to have no friends, was unable to go to school or work with other people, had no interest in leaving her home, and then she died.
Reading about the Brontës is really reading about a lot of people who die way too young. Their deaths are all very untimely. Both Emily and Anne die just when their books have finally been published and there is a very strong possibility for their continued literary careers - after years of struggle as governesses. Emily actually started another book, which is forever lost. Charlotte dies more or less straight away after she's finally married, at the age of 38, when she, after almost a decade, finally seems to stop feeling lonely and depressed. And what does she die of? "Hyperemesis gravidarum", i.e. she vomited herself to death during pregnancy.
Still, great book. It mostly just contains letters (as the title suggests), with helpful comments from Barker here and there. The book's composition is impeccable.
October 5, 2022
A glimpse of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte's lives through their correspondences and diaries. We all know how their lives came to a sudden end, so the letters brimming with hope, promises and reflections are all the more sad. Charlotte's are particularly depressing given that she was the sole-surviving sibling. The reminders of her brother and sisters throughout the parsonage and moors are aching.
July 30, 2020
I've had this book for several years but this is the first time I've read it from cover to cover, and I'm most glad I did. What interests me the most about the Brontes' lives is how the bare facts of their lives demonstrate the remarkable imagination and creative genius of their novels. There have been many reductive and demeaning attempts to crudely map the characters and events in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights to equivalents in the real lives of their authors, and while all three Bronte sisters clearly took inspiration from the world and people they knew they were literary artists first and foremost.
(To be reductive myself, I feel confident in stating that you can't understand the thought process behind characters like Mr Rochester and Heathcliff without first understanding that all the Bronte siblings were rabid Byron fans, to the point that they wrote what's essentially fanfiction derivative of the archetypes propagated by Byron and other authors operating in a similar space.)
Reading the letters was a very moving experience for me. I have previously read Juliet Barker's definitive biography of The Brontes, which must be one of the greatest works of literary biography ever written. While said biography includes many of the letters collected here, this collection - by dint of focusing purely on the correspondence - gives the sisters a real voice that's lacking when their story is told in a more objective fashion.
The vast majority of the letters are Charlotte's, since so few of Emily and Anne's papers remain extant, and she is naturally the person who comes across most vividly. And what a voice she has! It's particularly fascinating to see the difference in the tone she adopts across different correspondents. Her most vivid and moving letters were those she wrote to her best friend, Ellen, for these feel the most authentic - there's no literary pretensions or showboating in Charlotte's letters to Ellen, just chatty accounts of daily life, gossip, and airings of hopes and frustrations.
Charlotte was a woman of great intelligence and remarkable talent, but she was also flawed and vulnerable to the same weaknesses anyone would recognise today - self-doubt, grief, depression, aimlessness. She could also be exceptionally savage - some of the letters to her critics are so intensely passive-aggressive that they remain squirm-inducing across centuries. But she was also kind, determined and hard-working; her love for her sisters, her struggles with their loss, is palpable. Charlotte comes off from the letters exceptionally well - they humanise her to a remarkable degree, without in any way reducing the impression of her genius.
Juliet Barker did a remarkable job of collecting the letters into a coherent narrative, including explanatory notes where necessary and occasionally quoting from recollections and others' observations of the Brontes. As with Barker's brick of a biography, this is essential reading for any serious Bronte fan.
(To be reductive myself, I feel confident in stating that you can't understand the thought process behind characters like Mr Rochester and Heathcliff without first understanding that all the Bronte siblings were rabid Byron fans, to the point that they wrote what's essentially fanfiction derivative of the archetypes propagated by Byron and other authors operating in a similar space.)
Reading the letters was a very moving experience for me. I have previously read Juliet Barker's definitive biography of The Brontes, which must be one of the greatest works of literary biography ever written. While said biography includes many of the letters collected here, this collection - by dint of focusing purely on the correspondence - gives the sisters a real voice that's lacking when their story is told in a more objective fashion.
The vast majority of the letters are Charlotte's, since so few of Emily and Anne's papers remain extant, and she is naturally the person who comes across most vividly. And what a voice she has! It's particularly fascinating to see the difference in the tone she adopts across different correspondents. Her most vivid and moving letters were those she wrote to her best friend, Ellen, for these feel the most authentic - there's no literary pretensions or showboating in Charlotte's letters to Ellen, just chatty accounts of daily life, gossip, and airings of hopes and frustrations.
Charlotte was a woman of great intelligence and remarkable talent, but she was also flawed and vulnerable to the same weaknesses anyone would recognise today - self-doubt, grief, depression, aimlessness. She could also be exceptionally savage - some of the letters to her critics are so intensely passive-aggressive that they remain squirm-inducing across centuries. But she was also kind, determined and hard-working; her love for her sisters, her struggles with their loss, is palpable. Charlotte comes off from the letters exceptionally well - they humanise her to a remarkable degree, without in any way reducing the impression of her genius.
Juliet Barker did a remarkable job of collecting the letters into a coherent narrative, including explanatory notes where necessary and occasionally quoting from recollections and others' observations of the Brontes. As with Barker's brick of a biography, this is essential reading for any serious Bronte fan.
July 8, 2018
I feel like I have not come across such an exquisite and lyrical book of letters in non fiction before! Juliet Barker wrote little interlacing paragraphs in between the letters, which alternated between Emily, Charlotte, Branwell, Anne and Patrick Bronte, from one to another, as well as writing to their friends and contemporaries; such as Elizabeth Gaskell and Ellen Nussey.
I loved how evoking the letters were, I felt like they captured so many emotions, and you could clearly tell how close the Bronte siblings were and how much they loved and cared for one another! I felt so attached to them all when I was reading this, I felt like they had all become friends and that I was learning so much about them all - and when Branwell, Emily and Anne died in such quick succession, not only did I feel like I had lost friends but my heart was lamenting so much for Charlotte! How she must have felt when she had lost three of her dearest siblings and friends so soon! (Of course, elder sisters Maria and Elizabeth had passed years back), but that naturally still stayed with Charlotte and me too, for I kept thinking "I wonder what Maria and Elizabeth would have got up to!"
The insights into this book are glorious, honestly, I feel like there are no filters as far as these letters are concerned, I mean, reading about how the sisters initially struggled to gain literary recognition, how they had to adapt those psydonems and just every ounce of their correspondence felt like a privilege to read!
I loved how evoking the letters were, I felt like they captured so many emotions, and you could clearly tell how close the Bronte siblings were and how much they loved and cared for one another! I felt so attached to them all when I was reading this, I felt like they had all become friends and that I was learning so much about them all - and when Branwell, Emily and Anne died in such quick succession, not only did I feel like I had lost friends but my heart was lamenting so much for Charlotte! How she must have felt when she had lost three of her dearest siblings and friends so soon! (Of course, elder sisters Maria and Elizabeth had passed years back), but that naturally still stayed with Charlotte and me too, for I kept thinking "I wonder what Maria and Elizabeth would have got up to!"
The insights into this book are glorious, honestly, I feel like there are no filters as far as these letters are concerned, I mean, reading about how the sisters initially struggled to gain literary recognition, how they had to adapt those psydonems and just every ounce of their correspondence felt like a privilege to read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2018
I have always enjoyed reading the correspondence of people known to me only through their work - it offers a glimpse into who the writer (actor/musician/whatever) really was, and certainly Charlotte Brontë (and to a lesser degree her siblings) seems more real now as an actual human person than she did when she was only the name on some books. On the other hand, the story of this family is so heartbreaking that I almost preferred not knowing them! One of the saddest things I've read in some time.
July 5, 2016
Charlotte in particular was a kickass correspondent, and by the time I reached the letters written by her father and husband after her death, I was in tears.
October 16, 2021
Absolutely loved this and found it a fascinating read. A life in letters features all the Brontes’ but predominantly Charlotte as she was the most prolific letter writer.
Each of the Brontes’ voices shone through and the way that the narrative thread was so cohesive is a credit to Juliet Barker. I ordered a second hand copy of this once I read the library book as it one that I would like to add to my shelves. I plan to also read the Bronte biography by Juliet Barker in the near future as well.
Each of the Brontes’ voices shone through and the way that the narrative thread was so cohesive is a credit to Juliet Barker. I ordered a second hand copy of this once I read the library book as it one that I would like to add to my shelves. I plan to also read the Bronte biography by Juliet Barker in the near future as well.
January 21, 2012
I cannot even begin to describe how profoundly this book moved me. Barker did a phenomenal job selecting letters and providing just enough of her own connecting text to give them context. The letters truly speak for themselves, however. Jane Eyre has been my favorite book since I was twelve years old and has stood the test of time (even when details had faded and I had doubts that it was as good as I remembered - IT WAS). I have read the novels of all three sisters and always felt a special affinity for Charlotte. Having read Rebecca Fraser's biography and various other writings about the family and visited Haworth, I knew the Brontës were something special. But not even seeing a few of Charlotte's letters at the Parsonage Museum could have prepared me for Barker's collection. I feel as if Charlotte was speaking to my soul, though she was only writing for the eyes of her family and few friends. Though she never intended her correspondence for publication and indeed her husband had severe reservations about her letters ever becoming available, I view her writings as a gift to the world. In this age of brevity and simplified vocabulary, it was unutterably refreshing to read the letters of those who valued intellect and communication. Charlotte especially did not stint on sharing her true feelings and spurning convention (such as one would never see in a Jane Austen novel). Because of that we have a picture of who she really was... an amazing, intelligent, independent woman who overcame extreme adversity (the mere thought of the death of my mother and all my siblings nearly makes my heart stop) and gave the world such stories as will endure forever.
August 31, 2017
Charlotte Brontë was "a tiny, delicate, little person, whose small hand... grasped a mighty lever which set all the literary world... vibrating".
During the last week of August my boyfriend came to visit, so I couldn’t dedicate a lot of my time to reading, but I somehow managed to fly through this collection of letters from the whole Brontë family. This is yet another dissertation read, but I’ve wanted to read Charlotte’s correspondence for the longest time – this is where her true self really shines through. Thankfully, this book contains mostly Charlotte’s letters (due to people like Ellen Nussey, George Smith, William Smith Williams, and co. storing her letters) with a few from Emily, Anne, Branwell, Patrick and even some from Maria (their mother).
These letters helped shape all of the Brontës for me, whether that was physically or just them as a person. I got to know them on a personal level, not through other mediums like biographies or their novels – this was them writing about their feelings, their life and their troubles. I’ve learnt a lot from this collection about Branwell, Patrick and Charlotte in particular – Emily was hardly included, and Anne’s letters resembled a lot of the stuff she writes about in her novels. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I’m thankful that the Brontës’ friends stored their letters so that a century and a half later I can peruse them for my own leisure. I’m especially thankful Ellen Nussey ignored Arthur’s advice to burn Charlotte’s letters (because they could easily fall into the wrong hands).
During the last week of August my boyfriend came to visit, so I couldn’t dedicate a lot of my time to reading, but I somehow managed to fly through this collection of letters from the whole Brontë family. This is yet another dissertation read, but I’ve wanted to read Charlotte’s correspondence for the longest time – this is where her true self really shines through. Thankfully, this book contains mostly Charlotte’s letters (due to people like Ellen Nussey, George Smith, William Smith Williams, and co. storing her letters) with a few from Emily, Anne, Branwell, Patrick and even some from Maria (their mother).
These letters helped shape all of the Brontës for me, whether that was physically or just them as a person. I got to know them on a personal level, not through other mediums like biographies or their novels – this was them writing about their feelings, their life and their troubles. I’ve learnt a lot from this collection about Branwell, Patrick and Charlotte in particular – Emily was hardly included, and Anne’s letters resembled a lot of the stuff she writes about in her novels. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I’m thankful that the Brontës’ friends stored their letters so that a century and a half later I can peruse them for my own leisure. I’m especially thankful Ellen Nussey ignored Arthur’s advice to burn Charlotte’s letters (because they could easily fall into the wrong hands).
September 6, 2020
No words for the incredible journey this book has taken me on over the past few weeks. I have meant, for the longest time, to look further into the lives of the Brontë family and Barker's excellently edited work, with its interesting anecdotes alongside the variation of diary entries, reviews, as well as letters, has brought those occupying the Haworth Parsonage to life so vividly that to read the final letter and close the book on these brilliant but sadly shortlived people is moving to say the least. Recommend with my whole heart.
May 11, 2014
My sister-in-law asked me, as I brought up this book over and over, why I read sad books. I was struck by the question, having been a long time champion of the deeply felt, well-crafted Bronte novels, which I don't find sad or depressing, but fascinating, heart-capturing. (My dad often teased me that it's another dead mother/sister/father book about many of my choices and opened this book at random to read descriptions of so-and-so's illness, or low spirits). An illuminating passage in a letter from Charlotte to Mrs. Gaskell delivers an answer for why I hold a different feeling about some purposes of literature than my family holds (my fellow Bronte-ite sister excluded):
"Do you--who have so many friends, so large a circle of acquaintance--find it easy, when you sit down to write--to isolate yourself from all those ties and their sweet associations--as to be quite your own woman--uninfluenced, unswayed by the consciousness of how your work may affect other minds--what blame, what sympathy it may call forth? Does no luminous cloud ever come between you and the severe Truth--as you know it in your own secret and clear-seeing Soul? In a word, are you never temped to make your characters more amiable than the life--by the inclination to assimilate your thoughts to the thoughts of those who always feel kindly, but sometimes fail to see justly? Don't answer the question. It is not intended to be answered."
Charlotte Bronte did not see, COULD NOT, discount the Truth, no matter how others may perceive, no matter how tempting to pretty up, to give an easy ending to, a story. Some do not wish to see more pain, be it in the past or in the sphere of the imagination. These readers may see enough of it in life, or they may prefer to maintain a happy spirit that is their fortune to possess. They may not believe that such kinds of people could really exist (see the majority of reviews for Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights, Agnes GreyAgnes Grey, Jane EyreJane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell HallTenant of Wildfell Hall).
For me, I want to delve int a large number of experiences, even those I will not go through (thank God) in my own time. An English major and a librarian, I have been exposed to a number of books I may not have picked up on my own, perhaps thinking they are too beyond what I know in my life and I imagine I would find it hard to connect. But these books open me to variety of many human experiences, uplifting, encouraging, lowly, mean, raw. It is not sadness alone that a well-wrought book captures, necessarily--it is the depth of feeling, the spark of recognition between reader and page that there are beating hearts made of these words, that in reading a book is as close as we could possibly get to truly knowing another being, inner thoughts expressed in ways we know not how to do with even the most intimate beings in our physical lives.
The Brontes wrote from a place of experience and imagination long practiced, and so draw me into to see how others might think, how they survive, how they dream, how they can still find some kind of levity. In Charlotte's work especially I find a teasing undertone, much as she wrote to her friends about how boring her life is, how little she had to correspond about, how funny she saw the follies of others and her own, how lonely she often felt, and yet how she would push on and continue to reach out. In reading her letters, I was caught up in a world many miles and many years ago and gained in appreciation for why the Bronte books are so rich, so engrossing. Yes, sad passages, which my dad could pluck out so easily and which made me tear up and draw shaking breath, do frequent the pages. However, it does not matter the kind of feeling (sadness rather than happiness) that one writes from, if it does not dominate and ignore the Truth in the story. Reading makes me more compassionate, more curious; it awakens in me emotions that other activities try to regulate and repress. It is the style, the energy, the will to live behind the writing, how someone I will never meet can touch me so deeply, that keeps me coming back.
"Do you--who have so many friends, so large a circle of acquaintance--find it easy, when you sit down to write--to isolate yourself from all those ties and their sweet associations--as to be quite your own woman--uninfluenced, unswayed by the consciousness of how your work may affect other minds--what blame, what sympathy it may call forth? Does no luminous cloud ever come between you and the severe Truth--as you know it in your own secret and clear-seeing Soul? In a word, are you never temped to make your characters more amiable than the life--by the inclination to assimilate your thoughts to the thoughts of those who always feel kindly, but sometimes fail to see justly? Don't answer the question. It is not intended to be answered."
Charlotte Bronte did not see, COULD NOT, discount the Truth, no matter how others may perceive, no matter how tempting to pretty up, to give an easy ending to, a story. Some do not wish to see more pain, be it in the past or in the sphere of the imagination. These readers may see enough of it in life, or they may prefer to maintain a happy spirit that is their fortune to possess. They may not believe that such kinds of people could really exist (see the majority of reviews for Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights, Agnes GreyAgnes Grey, Jane EyreJane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell HallTenant of Wildfell Hall).
For me, I want to delve int a large number of experiences, even those I will not go through (thank God) in my own time. An English major and a librarian, I have been exposed to a number of books I may not have picked up on my own, perhaps thinking they are too beyond what I know in my life and I imagine I would find it hard to connect. But these books open me to variety of many human experiences, uplifting, encouraging, lowly, mean, raw. It is not sadness alone that a well-wrought book captures, necessarily--it is the depth of feeling, the spark of recognition between reader and page that there are beating hearts made of these words, that in reading a book is as close as we could possibly get to truly knowing another being, inner thoughts expressed in ways we know not how to do with even the most intimate beings in our physical lives.
The Brontes wrote from a place of experience and imagination long practiced, and so draw me into to see how others might think, how they survive, how they dream, how they can still find some kind of levity. In Charlotte's work especially I find a teasing undertone, much as she wrote to her friends about how boring her life is, how little she had to correspond about, how funny she saw the follies of others and her own, how lonely she often felt, and yet how she would push on and continue to reach out. In reading her letters, I was caught up in a world many miles and many years ago and gained in appreciation for why the Bronte books are so rich, so engrossing. Yes, sad passages, which my dad could pluck out so easily and which made me tear up and draw shaking breath, do frequent the pages. However, it does not matter the kind of feeling (sadness rather than happiness) that one writes from, if it does not dominate and ignore the Truth in the story. Reading makes me more compassionate, more curious; it awakens in me emotions that other activities try to regulate and repress. It is the style, the energy, the will to live behind the writing, how someone I will never meet can touch me so deeply, that keeps me coming back.
September 20, 2015
It is with undescribable sadness and joy I conclude reading this volume. I have for years been enamored by the brilliant writings of these wonderfull ladies. Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Wuthering Heights have strummed their tune on my heart strings. Now so too has this collection of letters. The final pages leave me sad with longing, as though having lost dear friends. There is life and emotion within these pages. These letters reveal so much, yet so little. While we are well acquainted with Charlotte we are far less so of her relations, too few of their letters having remained all these years intact.
I read Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights before endeavoring upon my literary studies in university. I studied the Brontes as part of a fourth year specialty course. I have read Jane Eyre twice, as well as Wuthering Heights. I have read Shirley, though found the former book better suited to my tastes (though I feel like re-examining that opinion now with a reread), and I read Anne Brontes Tenant of Wildfell Hall which I fell in love with, as well as some but not all of Villette due to time constraints during my studies... and it is with this book I feel I now know more, that I feel closer in my sympathies and sentiments to this family than ever I could before.
It is with great joy I have read this. But all things come to an end, and it is with great sadness the story of this family should end so tragically, when true happiness for its remnant members was finally at hand. I feel for Branwell, I feel for Anne and Emily. I have dread feelings for what their father Patrick Bronte had gone through, seeing his wife die, losing two daughters a mere decade into their young lives (Maria and Elizabeth), in addition to their Aunt Branwell... only to tragically lose his only son, then his daughters Emily followed by stoical Anne, before finally losing Charlotte as well. What a void it should have left in myself were such a thing experienced on my part. Yet stoically he persevered. And to the end, Arthur Bell Nicholls kept to the word of his wife Charlotte, in her death. He stood by her father he too died.
It is a hard thing to fathom, seeing all of your relations die one by one, slowly. These letters truly put to paper the affections of experience. Never has written word felt so real. Yet they were real. A great collection of minds have left their legacy behind. We should not be too quick to forget them, for they truly are worthy of remembering.
I read Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights before endeavoring upon my literary studies in university. I studied the Brontes as part of a fourth year specialty course. I have read Jane Eyre twice, as well as Wuthering Heights. I have read Shirley, though found the former book better suited to my tastes (though I feel like re-examining that opinion now with a reread), and I read Anne Brontes Tenant of Wildfell Hall which I fell in love with, as well as some but not all of Villette due to time constraints during my studies... and it is with this book I feel I now know more, that I feel closer in my sympathies and sentiments to this family than ever I could before.
It is with great joy I have read this. But all things come to an end, and it is with great sadness the story of this family should end so tragically, when true happiness for its remnant members was finally at hand. I feel for Branwell, I feel for Anne and Emily. I have dread feelings for what their father Patrick Bronte had gone through, seeing his wife die, losing two daughters a mere decade into their young lives (Maria and Elizabeth), in addition to their Aunt Branwell... only to tragically lose his only son, then his daughters Emily followed by stoical Anne, before finally losing Charlotte as well. What a void it should have left in myself were such a thing experienced on my part. Yet stoically he persevered. And to the end, Arthur Bell Nicholls kept to the word of his wife Charlotte, in her death. He stood by her father he too died.
It is a hard thing to fathom, seeing all of your relations die one by one, slowly. These letters truly put to paper the affections of experience. Never has written word felt so real. Yet they were real. A great collection of minds have left their legacy behind. We should not be too quick to forget them, for they truly are worthy of remembering.
December 31, 2019
I LOVE the Brontë family, every single one of them (even that rascally rake of a rogue, Branwell). Reading their letters, I’m convinced that if only I had grown up on a neighboring moor during the early 1800s, we would have been the best of friends.
This collection includes letters from every member of the Brontë family except Maria and Elizabeth, who did not survive into adulthood. But the majority of them were written by my darling kindred spirit, Charlotte, whom I do so adore. If you have read and loved any of Charlotte Brontë’s novels (Jane Eyre, Villette, Shirley, or The Professor), then you will love her gorgeous letters.
I can’t possibly choose a favorite of Charlotte’s letters to quote here, because I have so many favorites and they are all so beautiful, so instead I’ll quote a passage from her novel “Villette”, where she describes the loving art of writing letters.
He wrote as he gave and as he loved, in full-handed, full-hearted plenitude. He wrote because he liked to write; he did not abridge, because he cared not to abridge. He sat down, he took pen and paper, because he loved Lucy and had much to say to her; because he was faithful and thoughtful, because he was tender and true. There was no sham and no cheat, and no hollow unreal in him….His letters were real food that nourished, living water that refreshed.
This collection includes letters from every member of the Brontë family except Maria and Elizabeth, who did not survive into adulthood. But the majority of them were written by my darling kindred spirit, Charlotte, whom I do so adore. If you have read and loved any of Charlotte Brontë’s novels (Jane Eyre, Villette, Shirley, or The Professor), then you will love her gorgeous letters.
I can’t possibly choose a favorite of Charlotte’s letters to quote here, because I have so many favorites and they are all so beautiful, so instead I’ll quote a passage from her novel “Villette”, where she describes the loving art of writing letters.
He wrote as he gave and as he loved, in full-handed, full-hearted plenitude. He wrote because he liked to write; he did not abridge, because he cared not to abridge. He sat down, he took pen and paper, because he loved Lucy and had much to say to her; because he was faithful and thoughtful, because he was tender and true. There was no sham and no cheat, and no hollow unreal in him….His letters were real food that nourished, living water that refreshed.
January 23, 2023
I'd call this a must read for anyone interested in the Brontës. It doesn't cover all of their letters I believe, but there are more than enough there to give you a sense of what was happening to the family.
Juliet Barker presents the letters in a really well thought out manner, which allows you to follow the family through from the courtship of Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria, to the years following the death of Charlotte Brontë.
The book doesn't just cover the letters that the Brontë's themselves wrote, but also letters that were written to them and about them.
Juliet Barker presents the letters in a really well thought out manner, which allows you to follow the family through from the courtship of Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria, to the years following the death of Charlotte Brontë.
The book doesn't just cover the letters that the Brontë's themselves wrote, but also letters that were written to them and about them.
January 29, 2008
Was struck by the manner in which they all lived through writing, how entirely their imaginative world was of the very everyday day air they breathed. Charlotte's vast lonliness, especially after the death of her sisters, is heartbreaking. On an up note, here is her summation of Jane Austin's Emma..."but what throbs fast and full, though hidden, and what blood rushes through, what is the unknown Seat of Life and the sentient target of Death - this Miss Austin ignores.
October 20, 2017
Beautiful biography with inspiring letters and powerful details. The lives of the Brontes broke my heart; I cried when Charlotte dies. This book gave me an incredible appreciation for both women authors in the 1800s and the individual lives and works of the Bronte girls.
November 25, 2023
I wholeheartedly place this collection of letters on par with those of my favorite letter writer, Virginia Woolf. Honestly, this book was like a portkey, transporting me back in time to the 1800s, immersed in extended stays in Yorkshire and London, with occasional jaunts to Edinburgh and Brussels—experiencing the joys and far too frequent tribulations of the Brontës' lives.
Juliet Barker's curation of these letters is superb. The collection includes letters from Charlotte, Anne, Emily, Branwell, and Patrick, supplemented by delightful accounts from those who encountered them. While Barker provides just enough context between letters to set the stage, she defers to the Brontës, allowing their voices to dictate the narrative.
Charlotte's voice is the star of this book, and it is utterly captivating. Despite having read her novels, I had not perceived her, until now, as a trailblazing thinker and feminist, though she clearly was. Her letters, emotive and unflinchingly honest, were evidently similar to her bearing. One dining companion of hers wrote, "there was no boldness in the gaze, but an intense, direct, searching look, as of one who had the gift to read hidden mysteries and the right to read them. I had the feeling I never experienced before or since, as though I was being mesmerized." Many others who met her thought similarly, and in reading her account of her life and its inhabitants, I agree with this assessment. She is mesmerizing; I am mesmerized.
Charlotte's many descriptions of Emily made me love Emily even more, and this, written about Emily, made me laugh: "an interpreter ought always to have stood between her and the world. Her will was not very flexible, and it generally opposed her interest." While I've always held Emily as my favorite Brontë, spending time in Charlotte's thoughts has reshaped my admiration for both sisters.
Through mostly Charlotte's accounts, a visceral sense of the sisters' lives in remote Haworth emerges, as well as the challenges and determination of wanting more than society deemed possible for women at that time. Charlotte details what it was like to become a published author under an assumed name, her discomfort upon being discovered as the author of "Jane Eyre," and her reactions to her notoriety. (Her dressing down of Thackeray after he introduced her as Jane Eyre at a London literary function is priceless.) The collection also delves into Charlotte's lifelong friendships, her brief marriage, the London literary scene and its fascination with her, and her reactions to the sexist reviews of her books after it was discovered that Currer Bell was a woman, all of which are compelling on their own.
Yet, what struck me most was the vulnerability Charlotte expresses in her letters, particularly to her two best friends. Her loneliness and solitude after the deaths of Emily and Anne, her wanting more of life than it could offer a woman, her yearning to be understood as an author, not a female author, and her struggles with depression tempered by a determined resolve to persevere—all of these contribute to a profound portrait of an extraordinary woman and her extraordinary life.
I close this review by giving thanks to Charlotte's best friend (of over 20 years), Ellen, who lied to Charlotte's husband (of a few months) when he made a ridiculous demand: that if she did not promise to burn all letters from Charlotte post marriage (due to women being “rash in writing” as he believed 😳), he would censor or altogether stop Charlotte's letters to her. Ellen, you're a hero.
Juliet Barker's curation of these letters is superb. The collection includes letters from Charlotte, Anne, Emily, Branwell, and Patrick, supplemented by delightful accounts from those who encountered them. While Barker provides just enough context between letters to set the stage, she defers to the Brontës, allowing their voices to dictate the narrative.
Charlotte's voice is the star of this book, and it is utterly captivating. Despite having read her novels, I had not perceived her, until now, as a trailblazing thinker and feminist, though she clearly was. Her letters, emotive and unflinchingly honest, were evidently similar to her bearing. One dining companion of hers wrote, "there was no boldness in the gaze, but an intense, direct, searching look, as of one who had the gift to read hidden mysteries and the right to read them. I had the feeling I never experienced before or since, as though I was being mesmerized." Many others who met her thought similarly, and in reading her account of her life and its inhabitants, I agree with this assessment. She is mesmerizing; I am mesmerized.
Charlotte's many descriptions of Emily made me love Emily even more, and this, written about Emily, made me laugh: "an interpreter ought always to have stood between her and the world. Her will was not very flexible, and it generally opposed her interest." While I've always held Emily as my favorite Brontë, spending time in Charlotte's thoughts has reshaped my admiration for both sisters.
Through mostly Charlotte's accounts, a visceral sense of the sisters' lives in remote Haworth emerges, as well as the challenges and determination of wanting more than society deemed possible for women at that time. Charlotte details what it was like to become a published author under an assumed name, her discomfort upon being discovered as the author of "Jane Eyre," and her reactions to her notoriety. (Her dressing down of Thackeray after he introduced her as Jane Eyre at a London literary function is priceless.) The collection also delves into Charlotte's lifelong friendships, her brief marriage, the London literary scene and its fascination with her, and her reactions to the sexist reviews of her books after it was discovered that Currer Bell was a woman, all of which are compelling on their own.
Yet, what struck me most was the vulnerability Charlotte expresses in her letters, particularly to her two best friends. Her loneliness and solitude after the deaths of Emily and Anne, her wanting more of life than it could offer a woman, her yearning to be understood as an author, not a female author, and her struggles with depression tempered by a determined resolve to persevere—all of these contribute to a profound portrait of an extraordinary woman and her extraordinary life.
I close this review by giving thanks to Charlotte's best friend (of over 20 years), Ellen, who lied to Charlotte's husband (of a few months) when he made a ridiculous demand: that if she did not promise to burn all letters from Charlotte post marriage (due to women being “rash in writing” as he believed 😳), he would censor or altogether stop Charlotte's letters to her. Ellen, you're a hero.
January 8, 2018
"But crushed I am not-yet: nor robbed or elasticity nor hope nor quite of endeavor-Still I have some strength to fight the battle of life."
Five Stars
So said Charlotte Bronte after the death of her brother and two sisters in the space of eight months. At the age of 29 Charlotte was alone with her father, finally successful after the publication of Jane Eyre, but miserable. She was the most prolific letter writer of the three Bronte sisters and her it’s her voice that stays with you when the pages close.
This is a wonderful book. The Bronte family story is full of the same passion, tragedy and sadness of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Barker is light on commentary and lets the Brontes tell the story. In chronological order are early diary entries by the young Brontes, letters from Charlotte to her friend Ellen Nussey, her publishers and writer companions. Also included are extracts from Emily and Anne's diaries and their own brief letters; letters from Branwell and their father Patrick. The early reviews of Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are included along with extracts from newspapers and commentary from people outside the Bronte's inner circle.
We have Charlotte to thank for knowing the Bronte story so well. It was she that discovered Emily's poems and sought to have them published, an act that led to her getting Jane Eyre published later on. Her letters touch on her early frustrations as a writer and her introverted nature as she tries to navigate the dicey world of London's literary circle. One memorable correspondence describes her giving William Thackery a telling off because he didn't introduce her properly after one of his lectures. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my favourite Bronte books so I was little miffed to find out that Charlotte tried to repress its publication after Anne's death. Charlotte loved her sisters and the letters written during the depression that followed their deaths are heartbreaking. One particularly poignant moment comes when a late glowing review of Wuthering Heights is published after Emily's death (it was slated in the press upon first publication). Charlotte's delight is bittersweet.
I'm glad I read this instead of picking up a history book. Barker says this is a companion to her own celebrated Bronte biography; I can't help but feel that this collection, the authentic voice of the Brontes, is as good an insight into the family as you'll ever get.
Five Stars
So said Charlotte Bronte after the death of her brother and two sisters in the space of eight months. At the age of 29 Charlotte was alone with her father, finally successful after the publication of Jane Eyre, but miserable. She was the most prolific letter writer of the three Bronte sisters and her it’s her voice that stays with you when the pages close.
This is a wonderful book. The Bronte family story is full of the same passion, tragedy and sadness of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Barker is light on commentary and lets the Brontes tell the story. In chronological order are early diary entries by the young Brontes, letters from Charlotte to her friend Ellen Nussey, her publishers and writer companions. Also included are extracts from Emily and Anne's diaries and their own brief letters; letters from Branwell and their father Patrick. The early reviews of Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are included along with extracts from newspapers and commentary from people outside the Bronte's inner circle.
We have Charlotte to thank for knowing the Bronte story so well. It was she that discovered Emily's poems and sought to have them published, an act that led to her getting Jane Eyre published later on. Her letters touch on her early frustrations as a writer and her introverted nature as she tries to navigate the dicey world of London's literary circle. One memorable correspondence describes her giving William Thackery a telling off because he didn't introduce her properly after one of his lectures. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my favourite Bronte books so I was little miffed to find out that Charlotte tried to repress its publication after Anne's death. Charlotte loved her sisters and the letters written during the depression that followed their deaths are heartbreaking. One particularly poignant moment comes when a late glowing review of Wuthering Heights is published after Emily's death (it was slated in the press upon first publication). Charlotte's delight is bittersweet.
I'm glad I read this instead of picking up a history book. Barker says this is a companion to her own celebrated Bronte biography; I can't help but feel that this collection, the authentic voice of the Brontes, is as good an insight into the family as you'll ever get.
November 2, 2017
I found the Brontes just as fascinating, funny, tragic, and marvelous as I thought I would. This compilation is elegantly done, and Ms. Barker provides just enough context for the letters without being obtrusive, usually letting the Brontes speak for themselves.
When I compared side-by-side with some of Charlotte's complete letters, though, I was a bit surprised at some interesting passages that had been edited for length. I suppose the book would have been too unwieldy if the letters had been printed in their entirety, but it left me wondering what other wonderful morsels were left out!
Especially fun to read were some of Charlotte's letters about her adventures in London, when she and Anne went to "give ocular proof" to her publisher that the Bells were indeed separate people. And, of course, reading the letters about the siblings illnesses and deaths was heart-rending--knowing what will happen and "watching" as it unfolds--hopes raised and dashed--is more tragic than any of their novels, and chronicled exquisitely.
I feel like the Brontes and I are now close friends. They might disagree with me, though. :)
When I compared side-by-side with some of Charlotte's complete letters, though, I was a bit surprised at some interesting passages that had been edited for length. I suppose the book would have been too unwieldy if the letters had been printed in their entirety, but it left me wondering what other wonderful morsels were left out!
Especially fun to read were some of Charlotte's letters about her adventures in London, when she and Anne went to "give ocular proof" to her publisher that the Bells were indeed separate people. And, of course, reading the letters about the siblings illnesses and deaths was heart-rending--knowing what will happen and "watching" as it unfolds--hopes raised and dashed--is more tragic than any of their novels, and chronicled exquisitely.
I feel like the Brontes and I are now close friends. They might disagree with me, though. :)
March 12, 2025
Read this partly during a trip to Haworth. This was amazing. Might write more about it later. Some notes:
- Eldest sister complex!
- So many people died when young/middle age in the 19th century
- Charlotte's loneliness must have been immense between 1849 - 1854.
- so clear the ambition and feeling of unfulfilled potential before the publication of Jane Eyre
- Charlotte already knew man flu: 'Man is indeed an amazing piece of mechanism when you see - so to speak - the full weakness - of what he calls - his strength. There is not a female child above the age of eight but might rebuke him for the spoilt petulance of his wilful nonsense.'
- Underlining phrases and words in the way they did in Victorian letters seems to be a lost art.
- Eldest sister complex!
- So many people died when young/middle age in the 19th century
- Charlotte's loneliness must have been immense between 1849 - 1854.
- so clear the ambition and feeling of unfulfilled potential before the publication of Jane Eyre
- Charlotte already knew man flu: 'Man is indeed an amazing piece of mechanism when you see - so to speak - the full weakness - of what he calls - his strength. There is not a female child above the age of eight but might rebuke him for the spoilt petulance of his wilful nonsense.'
- Underlining phrases and words in the way they did in Victorian letters seems to be a lost art.
October 9, 2018
Such a legacy- this family of talented writers. But wow- I never knew how much talent, scandal, sorrow,
and illness struck one family. I really enjoyed reading the letters alongside Wuthering Heights. I see a lot of parallelism and art imitating life or life imitating art on some cases. What a chronicle Barker had culminated to really tell the story of these amazing, feminist women of their time and the men who stood around them.
and illness struck one family. I really enjoyed reading the letters alongside Wuthering Heights. I see a lot of parallelism and art imitating life or life imitating art on some cases. What a chronicle Barker had culminated to really tell the story of these amazing, feminist women of their time and the men who stood around them.
October 14, 2018
Barker presents a really good selection of letters by the Brontë family. Sorted by year, there isn't too much content so the book doesn't feel overwhelming like a complete edition of extant letters would. The obvious ones are here such as Charlotte's correspondence with Robert Southey, but there are also some lesser known gems in here. Patrick's letters after the death of Charlotte is particularly poignant. A really good source for those studying the Brontës' literature and lives.
June 28, 2019
Beautiful, moving, inspiring, heart-wrenching - the perfect glimpse into the life of the Bronte family. The story of Charlotte, Emily and Anne (and their brother and father) is told through their letters and some letters received by them as well as article reviews. Thank goodness their letters were saved!!! It will be the rare reader that won't be moved ... and saddened by the end of the book, and deeply wishing for more.
October 25, 2020
An utterly fascinating account of the Brontës sisters as seen through their letters and diary entries (though most are Charlotte’s). It paints a vivid portrait of their personal and literary lives which for the most part was quite a secluded existence (with Charlotte the one living longest and able to be involved in the literary world) and you see where they may have got inspiration for their novels.
August 29, 2017
4.25 stars. Really enjoyed the biography told through letters - mostly letters from Charlotte Brontë and her correspondence with her best and close friends, family members and the heads of the publishing house. Her letters are a great way to get know this remarkable talented writer - her daily/personal life and thoughts etc. The Brontës were such a talented family!
August 5, 2022
One of the best collections of letters I've read. The Brontës come to life through their correspondence with family and friends. A great family saga that starts from childhood and ends with Charlotte's death. (I wish letters by Patrick after Charlotte's death had been included, if any remain today.)
January 11, 2017
Wonderful - hearing the Brontes speak (almost) in their own words. Mostly Charlotte of course, which made it a sort of epistolary autobiography. Also terribly sad and emotional reading about the deaths. Recommended
May 6, 2021
A wonderful collection of Bronte letters (from Maria, Patrick, Charlotte and Branwell + the diary papers of Emily and Anne) with interconnecting notes by the author to fill in the timeline. If you're a Bronte nut or just temporarily going through a Bronte fever, you'll like this book.
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