The Brontes

The Brontë sisters are, next to Dickens, the most celebrated novelists of the nineteenth century, and even today Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are widely, and even passionately, read.

In Brian Wilks’ book the sisters, their brother Branwell and their father Patrick are seen with remarkable clarity.

The author paints a vivid picture from when Patrick meets his short-lived wife, Maria. Their courtship and love for each other is detailed along with their move to the village of Haworth., where Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne were born.

Unbeknown to them, the village of Haworth was a densely populated and highly unsanitary. The combination of this, along with living amongst the dead, was to bring the family more troubles. The author gives a vivid picture of the times, and of the Brontës’ surroundings — the reeking, unhealthy village, the bleak parsonage, and the wild and lonely moors.

Shortly after Anne’s birth, Maria fell ill and died — leaving six young children in the care of their grieving father.

With the help of Maria’s sister, Elizabeth Branwell, the family got through this difficult period. Elizabeth was to stay on with the Brontës for the rest of her life and support the children’s various endeavours.

Patrick took it upon himself to ensure his children would be able to survive on their own in the event of his death. Following the death of the older girls, Maria and Elizabeth, he withdrew, leaving the four remaining siblings to form their own imaginations — weaving the foundations for the stories that that were to come.

Governessing was a decent form of living then and the girls took it up. Branwell was moved towards becoming an artist.

However, none of the siblings could stay away from home, Haworth, for too long and they missed the close companionship of their siblings. Inevitably, they returned time and time again, unable to follow their career paths.

With illness surrounding Haworth, the girls, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, took to seeking comfort in their writing. Their greatest novels were written during some of the most harrowing times of their lives.

When Charlotte, the last remaining Brontë child, died, Patrick was left with the greatest of grief, and alone. Yet the compassion he was well known to possess continued well up to his death at the age of eighty-five.

Brian Wilks is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Leeds in Yorkshire. He is also the author of a biography of Jane Austen.

“All scholars will cherish this book which is recommended for college and public libraries.” — Library Journal

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