Few families in history can boast of the incredible literary achievements of the Brontë sisters – Anne, Emily and Charlotte – who penned three of the most beloved novels ever written: Anne’s ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, ‘ Emily’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ and Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre.’
Collected here are all three of these classic novels, plus a pair of essays penned by Charlotte fiercely defending her sister’s books and drawing attention to the literary misogyny of the time, which forced the sisters to publish their novels under male pseudonyms.
First up is ‘Jane Eyre, ‘ Charlotte’s timeless tale of a young orphan girl who is forced to forge her own way in life and the brooding lord who captures her heart. Then, ‘Wuthering Heights, ‘ Emily’s towering story of love and loss on the Yorkshire Moors between the doomed lovers Heathcliff and Catherine. And finally, ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ – which was the most popular book penned by the sisters at the time – Anne’s turbulent story of a marriage gone tragically wrong and the heroine who does all she can to escape her abusive spouse.
All three books – plus Charlotte’s brilliant dissection of their release and reception, ‘Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells’ are presented here in their original and unabridged formats.
A propos de l’auteur
The Brontë Sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne – were three of six siblings born to clergyman Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria. Charlotte attended the Clergy Daughter’s School, which was so poorly run and unsanitary that she would later blame their attendance at this school for the deaths of two of her sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, both of whom died of tuberculosis. The four surviving siblings, Branwell, Emily, Anne and Charlotte, created an imaginary world called ‘Glass Town, ‘ and would each contribute poems, stories and geographical details of this mythical place in order to escape the difficulties of their childhood. These creative flights of fancy planted the seeds for the sisters’ later literary success. At the time, the idea of publishing a female author was frowned upon, thus the sisters created a pseudonymous trio of brothers – Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell – in order to get their books into print. While all three lived to see their books in print, the enjoyment of their literary success was short-lived. The family suffered the deaths of Branwell, Emily and Anne in just a few short months in late 1848/early 1949 (the latter two of tuberculosis) and Charlotte herself, while struggling through her first, difficult pregnancy, died in 1854 at the age of thirty-eight. Few families in history have produced as many literary powerhouses as the Brontë sisters and their works have been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen.