Charlotte Brontë
Dates: April 21, 1816 - March 31, 1855Charlotte Bronte - pen name Currer Bell
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Charlotte, one of six children of Maria Branwell Brontë and her husband, Anglican priest Patrick Brontë, lost her mother while she was very young, and was raised by her father an an aunt, Elizabeth Branwell.
Charlotte and her sister Emily attended the Clergy Daughters' School, the harsh conditions of which were reflected in the school in Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre.
Charlotte took various jobs as well as taking some time at home teaching and playing with her sisters. She worked variously as a teacher and as a governess.
In 1846, she published Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell with her sisters (Charlotte wrote as Currer Bell, using a man's name as was common for women writers in the early 19th century). She wrote a novel, The Professor, which was rejected during her lifetime but was published posthumously. In 1847, she published her best-known novel, Jane Eyre.
The years 1848 and 1849 were tragic ones: first her brother, Branwell, died, then Emily and then Anne. Charlotte, now nearly alone, wrote and published Shirley: A Tale, and began to make connections in London with other literary figures including William Makepeace Thackeray, Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Gaskell.
She turned down several offers of marriage, finally accepting that of her father's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. They were married in 1854 and returned to Yorkshire, where she died of complications of pregnancy in 1855, another novel, Emma, barely begun.
Two stories, "The Secret" and "Lily Hart," were not published until 1978.
Charlotte Brontë on the Web: Biographies
- Charlotte Brontë
Biography including short but good bibliography and a list of museums to visit related to the Brontë sisters. - Brontë Birthplace
The birthplace of the Brontë sisters, now a museum. - Brontë Birthplace, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Where Charlotte and her sisters were born.
Charlotte Brontë on the Web: Writings
- On the Death of Anne Brontë
A poem written by Charlotte on the death of her sister, Anne. - Jane Eyre
- Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell
- The Professor
- Shirley
-
Villette
Related topics on this site
- Charlotte Brontë Quotations
- About Emily Brontë
- Emily Brontë Quotations
- About Anne Brontë
- Women Writers in the 19th Century
Bibliography
- Brontës at Haworth: The World Within. Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë, published 1993.
- Four Brontës: The Lives & Works of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily & Anne Brontë: Lawrence and Elisabeth Hanson, 1967.
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Text © 1999-2008 Jone Johnson Lewis.
