The Brontës

I've been reading the Brontës for almost my entire life. When I was a young teenager and ready to move from the children's section of the library, my brother Mark recommended Jane Eyre to me. My parents had these wonderful hardback copies of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights that had woodcut illustrations that became burned into my memory. 

In compiling this page of all the posts that I've done on the Brontës, I was surprised to find that I've never done a post devoted to either of JE or WH, both of which I have reread many times. Now that I have seen that glaring omission, I will endeavor to correct this on my next rereading.

Now that I have started collecting my thoughts and posts on this wonderfully interesting literary family, I am inspired to rewatch, reread, and read more about them and what they created.

The Novels

Villette, by Charlotte Brontë - mixed feelings about this one. Felt like an exercise in catharsis but worth reading if only to understand Charlotte better.

Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë - I know there are legions of Anne fans, but I am not among them. I didn't like this book, but I do like Anne is the family. She just didn't have the genius of Charlotte and Emily.

Biographies

The Life of Charlotte Brontë, by Elizabeth Gaskell - I have read this several times, and I really love it. I am a Gaskell fan anyway, and the fact that she was asked to do a bio of her friend Charlotte by Patrick Brontë after Charlotte's death makes it so meaningful and relevant. Yes, it is biased but it was a labor of love and respect. I did a number of posts based on a rereading of this book.

Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë

Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë: In the Hill-Country Silence

Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë: The Professor and "Mode of Composition"

Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë: the French, Branwell, and Ruth

The Taste of Sorrow, by Jude Morgan - Morgan writes wonderful fictional bios and this one, also called Charlotte and Emily, is superb.

The Brontës: Wild Genius of the Moors, by Juliet Barker - a comprehensive bio of the family. My only gripe is that she doesn't respect Gaskell's bio as I do.

Miscellaneous

Daphne, by Justine Picard - an interesting novel about Daphne du Maurier and her obsession with Branwell Brontë, with weird parallels to the author's own life.

Brontë Humor, Gaskell Bio, and Plath's poem - a truly spur-of-the-moment post about something that struck me while I was reading the Gaskell bio. 

• Here is the Sylvia Plath poem, Wuthering Heights.

The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte, by Daphne du Maurier - I read this as a teenager and have been wanting to reread it for decades. I'll let you know when I do.

Cinematic

Brontës of Haworth (1973) - episode 5 - the very dated Brontës of Haworth is absolutely wonderful. I have watched it several times and it is so good. Yes, it was done in 1973, but the storytelling is first rate and the characterization of all the members of the family is perfect. I think they must have used Gaskell's bio as the source material. 

To Walk Invisibile - I haven't done a post on this BBC series (though I've mentioned it a few times), but in many ways it is an updated version of the 1973 mini-series. Excellent.

All the movies and series on Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights

George C. Scott was my first Mr. Rochester, but I haven't seen that version of JE in decades. Same with Heathcliff and Lawrence Olivier. I am currently down on adaptations because they invariably disappoint me. 

Travels

Travelogue: Haworth - I visited Haworth in 2009 with my then 16-year old daughter, and we had the best time exploring the town, visiting the parsonage and church and museum and pubs. I especially liked walking up on the moors.

More on Keighley or 'Cyhha's Clearing' - this was a nerdy follow-up post to the post about our visit to Haworth. Keithley is the nearby town with the train station.

Does Rick Steves' Hate Haworth - a prequel post made while planning the trip to Haworth. Posted in 2009. It would be interesting to see if more exists on the RS website about Haworth now.