The most gifted of her famous, troubled family, Emily Bronte has too often been portrayed in "storm-tossed, sentimental" biographies, according to Katherine Frank. Now Frank presents a startling new interpretation: pledged to self-denial and social isolation, Emily starved herself, contributing to her wild imagination. 16-page insert.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A portrait of Bronte as a victim of anorexia nervosa. Illustrated.
Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The author of a biography of Mary Kingsley ( A Voyager Out , LJ 9/15/86), Frank justifies her addition to the massive stacks of Bronte literature by claiming to demonstrate that Emily suffered from anorexia nervosa as a response to feelings of helplessness and a need for control. However, she seldom quotes reliable sources for substantiation and even contradicts herself on occasion, as when she states that we know nothing of Bronte's tenure as a governess at Law Hill, then asserts that the homesick young woman fasted herself into illness there in order to return to Haworth. It's impossible to tell whether Bronte's behavior conformed to a clinical definition of anorexia, since Frank fails to provide such a definition. She offers instead a rambling rehash of previously published Bronte family biographies with too much imaginative speculation about what Emily and others were feeling based on too little solid evidence.
- Judy Mimken, Cardinal Stritch Coll., Milwaukee
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Judy Mimken, Cardinal Stritch Coll., Milwaukee
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Chainless Soul?,
By Tracey King (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Bronte (Paperback)
Although it seems unrealistic to expect complete objectivity from any biographer, Katherine Frank shows a level of bias toward her subject somewhat striking in the genre. Her descriptions of Emily Bronte are enthusiastic and warm, even when Emily's behavior (by her own description) warrants at least some kind of approbation, or at least evenhandedness. This unmitigated warmth is reserved for Emily alone, however; Charlotte, for example, is portrayed as living a constant struggle with conventionality which Emily gloriously escapes. Of particular interest is the expression of Emily and Charlotte's intense relationship. Charlotte consistently suffers in the comparisons with her sister -- at least by Frank's view. She doesn't seem interested in exploring Charlotte's suffering under Emily's emotional tyranny, even though she does describe it in detail. One gets the impression that Charlotte would do better in this biography if only she would care a little less about what others think. Their brother, Branwell, fares badly as well, and Frank's conclusion regarding one of Branwell's many pathetic attempts to be employed that he had been terminated due to a homosexual advance on his pupil seems strikingly unsubstantiated. Frank seems to come to this conclusion only because she can't think of any other. In the end, it's not that the reader can't see what Frank shows as part of Emily's character, it's that it's not the only thing to be seen.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as bad as you might believe...,
By Lina (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Bronte (Paperback)
Many of Frank's arguments were convincing to me--especially those regarding Emily's peculiar eating habits. All of her conclusions were backed up with sources, etc. Although I didn't believe this spin on the life of the Brontes word for word, I do think it was worthly of more than 1 star, hence my review. Check it out--you may disagree, but isn't that part of the fun?
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Chainless Soul,
By Audrey Hunt Vocal Coach "Audrey Hunt" (Nashville, Tn USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Bronte (Paperback)
Very pleased with this book and the details and story of Emily Bronte. Well written.Product arrived on time and in very good condition. I love Amazon.com and as a long time customer, have never been disappointed.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
We are so accustomed to thinking of the Bronte story as a Yorkshire saga, one permeated by the 'Spirit of the Moors', that we tend to forget that it actually began somewhere else: in County Down, Northern Ireland, in a two-room, thatched-roof cottage in the hamlet of Imdel, some thirty miles south of Belfast and seventy miles north of Dublin. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pillar portrait, chainless soul, long dormitory, diary paper, school scheme, lap desk Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aunt Branwell, Roe Head, Miss Wooler, Law Hill, Glass Town, Cowan Bridge, Jane Eyre, Ellen Nussey, Madame Heger, Mary Taylor, Thorp Green, Agnes Grey, Black Bull, Royal Academy, Currer Bell, Dewsbury Moor, Elizabeth Firth, Henry Nussey, John Brown, Miss Patchett, Pensionnat Heger, Duke of Wellington, Elizabeth Branwell, George Smith, Ellis Bell New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
We are so accustomed to thinking of the Bronte story as a Yorkshire saga, one permeated by the 'Spirit of the Moors', that we tend to forget that it actually began somewhere else: in County Down, Northern Ireland, in a two-room, thatched-roof cottage in the hamlet of Imdel, some thirty miles south of Belfast and seventy miles north of Dublin. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pillar portrait, chainless soul, long dormitory, diary paper, school scheme, lap desk Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aunt Branwell, Roe Head, Miss Wooler, Law Hill, Glass Town, Cowan Bridge, Jane Eyre, Ellen Nussey, Madame Heger, Mary Taylor, Thorp Green, Agnes Grey, Black Bull, Royal Academy, Currer Bell, Dewsbury Moor, Elizabeth Firth, Henry Nussey, John Brown, Miss Patchett, Pensionnat Heger, Duke of Wellington, Elizabeth Branwell, George Smith, Ellis Bell New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 56
books:
See all 56 books this book cites
- Jane Eyre (Signet Classics) by Charlotte Brontė on 10 pages
- 'wuthering Heights' By Emily Bronte (Critical Reading S) by Mary Bailey on 6 pages
- Wuthering Heights (Bantam Classics) by Emily Brontė on 5 pages
- Wuthering Heights (Casebook) by Emily Bronte in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics) by John Milton on page 21, and page 46
See all 56 books this book cites
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