Customer Reviews

The Life of Charlotte Brontï¿1/2 (Oxford World's Classics)

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A very nicely written biography by Mrs. Gaskell about the life of her friend Charlotte Bronte, although most of the content was made up of letters written either by or to Charlotte Bronte rather than Mrs. Gaskell's own writings. Still this is a very concise book containing mostly everything that an ordinary reader, or well, a beginner of the Bronte novels, should know about this famous family. Nonetheless at some point of the book, I do find Mrs. Gaskell a bit too subjective, especially when it comes to the depiction of Charlotte's brother Branwell Bronte and his downfall. But consider the fact that this book was written only within one and a half year, with Mrs. Gaskell herself alone traveling all the way from Manchester to Haworth, and then to Brussel, doing all the necessary researches and interviews on her own, I must say that this is just an awesome piece of work!! And just as what Patrick Bronte himself had said about this biography, 'It is every way worthy of what one Great Woman, should have written of Another...it ought to stand, and will stand in the first rank, of Biographies, till the end of time'.

One more word though. From a more scholarly point of view, however, I think so far the 'best' biography on the Brontes should be Juliet Barker's 'The Brontes'. If, after reading this biography written by Mrs. Gaskell, you still want to know more about the Brontes, then I will say: go and buy this other book by Juliet Barker and you definitely will never regret it!

This book, written shortly after Charlotte's death by request of her father, shows the passionate and creative side to Charlotte's nature that her contemporary society were not aware of. You feel like you are actually watching her life pass by as Mrs. Gaskell describes every minute detail concerning the Bronte parsonage and the nearby surroundings. It is a happy story, particularly when the Haworth house learnt the news of their publications, and in general it tells of a very contented household. Their is a degree of poigency, however, as the reader follows Charlotte through the loss of her beloved siblings one by one. When after their deathes she eventually finds happiness, it is very shortlived as her untimely demise occurs shortly after her union with Athur Bell Nicholls. Mrs. Gaskell portrays her friend Charlotte as a warm and generous person and this book is a must for any Bronte lover.

Such sad lives were led by the the Bronte's, loneliness, loss, despair, all were experienced and fed into the imaginations on charlotte, emily and anne. This book is a brilliant book by E C Gaskell (who i normally dont really like), it is basically a collection of letters by charlotte and a great narrative, when speaking of the deaths of emily, anne and charlotte, i actually felt tears in my eyes!

Most people associate the name Elizabeth Gaskell with the novel North and South. The fact that Mrs Gaskell was an excellent novelist is indisputable, however, this work proves she was also talented biographer. Vanity Fair's Thackerary wrote of Gaskell's biography "In the whole of English literature there is no book that can compare in wide-spread interest with "Life of Charlotte Bronte" by Mrs Gaskell." The book is certainly worthy of the praise, however, it is not without flaws.

Gaskell's biography was the first biography to be written on Bronte with the consent of her father, Patrick Bronte. Although Mr Bronte consented to the biography due to the fact that Mrs Gaskell was a close friend of his daughter. Mr Bronte and Charlotte's husband decided it would be better for the public to read about Charlotte from someone who held Charlotte in such high esteem. However, the book was not without controversy.

Gaskell somewhat embellished Mr Bronte's stern character and his treatment of his daughters and wife. Letters unpublished in this book prove Charlotte and her sisters loved their father dearly. Mr Bronte was quite astonished to read his cold demeanor towards his children.

The strongest controversy came from other people, such as Lady Scott who threatened legal action due to Gaskell's mention of her affair with Charlotte's brother, Branwell. (The affair proved to be a total fabrication by the Bronte sisters.) William Carus, who founded the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge also expressed displeasure with the details of the school.

Regardless of the controversy, the biography gives an excellent portrait of Charlotte the woman. If you are looking for information on the Heger affair in Brussels, look elsewhere. Mr Heger's name is nonexistant in this book. Very little information is provided about Charlotte's courtship with Arthur Bell Nicholls. The majority of the biography consists of letters either written by Charlotte or to Charlotte. What better way to learn about an author than from her own words?

This biography not only describes Charlotte and her relationship with family and friends, but it also provides a wonderful portrayal of Haworth and the society that existed there before and after the Brontes arrived. Gaskell also describes Patrick Bronte's introduction to Charlotte's mother and many other descriptions of all Brontes from childhood to adulthood.

While many may call Charlotte Bronte a brilliant novelist, her life was anything but brilliant. Charlotte grew up without a mother and also lost two older siblings at a young age. Charlotte had to assume the role of woman of the house at an early age. The beloved author of Jane Eyre lived a life of isolation a very little joy. As the years went by, she watched each of her siblings die one by one. Mrs Gaskell provided many letters which make Charlotte's grief come to life to today's readers.

This biography is mostly a portrait of Charlotte the woman. There are few references to Charlotte the novelist. The introduction goes as far as to say that Mrs Gaskell did not particularly care for Charlotte's novels. The writing of this biography was not an easy task for Elizabeth Gaskell, who loved Charlotte so dearly. However, after her death, numerous articles appeared which urged the Brontes to write something to counter those who were attempting to tarnish the name of one who was so gentle and caring.

While the definitive overall Brontes biography is Juliet Barker's 'The Brontes', and the various Bronte-related works of Edward Chitham are invaluable in their own right, this still stands as an important contribution to understanding the Brontes, and Charlotte above all.

Despite its flaws, and I agree with other reviewers, that this is a rather dark picture of events, Elizabeth wrote a detailed and very sympathetic account of Charlotte's life and her relationship to her family. Her inclusion of letter content, epecially in relation to Ellen Nussey, was somewhat self-edited, and the lack of references to the romantic friendship that so clearly existed between the two women, was probably Elizabeth's attempt to protect them.

For anyone who is interested in the truth of their passionate relationship, I highly recommend Elaine Miller's detailed essay 'Through All Changes and Through All Chances' from the book Not A Passing Phase, compiled by the Lesbian History Group. The letter excerpts that Elaine includes clearly indicate that Charlotte and Ellen not only loved each other, but that they jointly expressed a long-term desire to live together 'until Death'.

When Ellen Nussey wanted to publish her own 'The Story of the Brontes' which would have included many excerpts from the hundreds of letters that Charlotte had sent her, Arthur Nicholls blocked permission, as he owned copyright to the contents of the letters, even though Ellen owned the letters themselves. Nicholls - Charlotte's husband of only nine months - also destroyed all of the literally hundreds of letters from Ellen to Charlotte, and even tried to insist that Ellen destroy all of Charlotte's letters to her, during Charlotte's lifetime.

Elizabeth is clearly no fan of Nicholls, but that is hardly surprising in view of his destruction of so much of Charlotte's personal writing material.

For an insight into the lives of Charlotte and her family and the Haworth area in that time period, this is still and always will be an important book.

Mrs. Gaskell understood a man's or woman's life to be lived within a social and natural context -- and her deployment of anecdotes and impressions of the North of England in the early pages of this book is captivating. But she also understood us to be souls, present to but distinct from God. Hence, even though in a few instances Gaskell's facts may been correctible (which the editor has done for us in this Penguin Classics edition), she is concerned with truth, and this gives readers the opportunity (rarely offered by modern entertainments) to escape from the trivial.

Have tried to read Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of Charlotte Bronte several times but found it so depressing that I couldn't get through the first chapters. I thought it would be easier on tape which, to some extent it is. However, the content is no less depressing and tragic. The family live at Howarth Parsonage, an isolated place in the north of England. There are six children, two of whom die from tuberculosis and consumption in their school years; the mother dies young;the brother dies of alcoholism and Emily and Ann both die in their 20s. The tragedy is that of extraordinary talent snuffed out so early in life.
The majority of the book is taken up with the the lonely life of Charlotte and her selfish father, which, try as she might, Elizabeth Gaskell cannot make interesting. Charlotte's trips outside the confines of Howarth are few and far between but one very rarely hears her complain. She finally has a few years of married life before she too dies young. I have alway loved reading the Bronte sisters novels - this autobiography shows to what extent these girls live in their imagination and how rich those imaginations are. Being so isolated from society, reveals why their novels are so dark and and sinister - herein lies a book, but Elizabeth Gaskell is no psychoanalyst. A great friend and admirer of Charlotte Bronte, she prefers to emphasize her virtues and forebearance in the face of adversity and gives us little more than a hagiography of her friend. There is very little analysis, if any, of Charlotte's works; thankfully, later scholarship delves more deeply into the intricate minds of Charlotte, and her two sisters.
Being from the North of England myself, I would have perhaps felt more "connected" if the narrator had been English. Elizabeth Gaskell was from Manchester, England, and to hear Flo Gibson (as good a narrator as she might be otherwise) trying to get across the English northern accent was quite painful.
I would not recommend this work, especially if one is looking for any kind of critical analysis of Jane Eyre, Shirley or Villette.