20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Bronte has found a sympathetic & resourceful biographer, July 31, 1998
This review is from: A Life of Anne Bronte (Blackwell Critical Biographies) (Paperback)
I remember once Edward Chitham saying to a conference of Bronte enthusiasts 'I am an Anne person' and his resultant biography, A Life Of Anne Bronte', shows both great sensitivity and a just awareness of Anne's considerable literary skills as a writer. He also shows us that Anne was interesting in her own right both as a writer distinct from Emily and Charlotte and as a person with a life of unfulfilled dreams. Far from being the weak sibling with the nun-like veil as Charlotte preferred to view her youngest sister, Chitham views Anne as the sister who stuck it out longest at being a governess in the outside world and as the sister with the strongest courage and sense of duty.
Chitham doesn't sensationalize his material but sifts it for truth and light. He is very aware that original source material on Anne's younger days, her time at, and reason for leaving, school, her two governess positions, her possibly strong feelings for her father's curate, William Weightma! n, and her fluctuating relationship with her sister, Emily, are scant and too reliant on Charlotte's screening. Nevertheless, Chitham tries to piece together what he can from Anne's five surviving letters, her poetry, her two great novels and other circumstantial material surrounding the Robinson family with whom she stayed with as a governess. However, as with most other Bronte scholars, he cannot finally prove that Anne loved Weightman or that Branwell left the above same Robinson family as a result of indiscretions towards the Lady of the House (Lydia Robinson) or towards the 12-year-old pupil in his charge, Edmund Robinson.
Edward Chitham is also cautionary about the use of Anne's novels as biographical material. Far from quoting parts of Agnes Grey verbatim, he shows us more where such sources are unreliable. However, in areas and tone where Agnes Grey and the life of its heroine, squares with Anne's poetry and life, Chitham is happy to show the ways in which the lik! ely facts of Anne's life unfold to the diligent researcher ! of the truth.
All in all, this is a great biography, and until more letters become dusted down from hidden, and as yet unknown, lofts or boxes, it is likely to be fairly definitive in its balance and appreciation of Anne Bronte. Chitham knows where the sources are weak and he also knows what future researchers will want to look at if any more sources unearth themselves. Should we be lucky enough to find more of Anne's letters to or from Emily, Charlotte or the Robinson girls she once taught and kept in touch with, then would be the time to write another and fuller biography of Anne's life. Sadly for both writer and reader, Chitham can only but leave us with an incomplete picture, many broken jigsaw pieces and an overwhelming desire for more.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The "Quiet" Bronte Finds Her Voice, March 27, 2003
This review is from: A Life of Anne Bronte (Blackwell Critical Biographies) (Paperback)
Dear Mr. Chitham,
I do not know whether you are among the living, or not. I am writing my praise in a public forum because it must be said. Somehow, despite a dearth of letters and surviving diary papers, you have written a masterful biography of the "baby" of the Brontes.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to extract Anne's story from the accounts of other people, especially Charlotte's best friend and her biographer. In the traditional portait, Anne is the "sweet" and "gentle" sister of three high-strung and tempramental Romantics. In your book, you examine the sources and and refute the mistaken impressions to reveal a rich imagination, a deep and sincere faith, a bright and observant wit, and a heart that survived loss and disappointment. Anne Bronte lived her life to the tempo of different music.
Thank You.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfied Anne Bronte Fan, November 10, 2011
This review is from: A Life of Anne Bronte (Blackwell Critical Biographies) (Paperback)
A very professional and prompt entity to deal with here. No worries whatsoever from clicking on the time to actually receiving it in the mail. God bless them.
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