The Brontës, Brussels, and Hercule Poirot

Like any true bookworm, my taste in literature is eclectic to day the least. First of all, there are the Brontës, their wonderful poetry, adult novels, and juvenilia. Secondly there is 18th and 19th century fiction by the likes of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and William Makepeace Thackeray. I also adore the 20th century science…

Branwell Brontë: An Appreciation

June 26th 2020 marks the 203rd birthday of Branwell Brontë. Born in 1817 to Patrick and Maria Brontë in Thornton, he was the fourth of six children, and the only boy in an intelligent, creative, yet poor family. After moving from Thornton to Haworth where the family took up residency in the now iconic Brontë…

Brontë Inspired Fiction with a Twist: The Governess of Thornfield by Charlene DeKalb

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre is my favourite novel of all time. It's hard to sum up exactly why I love it in a single post (hence why I've never attempted it) but in a nutshell: Jane's fiery and independent spirit, issues of morality, Jane's quip about…

2020, Be Kind, and Branwell Brontë

I took a break from social media recently due to the fallout from just about everything going on in the world at the minute. Sometimes it all gets a little overwhelming and the toxic nature of many of the posts that were being shared just made me walk away. From conversations with friends, I'm not…

Charlotte Brontë’s The Professor: Juvenilia or Mature Novel?

My aim when setting up Brontë Babe Blog several years ago was to bring the childhood writings of the Brontë siblings to light. The Brontë juvenilia canon as I will call it, is a fascinating insight into the Brontës' literary apprenticeship, but it can also teach us so much more about their lives, interests, hobbies,…

Beyond Kate Bush: A New Wave of Brontë Inspired Music

Music and the Brontës? I'll be honest, when I think of the Brontës, music is not necessarily the thing that springs to my mind; tiny books, wild moors, strong heroines, anti-heroes, and even animal rights (thank you, Anne), but music, not really. What I love about the Brontës most of all though is their ability…

Reading Challenge 2020 Update

Now that we're pretty much halfway through 2020 I thought I'd share with you an update on my 2020 reading challenge. I’ve set myself another Goodreads challenge which is to read 35 books this year. So far it's going well and I've read 22 out of 35 books (thank you lockdown) so I'm more than…

We Will Meet Again: Charlotte Brontë’s “Parting”

There's no doubt that we're currently living in a very strange time due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. In just a matter of weeks, many of the freedoms we took for granted have disappeared. This may be the freedom to use public transport, to go to work, to visit cinemas, theatres, restaurants etc., the freedom…

People and Places from the Brontë Juvenilia Part One: Glass Town and Angria

When setting up Brontë Babe Blog it was my intention to introduce readers to the Brontë juvenilia in the hope of inspiring people to actually read texts from Charlotte and Branwell’s Glass Town/Angrian saga. Sadly most of Emily and Anne’s writings have been lost to time and what remains is difficult to piece together and…

I Am No bird; And No Net Ensnares Me: More Life Lessons from the Brontës

It's the thing the whole world is talking about right now; coronavirus and its devastating effects on society, the economy, and humanity. Growing up in the Western world, few of us have ever experienced anything like this. The virus is a threat to health, wealth, life, and freedom. Although threats to the former three are…