Love and Literature by Aviva Orr

It seems fitting to be posting this review of a tale inspired by Charlotte Brontë's underappreciated novel The Professor on her birthday. She was born on this day (21st April) in 1816 and went on to create memorable novels and stories that have ensured her literary legacy is alive and well in 2023. In September…

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Jane Eyre Book Club Questions

The Brontë Buddies' Book Club meets via Zoom every month. We read works by and about the Brontës as well as Brontë-inspired fiction. If anyone would like to join us, then head over to our Facebook page for further details. Below are some questions about Charlotte's novel Jane Eyre which you're welcome to use in…

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë's novels are firmly grounded in reality and the world around her. Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are narratives that forced the 19th-century reader into an uncomfortable examination of their society and their treatment of others, and they have a similar effect on the 21st-century reader. However, in a world (largely) without governesses and servants,…

The Politics of Verdopolis by Branwell Brontë

The Politics of Verdopolis is an 1833 manuscript written by Patrick Branwell Brontë, better known as Branwell Brontë. For many decades, Branwell has been seen predominantly as the ne'er do well, lazy, drunken brother of the Brontë sisters who caused his family much pain, sorrow, and embarrassment. Whilst I don't doubt the latter part of that…

The Poetaster by Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë's satirical short play The Poetaster is one of her earliest contributions to the Glass Town/Angrian saga, and one of the most enjoyable. The Poetaster is one of the famous Brontë tiny books which were produced mainly between the years 1829 and 1830, and which were the results of creative collaborations between Charlotte and her younger brother, Branwell.…

The Search After Happiness by Charlotte Brontë

The Search After Happiness is a short story written by Charlotte Brontë in 1829 when she was thirteen years old. The manuscript is one of the Brontë children’s tiny books, written in mock magazine style, and is now housed in the British Library’s archives. The manuscript contains many errors and revisions, one of the most…

How Important is the Child Writer to the Parent Author?

When we think of the Brontë siblings, we conjure up images of brooding anti-heroes, poor governesses, and wild Yorkshire moors. In short, we tend to think of Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Emily’s Wuthering Heights, and Anne’s Agnes Grey, novels seemingly written by three lonely and isolated sisters in their family home against the backdrop of the harsh environment of northern…

The Silver Cup, A Tale by Charlotte Brontë

Reader, it's been a while since my last post looking at the Brontë juvenilia, so let's get back into the swing of things with a look at Charlotte's short story, "The Silver Cup, A Tale." Background and Manuscript The story first appeared in the October 1829 edition of the Brontës' Blackwood's Young Men's Magazine. It…

There Was Once a Little Girl and Her Name Was Anne Brontë

Reader, please join me in wishing Anne Brontë, the youngest member of our beloved Brontë family, a very happy birthday. Anne was born in Thornton, Yorkshire to Patrick and Maria Brontë on the 17th January 1820. Anne is best known for her two novels, Agnes Grey, which documents the trials of the eponymous governess, and The…

Tales from the Genii

Reader, I'm delighted to share with you the news that Tales of the Genii is now available to purchase. The beautiful little red book pays homage to the Brontë siblings' famous tiny books featuring stories set in their fantasy worlds of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal. Best described as a companion piece to the stories and poems…