About
Charlotte Brontë was born on 21 April 1816 in Thornton, Yorkshire, the third of six children of Patrick Brontë, an Anglican clergyman, and Maria Branwell. After her mother's death in 1821, the family moved to Haworth. She studied at the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge, an experience that inspired Lowood in Jane Eyre, and later at Roe Head, where she also taught. She worked as a governess and studied in Brussels, experiences that informed her novels. With her sisters Emily and Anne, she published poems under masculine pseudonyms in 1846. Her novel Jane Eyre (1847) was an immediate success, followed by Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). She died on 31 March 1855, aged 38, during pregnancy.
* 1816-04-21 — † 1855-03-28
Major works
- Jane Eyre (1847)novel
- Shirley (1849)novel
- Villette (1853)novel
- The Professor (1857)novel
Key milestones
- 1846Joint publication of Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell with her sisters under masculine pseudonyms.
- 1847Publication of Jane Eyre, an immediate commercial and critical success.
- 1854Marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father's curate.
Themes
Psychological realismGothicWomen's conditionIndependencePassion and morality
Sources: oxforddnb.com · britishlibrary.cn · bronte.org.uk
