Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • Interview with the Vice-Chancellor
    • Country Highlight: The Netherlands
    • If You’re Moving Back Home After Uni …
    • Jane Austen in Lockdown: How her six novels are more relevant than ever
    • All About … Period Poverty
    • My Veggie Journey: How not being strictly Vegetarian is OK
    • Watch with Pride: Your Top TV Picks this Pride Month
    • Globe Trotting on Screen: Your Guide to Summer 2021
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Flickr
    Seren
    • News & Politics
      1. Local News
      2. UK News
      3. Uni News
      4. World News
      5. Politics
      6. Comment
      7. Business
      Featured

      SABB Election: The Full Result Breakdown

      By Emily ReadMarch 20, 20210
      Recent

      Interview with the Vice-Chancellor

      May 23, 2022

      Retro? Chip shortage may bring vintage tech to your car.

      May 6, 2021

      Manizha – the artist causing a stir as the Russian representative for Eurovision 2021:

      May 6, 2021
    • Arts & Culture
      1. Books
      2. Games
      3. Film
      4. Music
      5. TV
      6. Creative Corner
      Featured

      Bangor alumni podcast earns Hollywood cameo & BBC features

      By Amelia SmithMarch 7, 20210
      Recent

      Jane Austen in Lockdown: How her six novels are more relevant than ever

      July 7, 2021

      Watch with Pride: Your Top TV Picks this Pride Month

      May 17, 2021

      Globe Trotting on Screen: Your Guide to Summer 2021

      May 16, 2021
    • Lifestyle
      1. Fashion
      2. Food and Drink
      3. Social
      4. Health and Beauty
      5. Travel
      Featured

      Country Highlight: The Netherlands

      By Emily ShoultsMay 6, 20220
      Recent

      Country Highlight: The Netherlands

      May 6, 2022

      If You’re Moving Back Home After Uni …

      August 3, 2021

      All About … Period Poverty

      May 17, 2021
    • Discovery
      1. Science
      2. Environment
      3. History
      4. International
      Featured

      Brewing up a Storm: The History of Guinness

      By Emily ReadMarch 20, 20210
      Recent

      Manizha – the artist causing a stir as the Russian representative for Eurovision 2021:

      May 6, 2021

      Japan plan to release radioactive water into the ocean

      May 6, 2021

      The link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots

      April 29, 2021
    • Sport
      1. Varsity 2019
      2. Varsity 2018
      3. Varsity 2017
      4. Varsity 2016
      5. Varsity 2015
      6. Varsity 2014
      7. Varsity 2013
        • Varsity 2013 Results
        • Varsity 2013 – In tweets
      Featured

      Bangor Muddogs’ American Football: a young woman finding her place

      By Jade HillMarch 23, 20210
      Recent

      The 48-hour rise and fall of the European Super League

      April 27, 2021

      The European Super League is announced

      April 19, 2021

      Formula 1’s ‘Drive to Survive S3’ is released

      April 7, 2021
    • Students’ Union
      1. Union News
      2. Societies
      3. Volunteering
      4. Clubs
      Featured

      INTERVIEW: Be Period Positive

      By Caroline CartmillMarch 17, 20210
      Recent

      Bangor University Feminist Society

      March 30, 2021

      INTERVIEW: Be Period Positive

      March 17, 2021

      LGBT History Month in Bangor

      March 4, 2021
    • Issues
      • Current Issue
      • This year’s issues
      • Last year’s issues
      • Seren Archive
      • Seren Teams
    Seren
    Home»Arts & Culture»Books»A Bookish Guide to the Bronte Sisters
    Books

    A Bookish Guide to the Bronte Sisters

    Holly PeckittBy Holly PeckittNovember 14, 2020Updated:November 14, 2020No Comments5 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” This is the opening line of Jane Eyre, the classic gothic romance novel written by the eldest of the three Brontё sisters, Charlotte. Words that ripple across time are incredibly rare, but in the case of the Brontё sisters, each line of prose is a whispered moment of three lives remembered, their circumstances (isolated in the Yorkshire Moors) oft-forgotten. Their names were Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.

    As the nights draw in and each day gets a little colder, mistier and vibrant with each shade of autumn, we are all in need of books we can hold close; books that will envelope us and beckon us to turn the next page. Beyond Halloween, autumn still runs riot, and we couldn’t think of a more atmospheric selection of reading than the works of the Brontё sisters. Each had their own unique, moving flair of creativity, writing tales that are so often quoted that the phrases the sisters composed are ingrained in our language. In case you haven’t read any work by the Brontёs before and want to give them a try, we’ve compiled a quick rundown of each sister’s works, and where to start with the writings of these amazing women. 

    If you liked the works of Thomas Hardy, such as Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd, you’ll like…

    Anne (1820-1849)

    Perhaps the most overlooked of the sisters, Anne’s body of work is a striking collection of heartbreak, tragedy and the bleak realities of Victorian life. Despite all these negative themes, however, the way in which she writes the dynamics of relationships is certainly far ahead of their time, discussing gaslighting, emotional abuse and controlling marriages. Anne, or as she was known under her penname, Acton Bell, lived and died quietly at the age of 29 from tuberculosis, but nevertheless she made her radical mark on the literary landscape of her age and became the first Brontё sister to be a published author. Unlike the romance of her sisters’ novels, Anne was frank in her discussion of life’s trials and tribulations. Though her books featured love, they were not the stormy whirlwinds featured in Emily or Charlotte’s work, and perhaps that is why Anne is underestimated as an author. There may be overlaps with her sisters’ works, but Anne stood proudly on her own two feet, carving her own way in literature, attempting to break the already-established Brontё mould. 

    Anne’s two works were:

    • Agnes Grey (1847)
    • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)

    If you enjoyed Edith Wharton and E.M. Forster, you’ll love…

    Emily (1818-1848)

    Described by her elder sister as “wild… melancholy and elevating”, Emily Jane Brontё’s life was mirrored in the Yorkshire landscape she adored. Known predominantly for a certain novel which inspired Kate Bush (you know the one), it’s often forgotten that Emily was also an outstanding poet, furiously scribbling more than 200 in her short life. Unfortunately, the world never got to devour a second novel by the middle sister, but we get faint glimpses of it in the poetry of a vividly imagined fantasy, the land of Gondal. Emily’s writing is perhaps best known for its intricacy, weaving together past, present and future through her characters and also for her astonishing depictions of the earth, place and nature. Her one novel is considered nowadays to be a cult classic, and is bursting with fraught relationships, angry lovers and obsessive friendships. It is a masterpiece in every manner; tumultuous, tender and terrific on each and every page. Though Emily is widely regarded to have been a recluse, her imagination and creativity suggested a thirst for life, love of her home in Haworth and the urge to push the boundaries in literature as the Victorians knew it.

    Emily’s works included:

    • Wuthering Heights (1847)
    • The Complete Poems

    If you enjoyed the works of Elizabeth Gaskell or George Eliot, you’ll like…

    Charlotte (1816-1855)

    Perhaps the most famous of the sisters, Charlotte Brontё’s body of work is another triumph of the siblings, considering the amount she published, its length and the very fact that in the Victorian era, the only way of writing was by hand, commonly by candlelight. Though Charlotte has acquired controversy for how she allegedly handled her sister’s works (such as burning copies and writing disapproving forwards to their novels), she is rightfully known as a staple of English literature. A master craftswoman of romance, trauma and passionate rebellion against social conventions, Charlotte’s works are rich in deep monologues, emotive pledges of love and radical feminist attitudes. Like her sisters, Charlotte rejected the ideas of being a serving, domestic daughter of a clergyman and instead sought to create her own financial position as a writer. A “tiny, delicate, serious lady”, she died of severe morning sickness whilst pregnant, closing the final chapter on the Brontё sisters’ lives. Nonetheless, in her short time she interspersed her classic Victorian literature with progressive thoughts and marvellous heroines, leaving this world as a name that time will unlikely ever forget.

    Charlotte’s works include:

    • Jane Eyre (1847)
    • Shirley (1849)
    • Villette (1853)
    • The Professor (1857)
    Anne Bronte arts and culture Autumn books Bronte Sisters Charlotte Bronte classics Culture Emily Bronte English Literature Gothic literature reading
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Holly Peckitt

    Books Editor | 20-21 Travel Editor | 19-20

    Related Posts

    Jane Austen in Lockdown: How her six novels are more relevant than ever

    July 7, 2021

    Shakespeariana: 5 Accessible Retellings

    May 1, 2021

    Should We Separate Books & Their Adaptations?

    April 24, 2021

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    MORE INFORMATION
    • ABOUT
    • ADVERTISE
    • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED
    • MEMBERS
    Links
    • Bangor University Bangor University
    • Google+ Google+
    • Undeb Bangor Undeb Bangor
    About

    Seren is Bangor University Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper

    We have editorial independence from both Bangor University and Bangor Students’ Union. Seren is written by students for students and we’d love you to get involved!

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.