Charlotte Bronte Bicentenary

Born 21 April 1816, next week marks the Bicentenary of Charlotte Bronte’s birth. Her life story is told in a new biography by Claire Harman which we expect to reach the library shelves very soon. 

Raised motherless on remote Yorkshire moors, watching five beloved siblings sicken and die, haunted by unrequited love: Charlotte Bronte’s life has all the drama and tragedy of the great Gothic novels it inspired.


Of course we can’t celebrate Charlotte Bronte’s birth without mentioning her best loved books.

Jane Eyre
A troubled childhood strengthens Jane Eyre's natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she becomes governess at Thornfield Hall. When she finds love with Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice.


Villette
With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster and her own complex feelings.