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diana_raquel's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
"If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love our friends for their sakes rather than for our own."
The Life of Charlotte Brontë is the posthumous biography of Charlotte Brontë, written by Elizabeth Gaskell. Although I'm not a big fan of biographies, I decided to read this one because Charlotte and Elizabeth are two of my favorite authors. It seemed like a good idea to read this book. And from my research, it appears that although this book is quite frank in many places, and contains letters written to and by Charlotte from many of her friends, Gaskell suppressed some details and toned down others. For instance, she suppressed details of Charlotte's love for Constantin Héger, a married man that inspired The Professor, and Charlotte's romance with George Smith, her publisher, on the grounds that it would be too great an affront to contemporary morals and a source of distress to Charlotte's still-living friends, father, and husband. She also toned down the experiences of Charlotte and her sisters at the Clergy Daughters' School to avoid legal action from the founder of the school. In my opinion, I think that the story suffers from these omissions. It would be interesting to learn/read more about things that had a direct impact on the works of Charlotte, especially Jane Eyre, The Professor, and Villette.
Overall, I liked this book. Its got good writing and a good structure, however, I think that the slow pace affected my reading experience in a negative way. The book is divided into two volumes, and the second volume is much more interesting than the first. And is due to this second volume that I'm giving a 3 stars rating to this book.
Still, if you like biographies and want to know more about the life of Charlotte, this is a must-read, even if it isn't very accurate.
PS: If you want to see a movie about the Bronte sisters, I would recommend "To Walk Invisible" (2016), starring Finn Atkins, Chloe Pirrie, and Charlie Murphy.
The Life of Charlotte Brontë is the posthumous biography of Charlotte Brontë, written by Elizabeth Gaskell. Although I'm not a big fan of biographies, I decided to read this one because Charlotte and Elizabeth are two of my favorite authors. It seemed like a good idea to read this book. And from my research, it appears that although this book is quite frank in many places, and contains letters written to and by Charlotte from many of her friends, Gaskell suppressed some details and toned down others. For instance, she suppressed details of Charlotte's love for Constantin Héger, a married man that inspired The Professor, and Charlotte's romance with George Smith, her publisher, on the grounds that it would be too great an affront to contemporary morals and a source of distress to Charlotte's still-living friends, father, and husband. She also toned down the experiences of Charlotte and her sisters at the Clergy Daughters' School to avoid legal action from the founder of the school. In my opinion, I think that the story suffers from these omissions. It would be interesting to learn/read more about things that had a direct impact on the works of Charlotte, especially Jane Eyre, The Professor, and Villette.
Overall, I liked this book. Its got good writing and a good structure, however, I think that the slow pace affected my reading experience in a negative way. The book is divided into two volumes, and the second volume is much more interesting than the first. And is due to this second volume that I'm giving a 3 stars rating to this book.
Still, if you like biographies and want to know more about the life of Charlotte, this is a must-read, even if it isn't very accurate.
PS: If you want to see a movie about the Bronte sisters, I would recommend "To Walk Invisible" (2016), starring Finn Atkins, Chloe Pirrie, and Charlie Murphy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent