A review by maplessence
The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell
3.0
3.5*
I should never think about reviews! Once I decide I have Something To Say, it just drags on & on!
I now have recent reads that prove that writing a biography or memoir when the subject or close friends & family are still living is no easy task. Memories differ, things happen that some want to forget. Take [bc:The Moon's a Balloon|57778|The Moon's a Balloon|David Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389072426s/57778.jpg|1045639] by David Niven where he allegedly borrowed other peoples' memories, amalgamated some of his own & for obvious reasons didn't want to admit that his second marriage was deeply unhappy. & the biography of Reg Spiers [bc:Out of the Box: The Highs and Lows of a Champion Smuggler|20694904|Out of the Box The Highs and Lows of a Champion Smuggler|Julie McSorley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404782893s/20694904.jpg|40014514] proves in the internet age that changing names won't give you any privacy.
So I can understand some of the difficulties Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell would have faced when the recently deceased Charlotte's father invited her to write the biography. Charlotte & Elizabeth were friends, but the friendship was relatively recent. It must have been a very delicate act balancing Rev Bronte's feelings & the truth. I guess to good Reverend didn't think there was anything very odd about his ideas on children's nutrition (the young Brontes lived mostly on potatoes, even though there was enough money for better food) because that is in the book! Even with EG's restrained writing Charlotte's father comes across as selfish & a bit of a nutter.
I think EG stands her ground on the subject of Branwell. As delicately as EG writes about him, there is no doubt that Branwell was a favoured & spoilt child. Except for one poem, I have never read any of his written works, but certainly his paintings can most charitably be described as uneven. On the other hand, just take a look of this painting of Charlotte's! Just full of joy.
I would like to read one of the CB biographies that show up in my GR recommendations. Or better still one about all three Bronte sisters. I think they will show a far more passionate & vital woman than comes across in EG's writing. The book comes to life when Charlotte's letters are used – CB is a most eloquent correspondent!
The edition I have is a 1971 by Heron Books. It's well illustrated & has extensive appendices, one of which mentions that EG was given access to some of the Brontes' juvenile writings, but gave them only the most cursory of studies. (in EG's defence they were tiny!)
I'm intending to reread Jane Eyre later in the year & will try another Bronte biography then.
I should never think about reviews! Once I decide I have Something To Say, it just drags on & on!
I now have recent reads that prove that writing a biography or memoir when the subject or close friends & family are still living is no easy task. Memories differ, things happen that some want to forget. Take [bc:The Moon's a Balloon|57778|The Moon's a Balloon|David Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389072426s/57778.jpg|1045639] by David Niven where he allegedly borrowed other peoples' memories, amalgamated some of his own & for obvious reasons didn't want to admit that his second marriage was deeply unhappy. & the biography of Reg Spiers [bc:Out of the Box: The Highs and Lows of a Champion Smuggler|20694904|Out of the Box The Highs and Lows of a Champion Smuggler|Julie McSorley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404782893s/20694904.jpg|40014514] proves in the internet age that changing names won't give you any privacy.
So I can understand some of the difficulties Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell would have faced when the recently deceased Charlotte's father invited her to write the biography. Charlotte & Elizabeth were friends, but the friendship was relatively recent. It must have been a very delicate act balancing Rev Bronte's feelings & the truth. I guess to good Reverend didn't think there was anything very odd about his ideas on children's nutrition (the young Brontes lived mostly on potatoes, even though there was enough money for better food) because that is in the book! Even with EG's restrained writing Charlotte's father comes across as selfish & a bit of a nutter.
I think EG stands her ground on the subject of Branwell. As delicately as EG writes about him, there is no doubt that Branwell was a favoured & spoilt child. Except for one poem, I have never read any of his written works, but certainly his paintings can most charitably be described as uneven. On the other hand, just take a look of this painting of Charlotte's! Just full of joy.
I would like to read one of the CB biographies that show up in my GR recommendations. Or better still one about all three Bronte sisters. I think they will show a far more passionate & vital woman than comes across in EG's writing. The book comes to life when Charlotte's letters are used – CB is a most eloquent correspondent!
The edition I have is a 1971 by Heron Books. It's well illustrated & has extensive appendices, one of which mentions that EG was given access to some of the Brontes' juvenile writings, but gave them only the most cursory of studies. (in EG's defence they were tiny!)
I'm intending to reread Jane Eyre later in the year & will try another Bronte biography then.