Product Description

The story of the tragic Bronte family is familiar to everyone: we all know about the half-mad, repressive father, the drunken, drug-addicted wastrel of a brother, wild romantic Emily, unrequited Anne and "poor Charlotte". Or do we? These stereotypes of the popular imagination are precisely that - imaginary - created by amateur biographers from Mrs Gaskell onwards who were primarily novelists, and were attracted by the tale of an apparently doomed family of genius. Later biographers still repeat her mistakes, and have, without exception, relied on the bowdlerised texts published by T.J. Wise, a forger. Juliet Barker's landmark book is the first definitive history of the Brontes. It demolishes the myths, yet provides startling new information that is just as compelling - but true. Based on firsthand research among all the Bronte manuscripts, many so tiny they can only be read by magnifying glass, and among contemporary historical documents never before used by Bronte biographers, this book is both scholarly and compulsively readable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #450279 in Books
• Published on: 1994-11-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 850 pages

About the Author
Juliet Barker has a D.Phil in history from Oxford University, and was for six years librarian/curator of the Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth. She has been involved with all recent research into the Brontes, and has made many major new finds which are revealed for the first time in this book.

Customer Reviews

"THE Bronte Bible!!!" A must have on shelf...!!
This absolutly wonderful biography is written so sharply and is jam-packed with everything you want to know about this fantastic family. If you want to read up on this family this is THE book to end all books on the Brontes. I have seen it recommended ten-fold by the Bronte Museum staff and associates.You cannot beat this extraordinary book with its miniscule detail. Its worth its weight in gold, I urge you to buy this book and the novels of the sisters and you have all you need to know on their lives and works. Thank you Juliet Barker for a Masterpiece. I love it.

Huge, Authoritative and very readable
The common view of the Bronte family is virtually demolished by this magnificent piece of biographical genius. Brilliantly researched, it produces instead a more convincing, and far more interesting picture of this gifted family. The scope of the book is huge, hence its length, but always the scale is that of a small, introverted family. The events of the outside world are viewed from this perspective and the results are detailed enough to satisfy the scholar and well written enough to make it an excellent read in its own right. For fans of the Bronte sisters this is pretty much an essential purchase, but I also recommend it to anybody interested in biographies, Victorian literature or nineteenth century history. It has been highly praised in the press, and well deserves all of the plaudits it has received.

A real page-turner. A life-size piece of writing.
Refreshingly, this chunky biography is written like a story not a log book. Logical and thorough it is, but not obsessed by data; chronology is used intelligently where it adds value to the point being made: for socio historical context etc. There's a perfect balance between facts, inference and insight, all convincingly proven and argued. The schism in Charlotte, illustrated through her very different relationships with Mary and Ellen is particularly fascinating. Anne and Emily remain heart-breakingly shadowy figures but this book gets you closer to them than you'll have been before. You soon feel really close to all the subjects - there's a truly human touch to the writing which brings history alive. The best thing about this book though is the affinity between the author and her subjects; a family drawn with the understanding and warmth of a female observer. Be warned though, this book will make you long to set off to Haworth right away.