The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell, & Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
My fifth book for
ljbookbingo is Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell for the Biography square found here.
Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of her close friend Charlotte Brontë was published in 1857 to immediate popular acclaim, and remains the most significant study of the enigmatic author who gave Jane Eyre the subtitle An Autobiography. It recounts Charlotte Brontë's life from her isolated childhood, through her years as a writer who had 'foreseen the single life' for herself, to her marriage at thirty-eight and death less than a year later. The resulting work - the first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist - explored the nature of Charlotte's genius and almost single-handedly created the Brontë myth. ~Amazon book description
I grew interested in reading this book after listening to a podcast. I love Stuff You Missed In History Class podcast. They are half hour podcasts on different events and people throughout history. It is very entertaining and I highly recommend it. They actually did a two-parter on The Bronte's as a family. Growing Up Bronte and Bronte to Bell and Back Again. If you do decide to read this biography I would highly recommend you listen to these two podcasts. It really helped me to cement a timeline in my head and help me sort through this very thorough biography.
This was a biography of Charlotte Brontë written by Elizabeth Gaskell who was a dear friend of Ms. Brontë. If you have ever read any of Mrs. Gaskell’s works then you know what you are in for. The passages can be a bit overly jammed full of description. The first chapter is almost entirely Mrs. Gaskell setting the scene of Yorkshire where the Brontë’s resided. Still I have always loved Mrs. Gaskell’s works and this biography was no exception.
This is definitely not an impartial biography as the two women were good friends and in fact Brontë’s husband and father had asked Gaskell to write this book after Ms. Brontë’s death. It is written in a bit of a defensive tone because Brontë had been so sharply criticized. In fact the last lines speak to this: “But I turn from the critical, unsympathetic public-inclined to judge harshly because they have only seen superficially and not thought deeply. I appeal to that larger and more solemn public, who know how to look with tender humility at faults and errors; how to admire generously extraordinary genius, and how to reverence with warm, full hearts all noble virtue. To that Public I commit the memory of Charlotte Brontë.”
I enjoyed this it may not of perfect but it was great in that you get to see Charlotte Brontë through the eyes of those who knew and loved her. I am actually now interested in reading a more impartial biography of Ms. Bronte and compare the two. Although I have so many books I want to read that that wish is definitely on the back burner.
My sixth book for
ljbookbingo is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for the favorite re-read square.
A classic coming of age story, “Jane Eyre” is the tale of its title character, a poor orphaned girl who comes to live with her aunt at Gateshead Hall. While there she endures great emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her aunt and cousins. Jane subsequently ships off to Lowood, a Christian boarding school for poor and orphaned girls. The conditions at the school are quite brutal. The students are subjected to cold lodgings, poor food, inadequate clothing, and the harsh rule of the administrator, Mr. Brocklehurst. The maltreatment of the students is eventually discovered and after some changes life becomes more bearable. She eventually finishes her coursework and spends a period of time as a teacher at the school. After leaving Lowood she gains a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall working for Edward Rochester, a man whom she will eventually fall in love with. “Jane Eyre” is the story of one woman’s struggle to overcome adversity. -Amazon Book Description
The first time I read Jane Eyre I was in junior high school and it quickly became my favorite book. I must of read and reread it a hundred times since then. It has been a few years since my last go around and since I had just finished a biography about Charlotte Bronte I wanted to read it again. I have to say I still really enjoy the characters and the story. One of the things that I continue to admire about Jane as a character is how well she knows herself. She knows what she believes and she had the fortitude to stand by those beliefs. Even when she is tempted she is willing to walk away from everything because Jane knew in the long run she would be miserable. I admire that level of self-awareness and the strength it took her to leave. Of course I also love that it all worked out in the end. I would definitely highly recommend it. This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/38969.html
ljbookbingo is Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell for the Biography square found here.
Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of her close friend Charlotte Brontë was published in 1857 to immediate popular acclaim, and remains the most significant study of the enigmatic author who gave Jane Eyre the subtitle An Autobiography. It recounts Charlotte Brontë's life from her isolated childhood, through her years as a writer who had 'foreseen the single life' for herself, to her marriage at thirty-eight and death less than a year later. The resulting work - the first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist - explored the nature of Charlotte's genius and almost single-handedly created the Brontë myth. ~Amazon book description
I grew interested in reading this book after listening to a podcast. I love Stuff You Missed In History Class podcast. They are half hour podcasts on different events and people throughout history. It is very entertaining and I highly recommend it. They actually did a two-parter on The Bronte's as a family. Growing Up Bronte and Bronte to Bell and Back Again. If you do decide to read this biography I would highly recommend you listen to these two podcasts. It really helped me to cement a timeline in my head and help me sort through this very thorough biography.
This was a biography of Charlotte Brontë written by Elizabeth Gaskell who was a dear friend of Ms. Brontë. If you have ever read any of Mrs. Gaskell’s works then you know what you are in for. The passages can be a bit overly jammed full of description. The first chapter is almost entirely Mrs. Gaskell setting the scene of Yorkshire where the Brontë’s resided. Still I have always loved Mrs. Gaskell’s works and this biography was no exception.
This is definitely not an impartial biography as the two women were good friends and in fact Brontë’s husband and father had asked Gaskell to write this book after Ms. Brontë’s death. It is written in a bit of a defensive tone because Brontë had been so sharply criticized. In fact the last lines speak to this: “But I turn from the critical, unsympathetic public-inclined to judge harshly because they have only seen superficially and not thought deeply. I appeal to that larger and more solemn public, who know how to look with tender humility at faults and errors; how to admire generously extraordinary genius, and how to reverence with warm, full hearts all noble virtue. To that Public I commit the memory of Charlotte Brontë.”
I enjoyed this it may not of perfect but it was great in that you get to see Charlotte Brontë through the eyes of those who knew and loved her. I am actually now interested in reading a more impartial biography of Ms. Bronte and compare the two. Although I have so many books I want to read that that wish is definitely on the back burner.
My sixth book for
ljbookbingo is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for the favorite re-read square.
A classic coming of age story, “Jane Eyre” is the tale of its title character, a poor orphaned girl who comes to live with her aunt at Gateshead Hall. While there she endures great emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her aunt and cousins. Jane subsequently ships off to Lowood, a Christian boarding school for poor and orphaned girls. The conditions at the school are quite brutal. The students are subjected to cold lodgings, poor food, inadequate clothing, and the harsh rule of the administrator, Mr. Brocklehurst. The maltreatment of the students is eventually discovered and after some changes life becomes more bearable. She eventually finishes her coursework and spends a period of time as a teacher at the school. After leaving Lowood she gains a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall working for Edward Rochester, a man whom she will eventually fall in love with. “Jane Eyre” is the story of one woman’s struggle to overcome adversity. -Amazon Book Description
The first time I read Jane Eyre I was in junior high school and it quickly became my favorite book. I must of read and reread it a hundred times since then. It has been a few years since my last go around and since I had just finished a biography about Charlotte Bronte I wanted to read it again. I have to say I still really enjoy the characters and the story. One of the things that I continue to admire about Jane as a character is how well she knows herself. She knows what she believes and she had the fortitude to stand by those beliefs. Even when she is tempted she is willing to walk away from everything because Jane knew in the long run she would be miserable. I admire that level of self-awareness and the strength it took her to leave. Of course I also love that it all worked out in the end. I would definitely highly recommend it. This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/38969.html