Brontes

How did three sisters living an apparently secluded and eventless life write some of the most original, passionate and dramatic novels and poetry in the English language? Who were the Brontës, what fed their imaginations, and what makes their writing so haunting, intense, and important?

The website of the Brontë Parsonage Museum states: ‘To find two writers of genius in one family would be rare, but to find several writers in one household is unique in the history of literature. Charlotte and Emily are ranked among the world’s greatest novelists; Anne is a powerful underrated author, and both their father, the Revd. Patrick Brontë, and brother Branwell also saw their own works in print’. This course explores those works of genius and places them in their literary, cultural, and historical (including family) contexts. Participants will come to understand and to be able to analyse what makes the Brontës'writings so haunting, intense, and original. This course is for anyone who has read or would like to read the work of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, or who is interested in nineteenth-century literature or women’s writing.