The Brontë Sisters
Art by Elin (tumblr)
No one would have expected the Brontësisters to become famous. Their fatherwas an Anglican clergyman of such modest means that he was unable to afford school tuition and instead sent his children to charity schools. The two eldest Brontë daughters caught tuberculosis at school and died before they reached 12 years of age. Yet despite their family tragedies and their limited means, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë persevered and became three of the most influential English novelists in history.
All of the Brontë children enjoyed writing and they exchanged stories from a young age, but the family’s limited means forced them to prioritize paid work over their artistic pursuits. All three sisters began earning a living as a teacher when they were 19 or 20, but Emily’s health was too precarious for the long work days required and after less than a year teaching, she moved home and took over the family’s housework.
In 1846, the three sisters published a collection of poems under the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. A year later, the sisters pseudonymously published their first novels: Jane Eyre (Charlotte), Wuthering Heights (Emily), and Agnes Grey (Anne). All three books received attention, but only Jane Eyre was a bestseller. Anne’s second novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published in 1848 and quickly became a bestseller. Charlotte published two more novels, Shirley in 1849 and Villette in 1853.
Just as they began to reach their professional goals, the family’s health began to fall apart. Their brother Bramwell died of tuberculosis in September 1848 at age 31. Three months later, Emily died from tuberculosis at age 30. Five months later, Anne died of tuberculosis at age 29.
In 1854, thirty eight year old Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nichols, an associate of her father’s who had long been in love with her. Charlotte became pregnant and her health rapidly declined. Less than a year after her wedding, she and her unborn child were dead. Charlotte’s death was attributed to tuberculosis at the time, but some scholars have suggested she may have died from severe morning sickness.
