Book Description
Series Editors: Kinley E. Roby, Northeastern University; Herbert Sussman, Northeastern University; Joseph Bartolomeo, University of Massachusetts; George Economou, University of Oklahoma; Arthur F. Kinney, University of Massachusetts

Twayne's United States Authors, English Authors, and World Authors Series present concise critical introductions to great writers and their works.

Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an author's work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volume addresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writer's work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading the Authors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features:

• A critical, interpretive study and explication of the author's works
• A brief biography of the author
• An accessible chronology outlining the life, work, and relevant historical background of the author
• Aids for further study -- complete notes and references, a selected annotated bibliography, and an index
• A readable style presented in a manageable length

Customer Reviews (2)

The "Quiet" Bronte Finds Her Voice
Dear Mr. Chitham,
I do not know whether you are among the living, or not. I am writing my praise in a public forum because it must be said.Somehow, despite a dearth of letters and surviving diary papers, you have written a masterful biography of the "baby" of the Brontes.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to extract Anne's story from the accounts of other people, especially Charlotte's best friend and her biographer. In the traditional portait, Anne is the "sweet" and "gentle" sister of three high-strung and tempramental Romantics. In your book, you examine the sources and and refute the mistaken impressions to reveal a rich imagination, a deep and sincere faith, a bright and observant wit, and a heart that survived loss and disappointment. Anne Bronte lived her life to the tempo of different music.

Thank You.

Sincerely yours,

"Monmoth"

Anne Bronte has found a sympathetic & resourceful biographer
I remember once Edward Chitham saying to a conference of Bronte enthusiasts 'I am an Anne person' and his resultant biography, A Life Of Anne Bronte', shows both great sensitivity and a just awareness of Anne's considerable literary skills as a writer.He also shows us that Anne was interesting in her own right both as a writer distinct from Emily and Charlotte and as a person with a life of unfulfilled dreams.Far from being the weak sibling with the nun-like veil as Charlotte preferred to view her youngest sister, Chitham views Anne as the sister who stuck it out longest at being a governess in the outside world and as the sister with the strongest courage and sense of duty.

Chitham doesn't sensationalize his material but sifts it for truth and light.He is very aware that original source material on Anne's younger days, her time at, and reason for leaving, school, her two governess positions, her possibly strong feelings for her father's curate, William Weightma! n, and her fluctuating relationship with her sister, Emily, are scant and too reliant on Charlotte's screening.Nevertheless, Chitham tries to piece together what he can from Anne's five surviving letters, her poetry, her two great novels and other circumstantial material surrounding the Robinson family with whom she stayed with as a governess.However, as with most other Bronte scholars, he cannot finally prove that Anne loved Weightman or that Branwell left the above same Robinson family as a result of indiscretions towards the Lady of the House (Lydia Robinson) or towards the 12-year-old pupil in his charge, Edmund Robinson.

Edward Chitham is also cautionary about the use of Anne's novels as biographical material.Far from quoting parts of Agnes Grey verbatim, he shows us more where such sources are unreliable. However, in areas and tone where Agnes Grey and the life of its heroine, squares with Anne's poetry and life, Chitham is happy to show the ways in which the lik! ely facts of Anne's life unfold to the diligent researcher ! of the truth.

All in all, this is a great biography, and until more letters become dusted down from hidden, and as yet unknown, lofts or boxes, it is likely to be fairly definitive in its balance and appreciation of Anne Bronte.Chitham knows where the sources are weak and he also knows what future researchers will want to look at if any more sources unearth themselves.Should we be lucky enough to find more of Anne's letters to or from Emily, Charlotte or the Robinson girls she once taught and kept in touch with, then would be the time to write another and fuller biography of Anne's life.Sadly for both writer and reader, Chitham can only but leave us with an incomplete picture, many broken jigsaw pieces and an overwhelming desire for more. ... Read more

Book Description
àIAnne Brontë: The Other One is the first full-length study to provide a feminist reading of the life and work of this youngest Brontë. In the Brontë mythology of three talented, intimate, and devoted sisters, Anne has played, in George Moore's words, the role of "literary Cinderella," relegated to the ashes of history for her failure to reach the standards set by her sisters. Elizabeth Langland demonstrates that the sisterly context, which enabled the work of all three, has proved detrimental to a full critical appreciation of Anne. Measured by the standards of Emily and Charlotte, Anne's work must inevitably suffer. Through a close examination of the life, poetry, and novels, Elizabeth Langland shows that Anne's work drew its inspiration from a different literary tradition than that which influenced her sisters and, further, that Anne's novels and poems, in fact, offer a stringent critique of the values inherent in her sisters' works. In detailing the literary debt Charlotte, in particular, owed her youngest sister and in demonstrating the intertextual relationships among all the Brontë novels, Professor Langland presents a genuinely revisionary perspective on Anne Brontë. In key chapters on the poetry,àR "Agnes Grey, and" "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Professor Langland argues persuasively that we revise upward our critical estimate of this "literary Cinderella." Contents: 1. Anne Brontë's Life: 'age and experience'; 2. Influences: 'Action Bell is neither Currer nor Ellis Bell'; 3. The Poems: 'pillars of witness'; 4. Agnes Grey: 'all true histories contain instruction'; 5. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: 'wholesome truths' versus 'soft nonsense'; 6. Critics on Anne Brontë: a 'literary Cinderella'; Note on Texts; Notes; Bibliography; IndexàR ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent
I've read lots of books and criticism on Anne Bronte's works, and I still learned new things reading Elizabeth Langland's book. New ideas are presented, and all the information is very interesting, new or not. She also brings to light ideas regarding the importance of Bronte's work and what it says. Lots of people haven't ever heard of ANne Bronte, and she deserves so much more recognition for her wonderful works. I enjoyed this book very much. ... Read more

Book Description
The author of this study seeks to show that it was Anne Brontë, whose departure into the field of the realistic semi- autobiographic novel with a contemporary setting, launched the greatest of her siblings' achievements. P. J. M. Scott considers the whole oeuvre and illuminates its leading, nutritive characteristics. The book studies her poems, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", and "Agnes Grey" which, with its quiet realism and unrestrained passion, made a substantial contribution to, and development of, the nineteenth century's greatest literary art form. ... Read more

Book Description
Essays by leading scholars explore the lives and tragic early deaths of the three Brontë sisters. They set two of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century :Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights, in the context of the other prose and poetry of the sisters, and trace the reputation of the Brontës through history. A detailed chronology and guides to further reading are included.Download Description
Essays by leading scholars explore the lives and tragic early deaths of the three Brontë sisters. They set two of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century :Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights, in the context of the other prose and poetry of the sisters, and trace the reputation of the Brontës through history. A detailed chronology and guides to further reading are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

'There were five literary Brontes.'
This book is subtitled 'The essential reference to their lives and work'.I'm not sure that I agree with the word 'essential' but it is certainly a very useful source of Bronte-related facts, links and events.

I believe that this book would be a useful addition to any library as it contains the biographical facts related to the Brontes, synopses of each of the published novels and a good bibliography for those who want to do further in-depth research.

The book also contains a handy chronology and the A to Z contains details of each of the Brontes and names of those significant in their lives as well as names of characters in the books.

Recommended for those who want to know more about the Brontes but who are not (yet) ready to jump into some of the more scholarly works available.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith ... Read more