The Life of Charlotte Bronte

E.C. Gaskell

Published by Smith Elder & Co, 1857

About this Item

The Life of Charlotte Bronte Second Edition Bound By Zaehnsdorf 1857. Stunning copy bound by Zaehnsdorf. Original cloth spine preserved in each volume. Near fine/fine condition. The Life of Charlotte Brontė is the posthumous biography of Charlotte Brontė by fellow novelist Elizabeth Gaskell. The first edition was published in 1857 by Smith, Elder & Co. A major source was the hundreds of letters sent by Brontė to her lifelong friend Ellen Nussey. Gaskell had to deal with rather sensitive issues, toning down some of her material: in the case of her description of the Clergy Daughters' School, attended by Charlotte and her sisters, this was to avoid legal action from the Rev. William Carus Wilson, the founder of the school. The published text does not go so far as to blame him for the deaths of two Brontė sisters, but even so the Carus Wilson family published a rebuttal with the title "A refutation of the statements in 'The life of Charlotte Bronte,' regarding the Casterton Clergy Daughters' School, when at Cowan Bridge". Although quite frank in many places, Gaskell suppressed details of Charlotte's love for Constantin Héger, a married man, on the grounds that it would be too great an affront to contemporary morals and a possible source of distress to Charlotte's still-living friends, father Patrick Brontė and husband.[1] She also suppressed any reference to Charlotte's romance with George Smith, her publisher, who was also publishing the biography. In 2017, The Guardian named The Life of Charlotte Brontė one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time. Seller Inventory # 194969981837

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Life of Charlotte Bronte

Publisher: Smith Elder & Co

Publication Date: 1857

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Edition: 2nd Edition.