The Belgian Essays by Charlotte Bronte
Venturing out of Yorkshire for the first time in their lives, the Bronte sisters Charlotte and Emily travelled to Brussels in 1842, and Charlotte returned for another visit in 1843. The journeys proved to be pivotal in both their writing careers. Under the tutelage of their teacher Constantin Heger, the young authors penned the 28 essays (devoirs) collected for the first time in this volume. Each essay, presented in its original French, is accompanied by an English translation and commentary to establish historical and literary context. Where M. Heger made comments, they are reproduced in full. Sue Lonoff offers information on the Brontes and their Brussels experience, exploring why the months in Belgium meant so much to the sisters and how their writing exercises affected their developing prose styles. In an introduction and extensive annotations, Lonoff investigates the Brontes' interests, imaginations, stylistic concerns, and methods of work at this key point in their writing careers. So important was the Brontes experience for Charlotte, Lonoff contends, that she might never have become a major novelist had she missed it. Lonoff's commentary also illuminates the strong reactions each of the sisters had to their mentor and the impact on their lives of their relations with him. For scholars of the Victorian period, women's studies, and English literature, and for general readers interested in the Brontes and women's education of the time, this book should be suitable reading.
Charlotte Bronte lived from 1816 to 1855. In 1824 she was sent away to school with her four sisters and they were treated so badly that their father brought them home to Haworth in Yorkshire. The elder two sisters died within a few days and Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne were brought up in the isolated village. They were often lonely and loved to walk on the moors. They were all great readers and soon began to write small pieces of verse and stories. Once Charlotte's informal education was over she began to work as a governess and teacher in Yorkshire and Belgium so that she could add to the low family income and help to pay for her brother Branwell's art education. Charlotte was a rather nervous young woman and didn't like to be away from home for too long. The sisters began to write more seriously and published poetry in 1846 under male pen names - there was a lot of prejudice against women writers. The book was not a success and the sisters all moved on to write novels. Charlotte's best-known book, Jane Eyre, appeared in 1847 and was soon seen as a work of genius. Charlotte really knew how to make characters and situations come alive. Charlotte's life was full of tragedy, never more so than when her brother Branwell and sisters Emily and Anne died within a few months in 1848/49. She married her father's curate in 1854 but died in 1855, before her fortieth birthday. Helen M. Cooper is associate professor of English at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780300064896 |
| ISBN 10 | 0300064896 |
| Title | The Belgian Essays |
| Author | Charlotte Bronte |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year published | 1997-01-31 |
| Number of pages | 560 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |