Overview
A fascinating look at the life and work of one of our most enduring authors. For over 150 years readers have fallen under the spell of Jane Eyre, as they've read the story of the plain but spirited governess and her relationship with the handsome, brooding Mr. Rochester. Charlotte Bronte's own life was no less interesting than her heroine's, and Stewart Ross traces Charlotte's remarkable story from a Dickensian boarding school and the death of her beloved older sisters, through the games of imagination played on the moors with her siblings Anne, Emily and Branwell, to her lonely years as a governess and ultimate success and fame. As Charlotte's compelling story unfolds, we see the reflections of her life in excerpts from her greatest work, Jane Eyre. This remarkable book offers a glimpse of the process that transforms life into literature and serves as an enticing introduction to one of the greatest novels in the English language.A biography of Charlotte Brontèe, an English author, with emphasis on the autobiographical material found in Jane Eyre.
Synopsis
A fascinating look at the life and work of one of our most enduring authors. For over 150 years readers have fallen under the spell of Jane Eyre, as they've read the story of the plain but spirited governess and her relationship with the handsome, brooding Mr. Rochester. Charlotte Bronte's own life was no less interesting than her heroine's, and Stewart Ross traces Charlotte's remarkable story from a Dickensian boarding school and the death of her beloved older sisters, through the games of imagination played on the moors with her siblings Anne, Emily and Branwell, to her lonely years as a governess and ultimate success and fame. As Charlotte's compelling story unfolds, we see the reflections of her life in excerpts from her greatest work, Jane Eyre. This remarkable book offers a glimpse of the process that transforms life into literature and serves as an enticing introduction to one of the greatest novels in the English language.
Children's Literature
Ross creates an interesting picture of northern England in the first half of the nineteenth century in this brief but useful biography of Brontd and her world. Charlotte's experiences in Haworth, at her first, disastrous boarding school, and as a governess, are described and later tied in to her novel. The autobiographical aspects of Jane Eyre should fascinate kids meeting the book for the first time and help teachers make it more exciting. Van Nutt's illustrations grasp Haworth and the feeling of the moors perfectly. It all makes you want to read the original novel again, which is as it should be.
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Ross creates an interesting picture of northern England in the first half of the nineteenth century in this brief but useful biography of Brontd and her world. Charlotte's experiences in Haworth, at her first, disastrous boarding school, and as a governess, are described and later tied in to her novel. The autobiographical aspects of Jane Eyre should fascinate kids meeting the book for the first time and help teachers make it more exciting. Van Nutt's illustrations grasp Haworth and the feeling of the moors perfectly. It all makes you want to read the original novel again, which is as it should be.School Library Journal
Gr 4-6Attractively designed and featuring full-page, colorful illustrations, this is a well-written biography. The audience for it, however, is a bit unclear. Although Ross claims that the book is for those who have read Jane Eyre and want to know more about its author, as well as for those who had found the classic intimidating and might be inspired to try again, it's unlikely that those readers would find a picture-book format (albeit an elegant one) satisfying. Nevertheless, those who are familiar with the movie or have an interest in literature, writers, or women's biographies will find the book worthwhile. It traces Charlotte's early life, her intense relationship with her siblings, her brief but brilliant writing career, and the tragic early deaths of all of the Bront children. A chronology and further reading list is supplied, as is background information about the era. There is no index. A full chapter is devoted to a description of Jane Eyre, and an afterword traces the history of the novel. The stylized illustrations add a period flavor. This book is more informative than Catherine Brighton's The Bronts (Chronicle, 1994), and more focused on Charlotte than Paula Guzzetti's A Family Called Bront (Dillon, 1994), which is for slightly older readers. Michael Bedard's picture book, Glass Town (Atheneum, 1997), has a broader focus. Ross's book is a useful purchase for most collections.Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MAKirkus Reviews
Ross (Shakespeare and Macbeth, 1994) takes a look at Charlotte Brontë's life and how it influenced the writing of Jane Eyre, hoping to inspire readers to tackle that novel.Lovely full-color and black-and-white illustrations bring readers powerful images of both Charlotte's and Jane's lives, which contained many similar themes, e.g., Jane Eyre's cruel experiences at Lowood School reflect Charlotte's unhappiness at the Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School. In addition to the parallels between Charlotte and her fictional creation, Ross focuses on how the writer developed her craft: She read widely, indulged in "scriblomania," wrote make-believe fantasies lifting herself "out of the small world of Haworth," and studied with Monsieur Constantin Heger in Brussels. Ross also discusses Jane Eyre, and why it was unique when it was published (it was neither Gothic horror nor a tale of domestic manners). The insert in which that is disclosed and other inserts—on fatal diseases, Victorian England, etc.—are interesting, but also interfere with the flow of the story. Still, this is a creative approach to biography, certain to encourage readers to take longer looks at Charlotte Brontë's novels and her life.