How did Charlotte Brontë create the character of Jane Eyre? Was ‘Villette’ really based on a doomed love affair in Brussels? How much of the real author is in these novels? If you have read Charlotte Brontë’s books, you will have asked yourself these questions. The biography ‘Charlotte Brontë: A Life’ by Claire Harman provides some fascinating answers.
This is the first biography of Brontë I have read and I wish I had read it sooner. Harman tells the enthralling story of the family whose losses, grief, hardship, isolation and disappointments populate the novels of the three sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne. It is impossible to write about Charlotte without writing about the family, and particularly about Emily, Anne and brother Branwell. Everyone knows the headline facts about the Brontës – Haworth parsonage, mother and siblings dying, Branwell’s addiction, and the imaginary kingdoms of Angria and Dondal in which the children lose themselves. But Harman makes the history accessible, telling the life of Charlotte in chronological order starting briefly with her father Patrick.
There are clear references to real life appearing in the novels and Harman casts light on the writing process of Charlotte and her sisters. For a novelist, this is required reading. Some of Charlotte’s experiences written about in letters appear directly in her novels, along with paragraphs lifted from journals and lines and passages lifted from works earlier abandoned. Harman extensively quotes Elizabeth Gaskell – who wrote the first biography of Charlotte Brontë published in 1857, based largely on Charlotte’ letters sent to her friend Ellen Nussey – and Charlotte’s correspondence with friends and her London publisher.
It is a tragic story but Harman is never over-sentimental. She is excellent at pairing characters, incidents and emotions in the novels with Charlotte’s real life.
A must read for any novelist who is a fan of the Brontë novels.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

Unlike some biographies I've read (er, attempted to read) of Bronte's contemporaries, this didn't make me want to immediately stop reading anything written by the subject. Yes, she seems like she was a fairly complicated person (her opinions on anyone not British-yikes!-but probably not unusual) and not always a joy to live with, but those complications just make her so fascinating. And sympathetic. I'm not enough of a Bronte scholar/fan to know how well-researched/thought out this biography is, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. ( )

I have always been intrigued by the Bronte sisters, curious of their lives and how they came to write some of my favorite books. Although sometimes when you look into the lives of creative people you admire they can really disappoint you. Not so with the Brontes! I only wish they could have had so much more happiness and recognition. Claire Harman's biography is the best type of biography, one that reads like a novel and, in my case, kept me listening and wanting to know more. I feel like I should write Miss Harman a fan letter I enjoyed her book so much. I want to re-read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and read anything else they wrote! I want to visit places they lived and walked and drive my friends and family crazy with facts and stories about them! Maybe I should slow down with the exclamation points...
Unfortunately I can't remember the narrator of the audio books name, but she was wonderful! She had a lovely smooth voice and strived to give different cadences and voices when she was reading letters or quoting people, without sounding silly. I will definitely need to own a hardback copy as well as the audio book, I'm hoping there are photos and drawings inside! ( )

I have the audiobook edition. This is an excellent biography of Charlotte Bronte, covering both her life and works, with some emphasis on her thwarted relationship with her Belgian teacher and employer. The audiobook is voiced with grace and clarity. Hesitant to tackle doorstop biographies of the Bronte sisters, I was delighted with the more focused approach in Harman's lucid volume. I highly recommend it. ( )

Loved this book. Harman does a wonderful job telling the story of Bronte's life, which is also the story of her family- her siblings and her father. Her growth as a writer, her growing fame and her drift towards marriage were really interesting to read about. Harman brings Bronte to life, warts and all, especially her selfishness when it came to her relationships and the vivid fictional worlds she created with her siblings. I felt like I learned so much about Bronte and the world she lived in. Wonderful rewarding read. ( )