Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë, an influential figure in European and Victorian literature, was born in Thornton upon West Yorkshire, England in April 1816. She was the third of six children to Patrick Brontë, an Irish Anglican clergyman, and Maria Branwell. In 1820, the family moved to Haworth, a remote town on the Yorkshire moors, where Charlotte spent most of her life. After her mother's death in 1821, her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, moved in to help care for the children.

Brontë's experiences at the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire had a profound impact on her. The school's harsh conditions led to the death of her two elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, from tuberculosis in 1825. This tragedy prompted her father to withdraw Charlotte and her remaining siblings from the school. The siblings then continued their education at home, which led to their extraordinary creative development. They invented a world called 'Angria' and created stories, poetry, and plays based on it. Brontë's burst of creativity during this period was a result of their isolation and dependence on each other for entertainment and education.

Charlotte Brontë's literary career began in earnest after she left Roe Head school in Mirfield in 1832. She had already written her novella The Green Dwarf under the name of Wellesley while at school. In 1835, she returned to Roe Head as a teacher, using her wages to pay for Emily and Anne's education. She left Roe Head in 1838 to become a governess to the Sidgewick family, a position she held until 1839. In 1842, she went to Brussels with her sister Emily to study languages, and again worked as a teacher there. Charlotte's first novel, The Professor, was rejected by several publishers and was not published until 1857. However, her second novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and achieved immediate success. Brontë's two other novels, Shirley and Villette, were also published during her lifetime. Charlotte Brontë died in March 1855, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking literature.