to Haworth in 1820 but his wife died in 1821 and hersister, Aunt Branwell, came to look after the childrenin her place.
In 1824, Patrick sent four of the children away to Cowan Bridge School but the two eldest fell ill anddied, and he brought the two others home again. The children stayed at home and played together, writingstories in little books.
Later, Charlotte and Anne went to another school but Anne fell ill and they came home again. Branwell’s move to London to train as an artist was short-livedand he too returned.
In order to earn money, the sisters decided to start their own school. Charlotte and Emily moved toBrussels to improve their French.
Then Aunt Branwell died and Emily returned tolook after the family. Charlotte returned a year later but their school was a failure. Branwell was in lovewith the mother of the children being taught by Anneand his mental state was seriously affected after beingforbidden to see her.
By 1845, Branwell was drinking heavily but the three sisters had a book of their poems published, Patrickhad a painful eye operation, and in 1847, CharlottehadJane Eyreepublished under the pseudonym CurrerBell.
Soon after, Anne’s Agnes Grayyand Emily’sWuthering Heightss also appeared but in 1848 both Branwell and Emily died.
Anne died a year later but Charlotte’s reputationgrew. In 1854, Charlotte married Patrick’s curate, ArthurNicholls but she died during pregnancy in 1855.
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unique grouping in the history of literature and this book uses the device of having the father narrate its story, to give us an insight into the circumstances which fostered the talents of the three writers who between them produced some of the greatest novels in the English language. We see how the genius ofCharlotte, Emily and Anne developed as a result oftheir own individual experiences and yet needed thepresence of the others to flourish; and we are given a vivid portrait of the wild, hard and austere Yorkshirecountryside which is such an important element intheir books. We learn something of the individualcharacters of the three; and of the malign influenceof their brother Branwell – the dreadful inspiration for Arthur Huntingdon in Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. We are also confronted with the remorseless nature of the family’s tragedy as mother, aunt andchildren all die in turn – not one of the Brontë childrenreached the age of forty.
Before reading
Here are some ways to help your students approachthe story:1
Give students the title of the book and show themthe picture on the cover. Ask them to try and guesswhat kind of the story it is.
Give students a copy of the text on the back cover of the book, and of the story introductionon the first page. When they have read the texts, ask them a few questions about the story, or usethe Before Reading Activities in the back of each Bookworm.
Use the pre-reading activity in this worksheet.If there is a recording of this title, play the first few pages and stop at an interesting point.
Background to the story
The Brontë Storyy provides us with valuable informationabout the Brontë sisters but is also a gripping but
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