Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte has been one of my favorite books for as long as I can remember. I have been doing the Back to the Classics Challenge for a couple of years now and have read many reviews on novels by the Bronte sisters from others participating in the challenge. It has made me want to read all 7 of their completed novels. I started the goal unstated last year and decided it was time to have a blog post to chronicle all of them together. As I read the books and post the reviews, I will link them to this post.
Here is a brief family history:
Patrick Bronte (1777-1861) was an ordained minister who married Maria Branwell (1776-1842) in 1812. Maria (the mother) died from uterine cancer at age 38, when their youngest, Anne, was 1 year old. Maria’s sister, Elizabeth Branwell, moved in soon after and it was she who raised and educated the Bronte children. Patrick (the father) survived his entire family, and 6 years after Charlotte passed, he died at age 84. Patrick and Maria had 6 children:
Maria (1812-1825) and Elizabeth (1815-1825), the two eldest, both died of tuberculosis 2 months apart at ages 11 and 10 respectively. Charlotte (1816-1855) published 3 novels in her lifetime and had another 1 published posthumously. Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854 and became pregnant soon after. She died in 1855, with her unborn child, just before she turned 39 – probably of tuberculosis.
Patrick Branwell (1817-1848) was a painter, writer, and casual writer who never married. He became addicted to alcohol and opium and died from tuberculosis at age 31. Emily Jane (1818-1848) published 1 novel and never married. She died of tuberculosis at age 30. Anne (1820-1849) published 2 novels and never married. She died of tuberculosis at age 29. (source)
CHARLOTTE BRONTE (English, 1816-1855)
Mini-review: This is a great novel of romance, wanting to do the "right" thing, and even supernatural elements (that are explained later on).
CAWPILE rating: 9.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Mini-review: This was an unexpected powerhouse feminist novel - until the ending ruined it all. It is an OK read, but much longer than it needed to be.
CAWPILE Rating: 6.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Mini-review: This a slow-moving, bland, and, quite, depressing book with a frustratingly ambiguous ending.
CAWPILE rating: 4.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Mini-review: This was an OK read. Some parts I liked, but other parts I didn't like so much. It has a cute and happy ending.
CAWPILE rating: 6.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
UNFINISHED NOVELS
-Emma (started writing 1853, unfinished;1860 - posthumous)
-Emma, by "Charlotte Brontë and Another Lady" (completed; 1980)
-The "Another Lady" is author Constance Savery.
-Emma Brown, by Clare Boylan (completed; 2003)
-Ashworth (written before 1855)
-The Moores (written before 1855)
-The Story of Willie Ellin (written before 1855)
*Charlotte Bronte Unfinished Novels (1993)
-collects 4 unfinished books listed above
*Charlotte also wrote and published several juvenilia stories.
EXTRA
-Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) - classic accepted as a prequel to Jane Eyre
by Jean Rhys (Welsh-Dominican, 1890-1979)
ANNE BRONTE (English, 1820-1849)
Mini-review: This is a cute story that's not particularly memorable.
I hadn't started doing the CAWPILE ratings until after I reviewed this book.
My estimate rating: 5/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Mini-review: This is a wonderful novel about how a mother escapes with her child from an abusive and cheating husband. Despite its having some of the same themes as Wuthering Heights, it is BY FAR a superior story due to its plot and redemptive ending.
CAWPILE rating: 9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
EMILY BRONTE (English, 1818-1848)
Mini-review: This is a HORRIBLE story solely about petty jealousy, hate, and revenge.
CAWPILE rating: 3.9/10 - ⭐⭐/5
OVERALL NOTE
If you know French, that will assist you in enjoying these books to the fullest, If you do not know French, as I do not, then you will have to be consistently flipping to the back of the book to look up the translations - which is annoying, but worth it for most of the books.
Let me know which Bronte book is your favorite and why!
Gosh! I need to finish The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I'm almost half way through. I felt a little exhausted bc the action of the characters felt drawn out. But I intend to finish it.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Wuthering Heights. I disliked it so much, I got rid of it. Every character aggravated me in a bad way. It wasn't like they could teach me something about myself.
Love Jane Eyre and cannot wait to reread it someday.
I've not read Agnes Grey.
There are definitely some slow parts to Tenant, but I think they're worth it. I look forward to reading your review on it sometime! I'm also planning on reading Villette this year and Charlotte's other 3 books by the end of next year.
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