Home > Charlotte Brontë

Brontë was born at Thornton, in Yorkshire, England, the eldest surviving daughter of a clergyman, Patrick Brontë (who had changed his surname from Brunty or Prunty) and his wife, Maria Branwell. In 1820 the family moved to the now world-famous rectory at Haworth, where the children created their own fantasy world which would inspire them to take up writing. Charlotte's mother died of cancer on 15 September 1821. In August 1824 she was sent with three of her four sisters to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire where the appalling conditions caused them to be brought home separately in 1825. Charlotte and Emily were the last to leave, they returned on 1 June. Her two elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, died soon after their return from the tuberculosis that they had contracted whilst at the school.

Charlotte continued her education at home until she joined Roe Head school in Mirfield on 17 January 1831Events February- March Revolts in Modena, Parma and the Papal States are put down by Austrian troops February 20 Battle of Grochow. Polish rebel forces divide a Russian army. March 1 Democrat Samuel Smith becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States, where she stayed until June 1832Events February 12 Ecuador annexes the Galapagos Islands February 12 serious cholera epidemic begins in London from the East London. It is declared officially over in early May but deaths continue. At least 3000 victims March 24 In Hiram, Ohio a group of. In 1835Events January 1 Ole Pedersen Hoiland breaks into the Bank of Norway and steals 64. 000 dalers January 7 HMS Beagle anchors off the Chonos Archipelago. January 30 Unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Andrew Jackson in the United States Cap Charlotte returned to her former school to work as a teacher, a career in which she continued, on and off, until 1838Events January 6 Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrates the telegraph. January 8 Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code) January 12 Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon flee Ohio for Missouri Marc. In 1839Events January 9 The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. January 19 British East India Company captures Aden January 20 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance. February 24 William Ot she took up the first of many positions as governess to various families in Yorkshire, a career she pursued until 18411841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). Events January 26 The United Kingdom occupies Hong Kong. Later during the year, the first census of the island recorded a population of about 7,500. February 18 The first ongoing f. In 1842Events February 21 John J. Greenough patents the sewing machine. March 5 Over 500 Mexican troops led by Rafael Vasquez invade Texas briefly occupy San Antonio and then head back to the Rio Grande. This is the first such invasion since the Texas Revolution she travelled to BrusselsBrussels ( French: Bruxelles Dutch: Brussel German: Brussel is a major city in Belgium and its capital. Overview Brussels is first of all a city located in the middle of Belgium and its capital, but it sometimes also refers to the main municipality of the with Emily and Branwell, where she and Emily enrolled in a pensionnat ran by M. and Mme. Constantine Hegar. Charlotte taught English and Emily taught music in return for board and tuition. Their time at the pensionnat was cut short when Elizabeth Branwell, their aunt who joined the family after the death of their mother to look after the children, died of internal obstruction in October 1842. Charlotte returned alone to Brussels in January 1843 to take up a teaching post at the pensionnat. Her second stay at the pensionnat was not a happy one, she became lonely, homesick and somewhat attracted to M. Hegar and finally returned to Haworth in January 1844. Her time at the pensionnat and the characters of M. and Mme. Hegar can be seen as the inspiration for some of the settings, events and characters in her later novels The Professor and Villette.

In May 1846, she and her two younger sisters, Anne and Emily, published a joint collection of poetry under male pseudonyms. Charlotte used the name 'Currer Bell'. Charlotte continued to use the same pseudonym when publishing her first two novels.

Her novels are:

• Jane Eyre, published 1847
• Shirley, published 1849
• Villette, published 1853
• The Professor, originally written before Jane Eyre and rejected by many publishing houses, was eventually published posthumously in 1857

Patrick Branwell, the only son of the family, died of chronic bronchitis and marasmus in September 1848, although Charlotte believed his death was due to tuberculosis. Emily and Anne both died of pulmonary tuberculosis in December 1848 and May 1849 respectively. Branwell's death was exacerbated by heavy drinking and a debauched lifestyle. Charlotte and her father were now left alone. In view of the enormous success of Jane Eyre, Charlotte was persuaded by her publisher to occasionally visit London, where she revealed her true identity and began to move in a more exalted social circle; however she never left Haworth for more than a few weeks at a time as she did not like to leave her aging father's side.

In June 1854 Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls, a curate. She died during her pregnancy (her death certificate gives the cause of death as phthisis ( tuberculosis) but there is a school of thought that suggests she may have died from her excessive vomitting during pregnancy) and was interred in The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Haworth, West Yorkshire, England.