Profile of the Day: Charlotte Brontë

On this day in 1816, author Charlotte Brontë was born.

Image: Charlotte Brontë / Wikimedia Commons

Brontë was born on April 21, 1816 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. She was the third of six children born to Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë, a clergyman. After her mother and two older sisters died, her father educated Brontë and her siblings, Emily, Anne, and Branwell, at home. As children the siblings were left to explore their imagination. They were gifted a box of toy soldiers for which they created an entire world of stories. The sisters continued to pursue their interest in writing as adults, each publishing poetry and novels under pen names.

In 1847, Brontë published the novel Jane Eyre under the pen name Currer Bell. The novel was an immediate success, but the months following its publication would be tragic for the family. In September 1848, Brontë’s brother died. Her sister Emily became seriously ill after the funeral and died of tuberculosis only a few months later in December. Then in May 1849, Brontë’s sister Anne died of the same disease.

Brontë would go on to publish two more novels, Shirley in 1849 and Villette in 1853, which would be her third and last novel published in her lifetime. In 1854, Brontë married Arthur Bell Nicholls. She became pregnant shortly after her marriage, but her health declined rapidly. She died on March 31, 1855 at the age of 38.

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