Emily Bronte:

Brilliant woman writer

Those of you into English classical literature may not be unfamiliar with the great 'Wuthering Heights'. This classic was written by Emily Bronte, one part of the famous Bronte Sisters.

Although she wrote only one novel, she is considered as one of the best women writers ever, and is widely regarded as the most talented of the Bronte Sisters, even eclipsing her more famous elder sister, Charlotte.

The British novelist and poet was the second of the Bronte Sisters trio, younger than Charlotte and older than Anne.

Emily Jane Bronte was born on July 30, 1818 in Thornton at Yorkshire, England to Irish clergyman Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell. She was the fifth of six children.

After the youngest, Anne was born in 1820, the Brontes moved to the village of Haworth where Patrick had been appointed rector. It is said that these surroundings influenced their literary activities later in life, with the lonely moors providing a bleak backdrop to their masterpieces.

Tragedy struck the Bronte girls early in life, with their mother Maria dying of cancer in 1821 when Emily was only three years old. The six children were looked after by their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, who had moved in to their house after her sister's death.

In 1824, the five sisters were sent to the Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge. Two of them, Maria and Elizabeth, died of tuberculosis a year later, and the others returned home to Haworth.

Since their father spent much of his time alone, the children spent their time reading the Bible, and the works of Shakespeare, Virgil, Milton, Homer, Byron and Scott among others.

They also read articles on current affairs and intellectual matters in various magazines, played the piano, did needle work and told each other stories. The three sisters and their brother Patrick Branwell Bronte, created imaginary lands (Angria, Gondal, Gaaldine, Oceania), which were featured in the stories they wrote. Little of Emily's work from this period has survived.

In 1835, Emily enrolled at Miss Wooler's School at Roe Head, Mirfield where Charlotte was a teacher, but returned home soon after becoming homesick and ill. She served as a governess for a few years, before travelling to Belgium in 1842 with her sisters. There, they learnt French, German and Literature with the aim of starting their own school.

When Aunt Elizabeth died, Emily returned home for the funeral and stayed on with her father. While helping with the house work, she continued writing and editing her poems. By 1845, her sisters had returned home, after having given up their dream of starting their own school.

It was Charlotte's discovery of Emily's poetic talent that led the three sisters to publish a joint collection of their poetry in 1846, 'Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell'. As female writers were not accepted by society in that era, the Brontes adopted male names; they retained the first letter of their first names, with Charlotte becoming Currer, Emily becoming Ellis and Anne becoming Acton.

The next year, in 1847, Emily's only novel Wuthering Heights was published as two volumes of a three-volume set (the last being Agnes Grey by Anne).

Although it received mixed reviews at its release and did not gain immediate success as Charlotte's Jane Eyre, it later became an English literary classic, much lauded for its intense, original and innovative structure. In 1850, Charlotte edited and published Wuthering Heights as a stand-alone novel and under Emily's real name.

The classic was set in 18th Century England and explored themes of revenge, religion, class and prejudice. It is still in print today and has inspired many television and feature film adaptations, songs as well as a video game.

Emily has cited George Gordon Byron, John Milton, Robert Burns and Walter Scott as her influences, while she has influenced the likes of Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, Sylvia Plath and William Faulkner.

By then, Branwell had become an alcoholic and drug addict. He died in 1848. While at his funeral, Emily caught a cold and died on December 19, 1848, of tuberculosis, possibly caught from nursing her brother. She was only 30 years old.

She was interred in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Haworth where she now lies with her mother and father, sisters Charlotte, Maria and Elizabeth, and brother Branwell in the family vault.

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Some of the many books written about the Brontes

The Brontes Web of Childhood by Fannie Ratchford (1941)
The Genesis of Wuthering Heights by Mary Visick (1965)
Their Proper Sphere by Inga-Stina Ewbank (1966)
The Artist as Free Woman by S. Davies
The Brontes and Their Background by Tom Winnifrith (1973)
Myths of Power by Terry Eagleton (1975)
The Art of Emily Bronte, edited by A. Smith (1976)
Brontes of Haworth by Brian Wilks (1986)
Emily Bronte by Stevie Davies (1988)
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights by U.C. Knoepflmacher (1989)
The Brontes by Juliet Barker (1994)
Wuthering Heights by Maggie Berg (1996)
Critical Essays on Emily Bronte, edited by Tom Winnifrith (1997)
The Birth of Wuthering Heights by E. Chitman (1998)
Emily Bronte by S. Vine (1998)
Biographies by Lyn Pykett (1990) and W.Grin (1971)