The Brontës in context
By: edited by Marianne Thormählen
Series: Literature in context
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge
Language: eng
Number of pages: 388
ISBN-13: 9780521761864
Subjects: English Authors; English literature; LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Biography; History and criticism
Description: "Very few families produce one outstanding writer. The Brontë family produced three. The works of Charlotte, Emily and Anne remain immensely popular, and are increasingly being studied in relation to the surroundings and wider context that formed them. The forty-two new essays in this book tell 'the Brontë story' as it has never been told before, drawing on the latest research and the best available scholarship while offering new perspectives on the writings of the sisters. A section on Brontë criticism traces their reception to the present day. The works of the sisters are explored in the context of social, political and cultural developments in early-nineteenth-century Britain, with attention given to religion, education, art, print culture, agriculture, law and medicine. Crammed with information, The Brontës in Context shows how the Brontë fiction interacts with the spirit of the time, suggesting reasons for its enduring fascination"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Chronology; title: Introduction / Marianne Thormählen; title: Part I. Places, Persons and Publishing: 1. Haworth in the time of the Brontës / Michael Baumber; title: 2. Domestic life at Haworth Parsonage / Ann Dinsdale; title: 3. Northern-England locations associated with the Brontës' lives and works / Ann Dinsdale; title: 4. The father of the Brontës / Dudley Green; title: 5. A mother and her substitutes: Maria Bronte (née Branwell), Elizabeth Branwell and Margaret Wooler / Bob Duckett; title: 6. Patrick Branwell Brontë / Victor A. Neufeldt; title: 7. Charlotte Brontë / Dinah Birch; title: 8. Emily Brontë / Lyn Pykett; title: 9. Anne Brontë / Maria Frawley; title: 10. Friends, servants and a husband / Stephen Whitehead; title: 11. The Brontës' sibling bonds / Drew Lamonica Arms; title: 12. Juvenilia / Christine Alexander; title: 13. The Brussels experience / Sue Lonoff; title: 14. The Brontë correspondence / Margaret Smith; title: 15. Portraits of the Brontës / Jane Sellars; title: 16. The poetry of the Brontës / Janet Gezari; title: 17. Literary influences on the Brontës / Sara J. Lodge; title: 18. The Brontës' way into print / Linda H. Peterson; title: 19. Reading the Brontës: their first audiences / Stephen Colclough; title: Part II. Scholarship, Criticism, Adaptations and Translations: 20. Brontë biography: a survey of a genre / Tom Winnifrith; title: 21. Mid-nineteenth-century critical responses to the Brontës / Miriam Elizabeth Burstein; title: 22. Brontë scholarship and criticism, 1920-1970 / Herbert Rosengarten; title: 23. Brontë scholarship and criticism, approx. 1970-2000 / Sara J. Lodge; title: 24. Current trends in Brontë criticism and scholarship / Alexandra Lewis; title: 25. Adaptations, prequels, sequels, translations / Patsy Stoneman; title: Part III. Historical and Cultural Contexts: 26. Religion / David Jasper; title: 27. The philosophical-intellectual context / Stephen Prickett; title: 28. Education / Dinah Birch; title: 29. Art and music / Christine Alexander; title: 30. Natural history / Barbara T. Gates; title: 31. Politics / Simon Avery; title: 32. Newspapers and magazines / Joanne Shattock; title: 33. Agriculture and industry / Marianne Thormählen with Steven Wood; title: 34. Transport and travel / Edward Chitham; title: 35. Law / Ian Ward; title: 36. Class / Elizabeth Langland; title: 37. Careers for middle-class women / Elizabeth Langland; title: 38. Marriage and family life / Marianne Thormählen; title: 39. Dress / Birgitta Berglund; title: 40. Sexuality / Jill L. Matus; title: 41. Physical health / Janis McLarren Caldwell; title: 42. Mental health / Janis McLarren Caldwell; title: Further reading; title: Index.