Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: Charlotte BrontÃ `` ( ; 21 April 1816 -- 31 March 1855 ) was an English novelist and poet , the eldest of the three BrontÃ `` sisters , whose novels are English literature standards .
Simplified: Charlotte BrontÃ `` ( 21 April 1816 -- 31 March 1855 ) was an English novelist and poet .