Charlotte Bronte: A Life

The definitive biography of an extraordinary novelist, by acclaimed literary biographer Claire Harman

''There was no possibility of taking a walk that day . . .'' With these words Charlotte Brontë began Jane Eyre and changed English literature irrevocably.

Claire Harman''s landmark biography provides a bold new view of one of Britain''s best loved writers, uncovering an inner life that touched the furthest extremes of human emotion.

Harman shows us an intense and troubled young woman from an astonishingly creative family, whose early works were produced in total secrecy. Struggling against the conventional limitations of both life and literature, Charlotte created a new kind of heroine which both shocked and inspired her Victorian contemporaries. Love, loss, ambition and heartbreak: the anonymous author poured everything into her ground-breaking books, but lived it first.

''Harman [is] a master-storyteller in her own right. Her account of Bronte''s life is a level-headed, highly readable and always intelligent. A delight from start to finish'' Sunday Times

''Subtle, measured. Full of insight into Bronte''s fiery intellect as well as the tragic intensity of her experience'' Helen Dunmore, Observer

''Three rounds of applause... a superb retelling of Charlotte''s story'' Mark Bostridge, Spectator