The Brontës of Haworth Moor - A Review

The Brontës of Haworth Moor

How the Three Daughters of a Country Parson Became the Most Revolutionary Novelists of Their Time

by Diane Browning. Illustrations by Diane Browning

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN: 978-1-5381-7231-5

First of all, we must admit to always being a bit wary of books for young adults as they often use a patronising, condescending tone, so we started reading The Brontës of Haworth Moor by Diane Browning somewhat cautiously. Our fears were soon dispelled. In fact, we concluded that not only is this the perfect introduction to the Brontë world for any bookish young adult but also for any adult just wanting to dip their toes into the world of the Brontës. It's a straightforward account of a sometimes not that straightforward story. It pulls out all the stops.

It's not a fictionalised account of the story but told in factual terms, with the occasional comment on what a person might or might not be feeling or thinking, but pretty reined-in if you take into account some of the Brontë biographies for adults of the last few years (some of which presume to know even motives for doing things, etc.). It starts with a prologue in which Charlotte and Anne shed their anonymity in the London office of George Smith but the actual story begins with the young Brontë family making their way across the moors from Thornton to Haworth (although later on it will look back briefly on the backgrounds of Patrick and Maria, their courtship and early years).

The author's intent is stated in an author's note at the beginning:

I have tried to write a biography. not emphasizing gloom and doom, but showing the Brontë siblings as the vibrant, hopeful, and often happy young people they were. This is a story for young people, showing the commonality of youth, no matter the time period or situation.

 And we must say she excells at doing that. That's not to say that she shirks the heartbreak and sadness of the story, but she doesn't revel in it and manages to catch the bounciness of spirit of childhood and early adulthood pretty well. That doesn't mean either that--like many Brontë books intended for young adults before--her main focus is on the childhood and on the scribblemania phase. She has fun with that, of course, but she doesn't make it longer than needed and the pace moves equally throughout their lives.

And, most importantly, that doesn't mean that she avoids controversial subjects or--worse--looks at them from 21st-century glasses. We were quite impressed with how she succeeded in contextualising things and showing readers that, to quote L.P. Hartley, 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there'. And so, for instance, Robert Southey's letter to Charlotte is taken in its stride, not passively, but not aggressively either. The harsh conditions of Cowan Bridge, the deaths of their mother and their siblings, Emily's breakdown in Roe Head, Charlotte's infatuation with a married man and Branwell's affair with a married woman and subsequent alcoholism are not glossed over or dealt with in judgemental terms, simply told in a straightforward manner: 'this is what happened'.

And that thoroughness and lack of judgement for a group of people who lived in a world with different sets of rules but who, however, had the same basic human emotions is quite remarkable and the reason why we consider it to be a quite good introduction into the world of Brontë biography.ç

That's helped visually by the lovely cut paper illustrations by the author herself throughout the book which pretty much capture the spirit of the book: apparently simple (as we know it takes quite an effort to achieve simplicity) but nevertheless quite moving.

Our only qualm comes from the fact that the book might have benefited from a more thorough revision: Maria Brontë is said to have died in August 1821 when she actually died in September of that year, for instance. And some spelling mistakes such as Hebdon Bridge.

But all in all, we were pretty dazzled by what we found and which we weren't expecting. It's a fair, lively take on the lives of the Brontës. And some Brontë biographers might as well take a leaf from Diane Browning's book: her open-minded approach, her respect both for her subjects and potential readers, her understanding of family dynamics and basic human emotions all make for both entertaining and enlightening reading.