Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) was an English novelist. Born the daughter of an Anglican clergyman, Charlotte was educated alongside her sisters Emily and Anne, and all three eventually became successful and acclaimed novelists. Brontë worked for much of her adult life as a teacher and governess, and, in 1846, published a shared collection of poems with her sisters using the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. In 1847, the sisters decided to each write and publish their own novels, and while Emily’s Wuthering Heights and Anne’s Agnes Grey were accepted by publishers, Charlotte’s The Professor was not. This rejection encouraged her to write Jane Eyre, by far her most famous work and a classic of English literature. When their identities were revealed, the Brontë sisters enjoyed both critical acclaim and acceptance into the prestigious literary circles of London. Charlotte, whose literary work includes several novels and hundreds of poems, passed away at the age of 38 due to complications from pregnancy, and was tragically the last of her siblings to die.