- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 27 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312642733
- ISBN-13: 978-0312642730
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 16.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #456,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Generations of powerful writers from Elizabeth Gaskell to Daphne du Maurier…have rewritten the Brontës’ narrative…[Morgan holds] nerve and reason where many a Brontë biographer fails…brilliant…moving…superb…a lovely book." --The Guardian
"Quite simply the best novel about the Brontës I have ever read." --Juliet Barker, author of The Brontës: A Life in Letters
Praise for the novels of Jude Morgan:
"[One of] the best books of 2005. A remarkable book...about love and lust....A feast of language, a grab bag of delights....an exploration of mind and emotion, heart and art.” --The Washington Post Book World on PASSION
"This entertaining comedy of manners sparkles with rat-a-tat repartee, and the endearing...characters separate and reunite as rhythmically and precisely as ballroom dancers performing a waltz." --People Magazine (3 1/2 stars) on INDISCRETION
"With empathy and formidable imagination, [PASSION brings] the Romantic era to full, resplendent life." --Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)
"Deeply imagined and gorgeously written...brings a fascinating past to brilliant light." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on PASSION
"A deeply empathic exploration of obsession and art, genius and madness....Morgan's ability to bring each character to life is virtuosic." --The Washington Post Book World on SYMPHONY
"Lush, period-appropriate, at times impenetrable prose make for...a credible behind-the-music expose of the Romantic era." --Kirkus Reviews on SYMPHONY
"A tour de force." --Library Journal on PASSION
Product Description
From an obscure country parsonage came three extraordinary sisters, who defied the outward bleakness of their lives to create the most brilliant literary work of their time. Now, in an astonishingly daring novel by the acclaimed Jude Morgan, the genius of the haunted Brontës is revealed and the sisters are brought to full, resplendent life: Emily, who turned from the world to the greater temptations of the imagination; gentle Anne, who suffered the harshest perception of the stifling life forced upon her; and the brilliant, uncompromising, and tormented Charlotte, who longed for both love and independence, and learned their ultimate price.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible title, great book, May 1 2010
By S. Chiger - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontės (Paperback)
There are more novels about the Brontes than there are novels by the Brontes. But this is a worthy addition to the former group. Jude Morgan avoids the wild speculation of some Bronte fiction (Emily was a lesbian! Branwell seduced his male student!) but manages to reimagine some of the tropes so that Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne emerge as complex, believable individuals. (I found his depiction of Emily in particular refreshing.) Perhaps more important, you don't need to know anything about the Brontes or even to have read any of their works to enjoy this book.
The title of the book is misleading, by the way. It focuses on the entire Bronte family, not solely, or even primarily, on the two best-known members. The UK title is The Taste of Sorrow, which is perhaps a bit melodramatic but more in keeping with the tone of the writing.
Why didn't I give this book five stars? Because while Morgan's language is often dazzling, presenting numerous mini epiphanies, at times it's overly mannered, detracting rather than enhancing the story. That minor quibble, though, should not put you off Charlotte and Emily!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six Funerals and a Wedding, Jun 23 2010
By A Reviewer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontės (Paperback)
Having taught Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, I was enthusiastic about reading this impressive novel of the Brontes. It's the best book I've read this year.
The title can be deceiving. The story relates the hard lives of Patrick Bronte, his wife, five daughters and a single son, Branwell.
These characters are so very well drawn, the reader completely empathizes with their little victories and crushing tragedies. The author beautifully and cleverly ties in elements that arise in the published novels of the three literary sisters, Emily, Anne, and Charlotte. The metaphors the author employs are startingly different and yet superbly applicable.
The sense of place--removed, rustic, "wuthering"--provides the reader with the coldness and solitariness of the parsonage in which they lived. The setting to a great extent defines much of the character of the Brontes, some of whose lives become as irregular and bent as the trees and shrubs out on the moors.
As a teacher and as a writer Push Not the RiverI cannot recommend this book more highly.
James Conroyd Martin, Author of PUSH NOT THE RIVER & AGAINST A CRIMSON SKY
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Charlotte, Emily, Branwell and Anne, July 21 2010
By G. Messersmith "calliopemuse" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontės (Paperback)
The book opens on the evening before their mother dies, just the first in many tragedies that will haunt their lives, causing them to live very much within their imagination. The two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, step into the mothering role only to be sent off to an awful school where they are overcome with illness and come home to die. This leaves Charlotte as the oldest child. The Bronte children grew up poor and as girls they had no dowry so they had to work as governesses and teachers to make their way in the world. The whole family, including the father, had pinned their hopes on Branwell to do something with his life and save the family, and it is pitiful to watch him waste his life away.
Writing was a way of escape for them all. When they were children they invented an imaginary kingdom which Branwell's wooden soldiers took part in and they wrote tiny on little scraps of paper which they sewed together into books. Even when away from home at school or working for other families, they would often continue writing these stories. Unfortunately they lived in a time when writing was seen as unimportant and for a woman to write a novel was considered nonsense at best. Morgan beautifully captures their love of the written word and how dedicated to it they were, even though they knew there was little chance of success from their writing.
This novel will surprise and delight you. It is beautifully written and even though the outcome is well known you'll still want to read to the final word to find out what happens. Morgan's writing draws you in and it brings the Bronte family to life. I highly recommend this novel.
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