The Brontë Sisters were a 19th century literary family associated with Haworth in Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (born 21 April 1816), Emily (born 30 July 1818), and Anne (born 17 January 1820), became well known as a trio of sibling poets and novelists. The three sisters and their brother, Branwell, were very close, so they often collaborated with each other.
Emily's Wuthering Heights is often considered the best of the three classics. The name of the novel comes from a Yorkshire manor on the moors, and wuthering refers to turbulence. It is turbulence that engulfs the two main characters, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, who share a passionate love but struggle to come to grips with it. Now considered a classic, the novel’s depiction of mental and physical cruelty, written vividly by Emily due to the different ways she had suffered working and at school, threw off 19th century readers.
Anne's Agnes Grey is centered around the title character as she works for several well to do families. Agnes Grey, not surprisingly, is largely based on Anne own experiences as a governess for five years. The novel, now considered a classic, addresses the precarious position of governess in 19th century England, and how it affected young women. Agnes Grey deals with issues of oppression and abuse, allowing Anne to poignantly write about isolation and empathy.
Charlotte’s most famous novel is Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, a coming of age story written as an autobiography by the title character. The novel mixes all of the best elements of Anne and Emily’s works by telling the story of a child’s maturation, emotions and experiences growing up, a sharp critique of society, and the Gothic romance that has made Wuthering Heights endure. The novel is often considered one of the first truly feminist portrayals, with Jane developing into a passionate, intelligent young woman who is moral and self-reliant
This edition of the Brontë Sisters’ three classic novels is specially formatted with a Table of Contents, an original introduction for each novel, and dozens of images in all three books.
