Guest author: Robbie Cheadle – Charlotte Brontë

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Sue Vincent has hosted me with another post about the Brontë family, this time I have focused on Charlotte Brontë.

I found a lovely post about the tiny books that I also wrote about in my post, over at Annika Perry’s blog. You might like to visit it and read a bit more about the Brontë Museum: https://annikaperry.com/2019/11/21/the-little-books/

I also read and reviewed a lovely book called The Brontë Cabinet which includes some fascinating information about the Brontë’s. You can read it here: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2019/03/27/bookreview-the-bronte-cabine-three-lives-in-nine-objects-by-deborah-lutz/

Guest author: Robbie Cheadle – Charlotte Brontë

Background

Charlotte was the third and middle daughter born to Patrick and Maria Branwell Brontë. She had two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, who both died as children from tuberculosis, and two younger sisters, Emily and Anne. She also had a younger brother, Branwell. Subsequent to their mother’s death from uterine cancer, Charlotte and her young siblings were brought up in Haworth, Yorkshire, by their father, Patrick, and their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell.

Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily all attended Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire during 1824. The fees were low, the food of a poor quality and the discipline harsh and often unfair. It was reported that the food provided by the school was generally poorly cooked and unhealthy, and the cook was “careless, dirty, and wasteful”.

Lowood Institution, the school which features in Charlotte’s famous novel, Jane Eyre, is said to have been based on Charlotte’s recollections of Cowan Bridge School.

Maria and Elizabeth both sickened during their time spent at this school and were effectively sent home to die in June 1825.  They died within six weeks of each other at the ages of eleven and ten years old, respectively. After the deaths of his two oldest children, Patrick removed Charlotte and Emily from the school and the remaining four siblings were all home schooled for five years.

Continue reading here: https://scvincent.com/2019/11/21/guest-author-robbie-cheadle-charlotte-bronte/

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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31 thoughts on “Guest author: Robbie Cheadle – Charlotte Brontë”

  5. Excellent review, Roberta. Thanks for that.
    I remember the trips to the British Library during school years, coming back with a bunch of Brontes, Nancy Drews,, George Eliot and Jane Austen books. Hearing those names is so nostalgic for me.
    Added ‘The Bronte Cabinet’ in my TBR list.

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  6. Robbie, a superb post about Charlotte Brontë and one’s heart goes out to her! So much sorrow and death in her family, yet she found inspiration and time to write. I had no idea that they actually attempted to open a boarding school and that this failed. The sisters perseverance was phenomenal. I do remember being taken with the size of Charlotte’s clothes, the shoes were smaller than mine and I was tiny as young! It can’t have been easy for her and I feel for her teeth. Gaskell sure did have a way with words … it must have pained Charlotte to read this description of herself.

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  7. I enjoyed your history of the Brontes, Robbie. I re-read Jane Eyre about 8 years ago when my son was reading it for English class. I remember reading all about the Brontes and remember some of these facts. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Hi Roberta, To say I am a ‘Bronte fan’ is an understatement. . .I first read Jane Eyre, aged thirteen, so thank you for your interesting coverage. ‘Jane’s story’ affected me deeply. I had just met my ‘best friend’ at college, and when Jane’s friend died in the tale, I cried like the rain, imagining my new friend dying?! Powerful stuff! I read the book again years later and saw two versions of the book on film, so certainly had my fill!! Since then, some kind folk met on holiday lived in driving distance of Haworth Rectory and kindly took us there. I was fascinated by the tiny sizes of the shoes and garments Charlotte wore! I’ve also read many books about her family. Such short, sad lives!.

    Another memorable book is To Kill a Mocking Bird. Recommended.

    All power to your many talents, Robbie!

    Love Joy xxx

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    1. Hi Joy, it’s lovely to see you here. I’m delighted you enjoyed this post and are also a Jane Eyre fan. I loved the Haworth Rectory and spent a lot of time there taking photographs of everything and reading about the lives of the Bronte family members. Have a wonderful day.

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