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Emily Bronte (1818-48)
Who?
Sister of Charlotte and Anne. One of the most original poets of the 19th century and perhaps its most intensely original novelist.
Must reads
Wuthering Heights (1847).
Darkest hour
In 1837, when she was a governess at Law Hill, near Halifax, and desperately homesick for the moors. Again, in 1842, she travelled to Brussels with Charlotte to study languages but had to return within a year because of her aunt's death.
Greatest triumph
The publication in 1846 of Poems, her first collection of poetry.
Essential quotes
'Nelly, I am Heathcliffe.' (Catherine in Wuthering Heights)
'I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!' (Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights)
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' (Wuthering Heights)
Gossip
Spent most of her life in Haworth, Yorkshire. She had few friends and her character is enigmatic. But she had a violent streak; once she subdued her guard dog, Keeper, with her bare hands.
Did u know?
It was only after her death from tuberculosis at the age of 30 that Wuthering Heights was gradually recognised as one of the masterpieces of English literature. To her Victorian contemporaries, the novel appeared excessively morbid and violent.
Cinema
Several film versions were made of Wuthering Heights.
What to say
Emily was a dark horse, but she certainly had a powerful romantic imagination, which can be best described as Shakespearean.
Don't say
The moor the better.
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