The Brontë Sisters - The brief lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne

Sep 21, 2026

A concise biographical narrative traces the early lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, placing their childhood at Haworth in April 1820 within a harsh Northern England setting of poverty, illness, and isolation. It follows Reverend Patrick Brontë’s arrival, the family’s daily struggle, and the impact of Maria Branwell Brontë’s decline and death. The account highlights how relatives, local conditions, and education shaped the children’s formative years and early moral imagination.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages144

Reading Time3 h 42 min

AccessFree to download

Oh God, My Poor Children!

Bend Inclination to Duty

What on Earth Is Half So Dear?

Who Ever Rose ... Without Ambition?

A Peculiar Music

It Is Soul Speaking to Soul

Moorish, and Wild, and Knotty as a Root of Heath

A Dreadful Darkness Closes In

Out of Obscurity I Came

I Should Fancy I Heard the Steps of the Dead

Alas!

Notes

Selected Bibliography

The Works of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë

Index

About the Author

Table of Contents Title Page Table of Contents Copyright Dedication “Oh God, My Poor Children!” “Bend Inclination to Duty” “What on Earth Is Half So Dear?” “Who Ever Rose ... Without Ambition?” “A Peculiar Music” “It Is Soul Speaking to Soul” “Moorish, and Wild, and Knotty as a Root of Heath” “A Dreadful Darkness Closes In” “Out of Obscurity I Came” “I Should Fancy I Heard the Steps of the Dead” “Alas!” Notes Selected Bibliography The Works of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë Picture Credits Index About the Author Clarion Books 215 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10003 Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Reef All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003. Clarion Books is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. [www.hmhco.com](www.hmhco.com) The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows: Reef, Catherine. The Brontë sisters : the brief lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne / by Catherine Reef. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-547-57966-5 (hardcover) 1. Brontë, Charlotte, 1816–1855—Juvenile literature. 2. Brontë, Emily, 1818–1848—Juvenile literature. 3. Brontë, Anne, 1820–1849—Juvenile literature. 4. Authors, English—19th century—Biography—Juvenile literature. 5. Sisters—England—Yorkshire—Biography—Juvenile literature. 6. Women authors, English—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title. PR4168 .R37 2012 823’.809—dc23 [B] 2011043559 eISBN 978-0-547-57547-6 v2 .0714 For Karen Leggett, a friend to children s’ literature one “Oh God, My Poor Children!” THE cobbled road clung to the steep hill as if holding on for dear life. Its paving stones had been seton end, forming a series of little ledges. The nervous horses felt for these rocky shelves to gain a footing; they feared slipping down as they hauled their heavy load. It was April 1820, and a new clergyman was coming to Haworth. The Reverend Patrick Brontë surveyed the scene. He told his wife and children that they were all strangers in a strange land. Life was easy for no one in Haworth—not for horses, and not for people. Haworth, in northern England, was a dirty village of weavers ’ cottages, where death came early. The soured earth barely fed some stunted bushes that struggled to stay alive. Few trees grew in this bleak place, where a sad wind constantly blew. Haworth Church overlooks the village from its hilltop. The tower still stands, but a later clergyman had the rest ofthe church torn down and rebuilt between 1879 and 1881. Beyond Haworth stretched miles and miles of moorland, that bare, hilly country of rough grass, moss, and bracken. The Brontë children would learn to love this strange, wild land. There were six children when the family moved into the parsonage at the top of the hill. Six-yearold Maria helped care for the younger ones, because their mother was ailing. Mrs. Brontë had yet to recover from the birth of baby Anne, four months earlier, on January 17. The second child, Elizabeth, was five, and Charlotte, born on April 21, 1816, was turning four. Patrick Branwell (called Branwell) was not yet three, and Emily Jane, born on July 30, 1818, would be two in summer. The children played quietly in an upstairs room while their mother, Maria Branwell Brontë, wasted away. The nature of her ailment remains unclear. She might have had cancer, or she might have acquired a lingering infection after Anne ’s birth. Antibiotics belonged to the future, so infections in the 1800s were often deadly. Her unmarried sister, Elizabeth Branwell, journeyed to Haworth from Cornwall, in the southwest, to nurse the sick woman. The children turned to “Aunt” if they needed attention or care. They knew better than to bother their father in his study, where he

FAQs

What setting frames the Brontë sisters’ early years in this book?

The narrative centers on Haworth in northern England, describing a bleak village life, harsh weather, and surrounding moorland that the children learn to love.

How does Maria Branwell Brontë’s illness and death affect the family?

Maria’s condition worsens after the birth of Anne, and she dies with the words “Oh God, my poor children!” Her death leaves the family facing grief and practical hardship.

What role does Reverend Patrick Brontë play in the children’s upbringing?

Patrick is portrayed as a clergyman and writer who teaches moral lessons through sermons and poems, and the children know better than to interrupt him while he works.

Sep 21, 2026

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