jace2010

This book has been on my very long "to-read" list since 2011. After making a resolution to myself that I would tackle books that have been long simmering on that epic list, this was the luck of the draw.And I am so glad it was. Having been a fan of the Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, and only somewhat aware of the true lives of this distinguished but seemingly doomed family, I was ready. The story follows Charlotte and her family from childhood(done retrospectively) into early adulthood and to their deaths. It chronicles their escape from their dreary lives on the moors of Yorkshire by penning stories and poems that will be considered some of the greatest of English literature. Considered socially stunted and doomed to spinsterhood,Charlotte wrote truthfully of women's emotions and struggle in dealing with love and the men in her life.Wile she seemed to accept her lot in life, she railed against it in her novels. She was a proper lady of her day with a heart that yearned for passionate love.Written under a pen name, the public was titillated and soon it became quite the subject of speculation as to who was the true author.And through it all Charlotte and her sisters went about their lives. And when love came to call, it found Charlotte reluctant. The woman with all that passion in her prose, could not believe that she would be capable of passion in real life. I was taken by the style of writing as much as the substance.The line between fact and fiction was almost seamless.This blend is hard to pull off. But it was done brilliantly here. I'm so glad I dusted off that "to-read" shelf.This was a treasure.

2020-12-14 12:50