Charlotte Brontë remains one of the 19th century’s most influential and beloved authors. Since her death aged 38, her impassioned novels Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette have inspired countless readers and writers the world over, and her tragic life story–entwined with those of her novelist sisters Emily and Anne–has become a cultural legend.
Much of this legend originates in Elizabeth Gaskell’s controversial 1857 biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, commissioned just weeks after Brontë’s death. It created a furor on publication and, after threats of lawsuits, was banned and redrafted twice in six months, triggering sensational arguments in the British and American press.
As a result of the scandal, a censored edition was issued that remained the standard for readers and researchers until the middle of the 20th century. The question of how much of it is true has persisted ever since, with Gaskell’s redactions and a public apology accepted as her admission of inaccuracy. However, doubts about the biography’s integrity rely on a false confession Gaskell was forced to make to save her publisher from being sued, argues author Graham Watson.
Watson discusses his research in the manuscript archives of the Brontë and Gaskell families and their friends and publishing associates and shares why he believes his findings challenge many long-held assumptions about one of the world’s most celebrated literary families.
His new book, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë (Pegasus), available for sale, reconstructs events from rarely seen letters and firsthand accounts.
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