Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBook1857

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell · 1857

Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë, written by a close friend and based on letters, interviews and personal memories.

This 1857 biography by Brontë's friend Elizabeth Gaskell is the first major account of her life, built on letters and interviews.

Ask Charlotte Brontë about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of the 1857 London first edition of The Life of Charlotte Brontë by E. C. Gaskell, in two volumes, Vol. I, published by Smith, Elder & Co., Cornhill. Includes an Aurora Leigh quotation.
Elizabeth Gaskell, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, 1857. First edition title page, Smith, Elder & Co., London.

About this source

What it is

This two-volume biography of Charlotte Brontë was written by her friend Elizabeth Gaskell and published in 1857, two years after Brontë's death, at the request of Brontë's father. Gaskell drew on letters, interviews with people who had known Brontë, and her own memories and visits to places Brontë had lived.

Why it matters

As the first major biography of Brontë, it shaped how generations of readers understood her life and personality, and it quotes extensively from her letters. Its publication caused controversy and complaints of slander from people named in it, including Brontë's father and husband, showing how sensitive and contested the telling of a writer's private life could be.

Look closer

  • Why might a biography written by a close friend be especially valuable, but also especially biased?
  • What kinds of sources did Gaskell use, and what might be missing from them?
  • Why do you think some people objected strongly enough to threaten legal action?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charlotte Brontë on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Charlotte Brontë sources

Meet the AI Charlotte Brontë →
Title page of the first edition of Jane Eyre, an Autobiography, edited by Currer Bell, in three volumes, Vol. I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill, 1847. Cream-colored paper with black printed text.Book

Primary source

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë · 1847

Pencil and chalk portrait on a pale tan paper of a woman with her hair pulled back in smooth bands, wearing a high-collared dress with a frilled lace collar and a tied bow at the neck. She gazes to one side with a slight smile. Handwritten inscription in the lower left corner.Painting

Primary source

Charlotte Brontë (chalk portrait by George Richmond)

George Richmond · 1850

Painted group portrait of three young women against a dark background with a pale green-yellow vertical light band. The woman on the left wears a grey collar and dark dress, the one in the centre wears a green dress and has curly hair, and the one on the right wears a dark brown dress with a grey collar. A wooden table edge is in the foreground.Painting

Primary source

The Brontë Sisters

Branwell Brontë · c. 1834

Title page of the 1853 first edition of Villette, reading 'VILLETTE.' followed by 'By Currer Bell, author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, etc.', 'In Three Volumes, Vol. I', and publisher lines for Smith, Elder & Co., London, and Smith, Taylor & Co., Bombay, dated 1853.Book

Primary source

Villette

Charlotte Brontë · 1853

Title page of the 1846 book Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Centered text reads POEMS BY CURRER, ELLIS, AND ACTON BELL in a serif typeface on aged cream paper. At the bottom: LONDON, AYLOTT AND JONES, 8, PATERNOSTER-ROW, 1846.Book

Primary source

Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë · 1846

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Charlotte Brontë now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions