Introduction: The Sources

Abstract

The Brontës’ sudden fame and early deaths, combined with a certain native aloofness, aroused the curiosity of their contemporaries. One result was an unusually large proportion of secondary material, often originating from those less intimate with the family than they claimed to be. On the other hand there is an unusual lack of first-hand records, such as journals from the Brontës themselves: individual experience on even a single day of unworldly lives is extensive and varied. What a lot of their days there are of which we know nothing! They were, however, among the closest of the literary circles that seem almost characteristic of the age of romanticism. Literature is a predatory art, and the sources, including (with reservations) the novels, are both richer and riskier to interpret because the sisters and brother wrote about each other.