Charlotte Bronte (1816-55) was the eldest of the three celebrated Bronte sisters. Under the care of her father, Charlotte was educated and encouraged to take an interest in natural history. This freedom inspired Charlotte to argue strongly for the intellectual worth of women through her novels, and her success and the respect she won paved the way for future female authors.
Who that has known her books has not admired the artist’s noble English, the burning love of truth, the bravery, the simplicity, the indignation at wrong, the eager sympathy, the pious love and reverence, the passionate honour, so to speak, of the woman? -- William Makepeace Thackeray It's a cracker… It is novelettish. It is Gothic. It is funny… -- Libby Purves