Contents

Prologue, 1 September 1843

ONE Becoming Brontë, 1777–1820

TWO An Uncivilised Little Place, 1820–25

THREE The Genii of the Parsonage, 1825–31

FOUR Among Schoolgirls, 1831–5

FIVE The Double Life, 1835–7

SIX Labour in Vain, 1837–41

SEVEN In a Strange Land, 1842

EIGHT The Black Swan, 1843

NINE Long-looked-for Tidings, 1844–5

TEN Walking Invisible, 1845–6

ELEVEN That Intensely Interesting Novel, 1846–8

TWELVE Across the Abyss, 1848–9

THIRTEEN Conquering the Big Babylon, 1849–51

FOURTEEN The Curate’s Wife, 1851–5

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Select Bibliography

Illustration Credits

A Note About the Author

Also by Claire Harman

Illustrations