Friday 29 March 2024

Just Added

NAME: Gladys Aylward

WHAT FAMOUS FOR:

Gladys Aylward is famous for her courageous missionary work in China, particularly her efforts to rescue orphaned children during the tumultuous years of the Chinese Civil War and World War II.

BIRTH: Gladys Aylward was born on February 24, 1902, in Edmonton, London, England.

FAMILY BACKGROUND: She was born into a working-class family, the daughter of Thomas John Aylward, a postman and Rosina Florence.

CHILDHOOD: Aylward's childhood was marked by poverty and hardship, but she demonstrated a strong sense of determination and compassion from a young age.

EDUCATION: She received a basic education but left school at the age of 14 to work as a domestic servant.

CAREER RECORD: Aylward's career was defined by her missionary work in China, where she served as a Christian evangelist and humanitarian.

Worked various jobs in England before feeling called to missionary work in China.

Arrived in China in 1932 and established a small inn in Yangcheng.

Fought against the practice of foot binding and rescued young girls.

Became a warden for a children's home and later opened her own orphanage.

Led hundreds of orphans on a perilous escape from Japanese forces during World War II.

Continued her humanitarian work in China and Taiwan after the war.

APPEARANCE: She was of average height with a plain, unassuming appearance that belied her inner strength and resilience.

Gladys Aylward in China

FASHION: Aylward dressed modestly and practically, often wearing simple clothing suitable for her missionary work in rural China.

CHARACTER: She was known for her unwavering faith, compassion, and determination in the face of adversity.

SENSE OF HUMOUR: Aylward had a dry sense of humor and a quick wit, which she often used to diffuse tense situations or bring joy to others.

RELATIONSHIPS: Although unmarried, Aylward formed close bonds with the Chinese people she served, particularly the orphaned children under her care.

MONEY AND FAME: She lived a modest and frugal life, prioritizing her missionary work and the welfare of others over personal wealth or fame.

Aylward gained international recognition after the publication of her biography, The Small Woman.

FOOD AND DRINK: Aylward embraced the local cuisine of China, often eating simple meals of rice, vegetables, and tea with the people she served.

MUSIC AND ARTS: While not particularly interested in music and arts herself, Aylward used creative methods such as storytelling and drama to share her message of faith with the Chinese people.

LITERATURE: She read extensively, particularly Christian books. Aylward valued the Bible as her primary source of inspiration and guidance, often quoting scripture in her teachings and writings.

NATURE: Aylward appreciated the beauty of the natural world, finding solace and inspiration in the rugged landscapes of rural China, particularly its mountains..

HOBBIES AND SPORTS: Her main hobbies included reading, gardening, and spending time with the children under her care.

SCIENCE AND MATHS: Although not formally educated in science and math, Aylward had a practical understanding of these subjects gained through her experiences as a missionary.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY: Her life was guided by her Christian faith. She believed in the power of faith, love, compassion, and service to others.

Stuck in domestic service at a young age, Gladys Aylward dreamt of faraway lands and spreading the good word. She studied with great determination in order to be fitted for the role, only to be turned down by the China Inland Mission because her academic background was inadequate.

Gladys scraped together every penny, booked a one-way ticket to China (no refunds!), and ended up partnering with a formidable Scottish missionary named Mrs. Jeannie Lawson. Together, they opened The Inn of the Eight Happinesses in a remote outpost at Yangcheng – not exactly a catchy name, but hey, it had a roof and four walls, which was more than most folks in Yangcheng could boast.  There, she and Mrs. Lawson not only provided hospitality for travelers but would also share stories about Jesus.

Gladys became a crusader against the barbaric practice of foot binding, stomping around like a one-woman podiatry police force. She took in orphans faster than a bakery sells doughnuts on Saturday morning, even adopting a few herself.  There were prison riots she intervened in. She risked her life many times to help those in need.

By the time 1949 rolled around, China wasn't exactly the picture of tranquility. Communists were about as keen on missionaries as a fly in your soup, so Gladys, headed back to Blighty. After her mum passed away, she settled in Taiwan and guess what? Yep, you guessed it – another orphanage! The Gladys Aylward Orphanage, to be precise. There she stayed, spreading kindness and Christianity until the good Lord himself called her home.

SCANDAL: There were no scandals associated with Aylward's life; she was widely admired for her selflessness and dedication to humanitarian causes.

MILITARY RECORD: Aylward was not involved in military service but played a crucial role in evacuating orphaned children from war-torn regions during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

In 1938, the region Aylward was serving in was invaded by Japanese forces. Most folks would've hightailed it outta there faster than you can say "banzai," but Gladys? She wasn't about to abandon her orphans. So, she led more than 100 of them over treacherous mountain passes, all while nursing a war wound that would make lesser folks cry like a toddler separated from their blankie.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS: Despite facing numerous challenges and hardships, Aylward maintained good health and physical fitness well into her later years.

HOMES: She lived in various locations throughout China during her missionary work, often in simple accommodations provided by local communities. They included Yangcheng, Taiyuan, and Yanan, where she established orphanages. 

TRAVEL: Aylward traveled extensively throughout China, often on foot or by mule, as she carried out her missionary work in remote villages and regions.

DEATH: Gladys Aylward passed away on January 3, 1970, in Taipei, Taiwan, leaving behind a legacy of selfless service and compassion.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA: Gladys Aylward's story captured the hearts and imaginations of many. Here are some key appearances in media:

The book The Small Woman by Alan Burgess, published in 1957, detailed her extraordinary life. This biography became a bestseller and brought international recognition to Aylward's work.

The 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness starring Ingrid Bergman was based on Burgess's biography. The film further popularized Aylward's story and legacy.

In addition several documentaries have been produced about her life and humanitarian efforts.

ACHIEVEMENTS: Gladys Aylward's achievements transcended geographical boundaries:

Rescuing Orphans: During wartime, she led hundreds of orphans on a daring escape, saving them from potential harm. Her orphanages throughout China provided a safe haven for countless children.

Championing Social Change: Her unwavering opposition to the cruel practice of foot binding empowered women and girls. She fought for their rights and well-being.

Cross-Cultural Understanding: Aylward embraced Chinese culture, learned the language, and dressed modestly. This dedication fostered trust and respect, allowing her to connect deeply with the people she helped.

Symbol of Courage and Faith: Her unwavering belief in God and her remarkable courage in the face of adversity continue to inspire people worldwide.



NAME: Gene Autry

WHAT FAMOUS FOR: Gene Autry is famous for his contributions to American popular culture as a singer, songwriter, actor, and iconic cowboy entertainer.

BIRTH: Gene Autry was born on September 29, 1907, near Tioga, Texas, USA.

FAMILY BACKGROUND: He was born into a middle-class family, the son of Delbert Autry and Elnora Ozment.

CHILDHOOD: Autry spent his early years on his family's farm, where he developed a love for music and horses. He learned the guitar and sang in his grandfather's church choir. Young Gene toured with a medicine show during his high school years.

EDUCATION: He attended public schools in Texas but left formal education at a young age to help support his family.

CAREER RECORD: Gene Autry had a prolific career spanning several decades, during which he achieved success as a recording artist, radio star, film actor, and television personality.

After high school, Gene Autry worked as a telegrapher for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad in Oklahoma and performed as a singer and a guitarist at local dances before being discovered by Will Rodgers.

Starred in 93 Western films between 1934 and 1953.

Hosted the popular television series The Gene Autry Show from 1950 to 1956.

Owned several radio and television stations.

Founding owner of the California Angels baseball team (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

APPEARANCE: He was tall and lean, with rugged good looks that epitomized the image of the American cowboy.

Autry in the 1940s

FASHION: Autry was known for his signature cowboy attire, often seen wearing a Stetson hat, boots, and a Western-style shirt and jeans.

CHARACTER: He was known for his humility, integrity, and generosity, traits that endeared him to fans and colleagues alike.

SENSE OF HUMOUR: Autry was known for his dry wit and ability to deliver comedic lines in his films, often with his sidekick Smiley Burnette.

RELATIONSHIPS: He was married twice, first to Ina Mae Spivey (1932-1980) and later to Jacqueline Ellam (1981-1998). He had no children of his own but had a close relationship with his stepchildren.

MONEY AND FAME: Autry achieved significant wealth and fame throughout his career, becoming one of the wealthiest and most successful entertainers of his time. 

Beyond the glitz and the twang, Autry was a shrewd businessman. Radio stations? Check. Television stations? Double-check. Properties from Palm Springs to San Francisco? You betcha. Heck, the man even owned the Los Angeles Angels (later the California Angels) for a good chunk of the 20th century. 

He ranked for many years on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans.

FOOD AND DRINK: He enjoyed simple, hearty meals typical of American cuisine, often preferring home-cooked meals over extravagant fare.

MUSIC AND ARTS: Autry was passionate about music, particularly country and western styles. He played guitar and yodelled in his signature style.

There he was, tapping out telegrams for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad by day, then serenading locals with his guitar by night. Imagine that – the dulcet tones of a future singing cowboy echoing through a dusty telegraph office. Well, one night, destiny – or maybe just boredom – decided to intervene. In waltzes Will Rogers, American humorist extraordinaire. Catches Autry warbling away, likes what he hears, and delivers the golden ticket: "You, son, got yourself a decent voice. Go pro." And pro Gene Autry went, transforming himself into "The Singing Cowboy."

Hollywood, 1934. Autry rocks up, all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. Couldn't act, couldn't ride, couldn't rope a steer to save his life. Didn't matter a hoot. Within a few years, he's the biggest cowboy star on the silver screen. Talk about raw charisma. Debuts in Ken Maynard's forgettable flick, In Old Santa Fe, then tackles a 13-part serial so outlandish it makes your head spin, The Phantom Empire. Republic Pictures throws a contract his way, and bam! Autry's churning out westerns like a well-oiled Gatling gun.

Then there's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." You know it, you love it. But here's the kicker: this holiday classic wasn't even written for Christmas! Hatched in Chicago for a Montgomery Ward promotion, the lyrics started life as a poem before Gene Autry finally wrangled it into a hit song in 1949.

Originally penned by Ray Whitley, a singing cowboy in his own right, "Back In The Saddle Again" hit the dusty trail in the 1938 flick Border G-Man. Whitley, along with his posse, The Six Bar Cowboys, introduced the song, its lyrics yearning for a return to the wide-open range.

Well, that yearning must have struck a chord with Gene Autry, a man who practically lived on horseback. He snatched up the song, seein' it as the perfect anthem for his next picture, Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939). After a bit of wranglin' – some retooling by Whitley and Autry – the song became a runaway hit, a gold record to boot. The tune was so darn catchy, it became a constant companion: theme song for his radio show Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, later finding a home on his television show too, The Gene Autry Show. Heck, it even wrangled the title spot for his 1941 film, Back in the Saddle.

LITERATURE: While not known for literary pursuits, Autry's songs and films often drew inspiration from American folklore and storytelling traditions.

NATURE: He had a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of the American West, often incorporating scenes of wilderness and outdoor adventure into his work.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS: Autry was an avid horseman and enjoyed participating in rodeos and equestrian events in his spare time. He also known to be an avid golfer.

Gene Autry owned the Los Angeles Angels American League baseball club from 1961 to 1997. Sadly, he never saw them snag a World Series win, though they did retire his number 26 – a fitting tribute to a true American legend. When the Angels finally won their first World Series championship in 2002, star outfielder Tim Salmon held Autry's cowboy hat aloft during the on-field celebration, and the public address system played, "Back in the Saddle Again".

SCIENCE AND MATHS: While not formally educated in science and mathematics, Autry had a practical understanding of these subjects gained through his experiences on the ranch.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY: Autry's philosophy was rooted in the values of hard work, perseverance, and integrity, reflecting the ethos of the American frontier.

His grandfather was a Methodist preacher, but his personal beliefs are not widely known.

SCANDAL: Autry maintained a clean public image throughout his career, avoiding scandal or controversy.

MILITARY RECORD: He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, entertaining troops and participating in morale-boosting efforts.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS: Autry maintained good health throughout much of his life, owing in part to his active lifestyle and outdoor pursuits.

HOMES: He owned several properties throughout his life, including a ranch in California and a home in Palm Springs.

TRAVEL: Filming his Western movies took Autry to various locations across the United States, particularly in the West and making occasional trips abroad.. Promotions, recording sessions, and rodeo appearances might have involved additional travel.

DEATH: Gene Autry passed away on October 2, 1998, at his home in Studio City, California. The cause of death was complications from lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Gene Autry's legacy is heavily tied to his media appearances. Here's a breakdown:

Films: The quintessential "singing cowboy," Autry starred in a staggering 93 Western films between 1934 and 1953. These movies were immensely popular and helped shape the genre.

Television: Capitalizing on his film success, Autry hosted the popular children's television series The Gene Autry Show from 1950 to 1956. The show further solidified his image as a wholesome Western hero.

Recordings: A prolific recording artist, Autry released numerous songs and albums throughout his career. His music, often featuring his signature yodeling, played a significant role in the early development of country music.

ACHIEVEMENTS Gene Autry's accomplishments transcended film and music. Hey is the only entertainer to have been honored in all five categories by the Hollywood Walk of Fame, having been awarded stars for his performances in films, music recording, radio, television, and live theater. Here are some highlights:

Music Industry Recognition: He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious honor in the music industry.

Country Music Recognition: The Academy of Country Music Awards honored him with the Cliffie Stone Icon Award, solidifying his place as a legend in country music.

Preserving Western Heritage: Passionate about Western culture, Autry founded the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum (now known as the Autry Museum of the American West). This museum preserves and showcases the history of the American West.

Shaping a Genre: Through his films and music, Autry played a pivotal role in shaping the Western genre, leaving a lasting impact on American popular culture.

Monday 12 February 2024

Index

Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Robert Browning
Elizabeth Browning
Emily Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Johannes Brahms
Boudicca
William Booth
Simon Bolivar
Anne Boleyn
William Blake
Otto Von Bismarck
Saint Bernadette
St. Benedict of Nursia
Alexander Graham Bell
Ludwig van Beethoven
The Venerable Bede
Thomas Becket
Roger Bacon
Francis Bacon
Johann Sebastian Bach
Gladys Aylward
Gene Autry
Jane Austen
Marcus Aurelius
Augustus
St. Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine of Hippo
Saint Audrey
Clement Attlee
Attila the Hun
Charles Atlas
Rowan Atkinson
Æthelstan
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Fred Astaire
H. H. Asquith
Isaac Asimov
Ashoka the Great
Laura Ashley
Francis Asbury
King Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Benedict Arnold
Neil Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Giorgio Armani
Aristotle
Aristophanes
Elizabeth Arden
Archimedes
Jeffrey Archer
Yasser Arafat
Thomas Aquinas
Johnny Appleseed
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Mark Antony
Susan B. Anthony
Anthony of Padua
Anthony the Great
Anselm of Canterbury
Saint Ansgar
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
Anne, Princess Royal
Anne Of Cleves
Maya Angelou
Saint Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Hans Christian Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Roald Amundsen
Idi Amin
Saint Ambrose
Isabel Allende
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Woody Allen
Muhammad Ali
Alfred The Great
Alexandra of Denmark
Cecil Frances Alexander
Alexander the Great
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Buzz Aldrin
Alcuin of York
Louisa Alcott
Prince Albert
Akhenaten
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Saint Agnes of Rome
Andre Agassi
Æthelwulf, King of Wessex
Aesop
Ælfric of Eynsham
Pope Adrian IV
Adele
Joseph Addison
John Quincy Adams
John Adams
Douglas Adams
Ansel Adams
Abigail Adams
Robert Adam
Abraham
Peter Abelard

Thursday 10 August 2017

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

NAME Isambard Kingdom Brunel

WHAT FAMOUS FOR British civil and mechanical engineer who was a key figure of the Industrial Revolution.

BIRTH born April 9, 1806,April 9, 1806 in Britan Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

FAMILY BACKGROUND  Isambard Kingdom Brunel  was the only son of the French engineer and inventor Sir Marc Isambard Brunel  (1769-1849). His father settled in Britain and married Sophia Kingdom, an English woman whom he had known in France in earlier days.

He was born in Portsmouth, where his father was working on block-making machinery.

EDUCATION  Brunel was sent to France at the age of 14 to study mathematics and science at the at the College of Caen in Normandy and the Lycée Henri-Quatre in Paris. Two years later he returned to England to work with his father.

CAREER RECORD At the age of 20 Brunel was appointed resident engineer under his father's direction when work on the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe began. He held the post for over two years, when a sudden inundation almost drowned him and brought the work to a standstill. Work recommenced in 1835 and was finally finished in 1843.

The Wapping to Rotherhithe tunnel was the world’s first underwater walkway. By the end of its first year of operation, a million people had passed through.

He once staged a dinner party in the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe for businessmen in 1827 wearing full evening dress.

During his recuperation, Brunel submitted designs for a competition to build a bridge across the Avon Gorge at Bristol. His graceful suspension design, with a record-breaking main span of 192 m (630 ft) eventually won the competition, and work began on the piers. Lack of money, however, meant that the Clifton Suspension Bridge was not finally completed until 1864, after Brunel's death.

Brunel was an innovative and hardworking engineer. He customarily worked an 18-hour day, sleeping at the office, rising at 4am.

He employed a huge number of subcontractors, and treated them all in a high-handed and sometimes brutal manner. People whom Brunel considered incompetent received abusive letters.

APPEARANCE Brunel was only five foot tall. Because of his small size he always wore a reinforced top hat to make himself look taller.


RELATIONSHIPS Brunel married Mary Horsley in 1836. Their son, Henri Marc Brunel, also enjoyed some success as a civil engineer.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS Brunel had a conjuring trick where he made a half-sovereign coin vanish into his mouth and emerge from his ear. In 1843, while performing it for the amusement of his children, Brunel accidentally swallowed a coin which became lodged in his windpipe. A special pair of forceps failed to remove it as did a machine to shake it loose devised by Brunel himself. After several weeks of coughing himself sick, Brunel designed a hinged table to which he was strapped, face down, and upended until his head was pointing towards the floor. The press issued daily reports on the progress of the coin, and eventually it was jerked free. When the historian Thomas Babington Macaulay read the good news, he ran along the street yelling, “It’s out! It’s out!” and nobody asked him what he was talking about.

SCANDAL In the long slog to hack and blast the celebrated Box Tunnel through two miles of solid rock between Bath and Swindon, 100 men were killed.

MILITARY RECORD Brunel worked on the improvement of large guns and designed a floating armoured barge used for the attack on Kronshtadt in 1854 during the Crimean War.

RAILWAYS He was responsible for building more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of railway in the West Country, the Midlands, South Wales, and Ireland. Brunel  constructed two railway lines in Italy and was an adviser on the construction of the Victorian lines in Australia and the Eastern Bengal Railway in India.

Brunel had one big failure — an atmospheric railway with trains running on a vacuum tube from Exeter, which closed after troubled trials.

STEAMSHIPS Brunel’s 236 ft steamship Great Western left Bristol on her maiden voyage to New York on April 8, 1838, halving the journey time to 15 days.

Brunel made outstanding contributions to marine engineering with his three ships, the Great Western, Great Britain (1843), and Great Eastern (originally called Leviathan; 1858), each the largest in the world at its date of launching.

The Great Western, a wooden paddle vessel, was the first steamship to provide regular transatlantic service. It confounded critics who asserted that such a vessel would never be able to carry sufficient coal to make the crossing.

The Great Western's maiden departure from Bristol in 1838.

During the Great Western’s maiden voyage to America, Brunel issued instructions from his sickbed after falling off a ladder.

The SS Great Britain was launched on July 19, 1843. It was the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller.
Launch of Great Britain at Bristol, July 1843.

When launched, the Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. She was the longest passenger ship in the world until 1854.

Great Britain was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, She did so for the first time in 1845, in the time of 14 days.

The Great Eastern was propelled by both paddles and screw and was the first ship to utilize a double iron hull.

DEATH The huge and costly effort of launching the Great Eastern sideways into the Thames in January 1858, and the preparation for its first sea trials the following September, caused Brunel to suffer a stroke. His habit of smoking over 40 cigars a day probably contributed to his stroke.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel by the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern

Brunel died ten days later on September 15, 1859 and is buried, like his father, at Kensal Green Cemetery in London.

ACHIEVEMENTS  Brunel came second to Sir Winston Churchill in the BBC’s 1999 poll to find the Greatest ever Briton.

Monday 16 May 2011

Robert Browning


NAME Robert Browning

WHAT FAMOUS FOR English poet

BIRTH b 7 May 1812 Southampton Way, Camberwell, London, England

FAMILY BACKGROUND Robert's father Robert Browning, a man of fine intellect and character, was a well-off clerk for the Bank of England, earning about £150 per year. Browning's father had been sent to the West Indies to work on a sugar plantation. Revolted by the slavery there, he returned to England and became an abolitionist.
Robert's mother, Sarah Anna Wiedemann, was a devout non conformist Scot. The daughter of a German shipowner who had settled in Dundee, she was a talented musician,to whom Robert was very close.
Robert was bought up with his younger sister Sarianna in Camberwell. Sarianna, also gifted, became her brother's companion in his later years.

CHILDHOOD Robert was an extremely bright child and voracious reader and his father encouraged his interest in literature and the arts. By the age of twelve, Browning had written a book of poetry which he later destroyed when no publisher could be found.
His childhood hero was the poet, Shelley.

EDUCATION After being at one or two private schools, and showing an insuperable dislike to school life, Robert was educated at home by a tutor via the resources of his father's extensive library. He was a rapid learner and by the age of fourteen he was fluent in French, Greek, Italian and Latin. At the age of sixteen, Robert studied Greek at University College London but dropped out after his first year to pursue his own reading at his own pace. His mother’s staunch evangelical faith prevented his studying at either Oxford University or Cambridge University, both then open only to members of the Church of England. However, in later years he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University.

CAREER RECORD Robert refused a formal career and ignored his parents' remonstrations, dedicating himself to poetry. His earliest poem Pauline (1833) achieved little.


CHARACTER Elizabeth Browning said of Robert (see left)in a letter "Robert's goodness and tenderness are past speaking of.... He reads to me, talks and jests to make me laugh." But then she was biased. (1)

RELATIONSHIPS In 1846 Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were secretly married in St Marylebone church after correspondence in praise of her poetry led to their meeting and courtship. He called Elizabeth "A soul offire in a shell of pearl."
Six years his elder and an invalid, Elizabeth could not believe that the vigorous and worldly Robert Browning really loved her as much as he professed to. Browning imitated his hero Shelley by spiriting his beloved off to Italy in September 1846, which became her home almost continuously until her death. As Elizabeth had some money of her own, the couple were reasonably comfortable in Italy, and their relationship together was harmonious. The Brownings were well respected in Italy, and even famous. Elizabeth grew stronger and in 1849, at the age of 43, she gave birth to a son, Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, whom they called Pen. He became an artist and critic, got married but had no legitimate children, so there are apparently no direct descendants of the two famous poets.
After Elizabeth's death, Robert had many flirtatious relationships. He was fond of writing tender, nonsensical verses to his many lady friends.
In 1869 he proposed marriage to Lady Ashburton only to be rejected. This proposal, an example of his propensity towards social climbing, embarrassed Browning in society and shamed him over his infidelity over his dead wife.

MONEY AND FAME Robert stayed at home until the age of 34, financially dependant on his family until his marriage. His father sponsored the publication of his son's poems.
Robert's wife was the better known poet during their life time, but he kept going in the rat race and gradually acquired a considerable and enthusiastic public fan base. Published separately in four volumes from November 1868 through to February 1869, The Ring and the Book was a huge success both commercially and critically, and finally brought Browning the renown he had sought and deserved for nearly thirty years of work. By the time of his death he was ranked as the leading poet of his time along with Tennyson.

FOOD AND DRINK Robert became a vegetarian aged 14 like his hero Shelley, which he gave up later.

MUSIC AND ARTS In 1830 Robert met the actor William Macready and tried several times to write verse drama for the stage - not very successfully. His most successful play was the 1837 Strafford.
Robert inherited substantial musical ability through his mother, and composed arrangements of various songs.

LITERATURE Robert's father was a literary collector, and he amassed a library of around 6,000 books, many of them rare. As a result, he was raised in a household of significant literary resources.
Some of Robert's early work was very heavy going. When members of the London Poetic Society asked Browning for an interpretation of a particularly obscure passage, he read it, twice shrugged his soldiers and said "When I wrote that, God and I knew what it meant, but now God alone knows."
Here's a list of some of Browning's major works
1833 Pauline Browning's career began with the publication of this anonymous poem. The piece, which disappeared without notice, would embarrass him for the rest of his life.
1835 Paracelsus The critics adored it but the public ignored it.
1841 Pippa Passes A beautiful collection of dramatic scenes.
1842 The Pied Piper of Hamelin This update of the medieval legend was one of Browning's most popular poems. It is probably the most famous verse written about rats until Michael Jackson sang about a rat called Ben.
1855 Men and Women This collection of fifty-one poems is now generally considered to contain some of the best of Browning's poetry. However, at the time it was not received well and sold poorly.
1868-69 The Ring and The Book This long blank-verse poem is considered by many to be Browning's greatest work. Based on a convoluted murder case from 1690s Rome, it tells the story of the murder in long dramatic monologues from 12 points of view.
1871 Balaustion's Adventure An adaptation of a play by Euripides about Ademtus and his devoted wife, Alcestis.
When challenged to find rhymes for orange, Browning came up with "From the Ganges to the Blorenge comes the Rajah once a month. Sometimes chewing on an orange. Sometimes reading from his Grunth. " (Blorenge is a small mountain in Wales. Grunth is a Sikh Holy Book.)



NATURE A couple of quotes: "And the muttering grew to a mumbling. And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling. And out of the houses the rats came tumbling." (The Pied Piper of Hamelin)
"That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you think he ever could recapture
The first fine careless rapture." (Home Thoughts From Abroad)

HOBBIES AND SPORTS In his poem about the unfortunate Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, who ran 26 miles to announce the Greek's glorious victory over the Persians before dropping dead, Browning wrote sympathetically, "Bursting his veins, he died, The bliss!"

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY When he was a teenager, Browning shocked his evangelical mother when he declared himself like his hero Shelley, an atheist. In later life he looked back on this as a passing phase and he became a knowledgeable Bible reader but always denied any Christian faith.
"God's in his Heaven. Alls right with the world." (Pippa Passes")

SCANDAL Browning's father in Law didn't smell a rat until Robert eloped with Elizabeth to Italy.

HOMES Browning was brought up at Southampton Way, Camberwell.
After he eloped to Italy with Elizabeth, they lived at Casa Guidi, Florence, which is now a home available to be rented.
After the death of Elizabeth in 1861 he spent the "season" in London and rest of time in the country or abroad. Between 1861 and 1887, his London address was 19 Warwick Crescent in Little Venice, Maida Vale. It is thought it was Browning who coined the name 'Little Venice.'

TRAVEL Browning travelled widely, joining a British diplomatic mission to St Petersburg, Russia in 1834, later journeying to Italy 1838 and 1844.
When the Brownings eloped from Wimpole Street, Robert was unable to work out the train and ferry timetables for their journey to Le Havre on their way to Italy. Elizabeth had to return to Wimpole Street for several days to take charge of organising the details of their elopement herself.
In 1878, he returned to Italy for the first time since Elizabeth's death, and returned there on several occasions
"Oh to be in England. Now that April's here." (Home Thoughts From Abroad 1845).

DEATH Browning died on 12 December 1889 at his son's apartment in the Ca' Rezzonico, Venice of bronchitis. He was brought back to London for burial in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey; his grave now lies immediately adjacent to that of Alfred Tennyson.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA 1. The classic 1936 Hollywood movie The Barretts of Wimpole Street was based on a 1930 play by Rudolf Besier of the same title. Norma Shearer who played Elizabeth was Oscar-nominated, while Fredric March portrayed Robert Browning. In 1957 it was Jennifer Jones and Bill Travers turn to portray the same twosome.
2. John Lennon & Yoko Ono were inspired by the poetry of Robert and Elizabeth Browning. They often joked they were the reincarnated spirits of "Bob and Liz". Two tracks, "Let Me Count The Ways" and "Grow Old with Me" on the Milk and Honey album were inspired by the poetry of Bob and Liz.

3. Clifford T Ward's "Home Thoughts From Abroad" is a tribute to Robert Browning. "You know, Home Thoughts From Abroad is such a beautiful poem
And I know how Robert Browning must have felt. 'Cause I'm feeling the same way about you."

ACHIEVEMENTS (1) Browning's innovative works incorporated psychological analysis and obscure historical characters and perfected the dramatic monologue. They have influenced many 20th century poet's such as Ezra Pound.
(2) His literary status was recognised by the award of an honorary fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford in 1867

Sources 1.800 years of Women's Letters Olga Kenyon
2. Wikipedia

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Elizabeth Browning


NAME Elizabeth (Moulton) Barrett Browning. Elizabeth and her siblings all had nicknames - Elizabeth's was "Ba".

WHAT FAMOUS FOR English poet famous for her love poetry.

BIRTH March 6, 1806 Coxhoe Hall, nr Durham (demolished in 1980s.)

FAMILY BACKGROUND Elizabeth's parents were Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett and Mary Graham Clarke, who married at St Nicholas Church, Gosforth (Tyne and Wear). His family, some of whom were part Creole, had lived for centuries in Jamaica, where they owned sugar plantations and relied on slave labour. Her mum came from a wealthy Newcastle family, also derived in part from slave labour. Liz lost her mother when she was 22.
Elizabeth was the eldest of their 12 children (eight boys and four girls). All the children lived to adulthood except for one girl, who died at the age of four when Elizabeth was eight. In 1840 her oldest and favorite brother Edward was tragically drowned.

CHILDHOOD Elizabeth was baptized at the age of 3 at Kelloe Parish Church, though she had already been baptized by a family friend in the first week after she was born. Later that year, their father bought Hope End, a 500-acre estate near the Malvern Hills in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Elizabeth had "a large room to herself, with stained glass in the window, and she loved the garden where she tended white roses in a special arbour by the south wall". (1) Liz lived a privileged childhood riding her pony round the grounds visiting other families in the neighbourhood and arranging family theatrical productions with her 11 brothers and sisters. She was a lively child until she suffered a spinal injury at the age of 15.
Liz's first known poem was written at the age of six or eight, On the Cruelty of Forcement to Man. As a present for her fourteenth birthday her father underwrote the publication of her epic Homeric poem entitled The Battle of Marathon .

EDUCATION Liz was educated at home and attended lessons with her brother's tutor. This gave her a good education for a girl of that time. She was an intensely studious, precocious child and had read passages from Paradise Lost and Shakespearean plays, and the histories of England, Greece and Rome before the age of ten.
In her teen years went through the principal Greek and Latin authors in their original languages and learnt enough Hebrew to read the Old Testament from the beginning to the end.

CAREER RECORD 1820 Elizabeth's first published work, The Battle of Marathon.
1825 The Rose and Zephyr is published in the Literary Gazette.
1838 The Seraphim and other Poems is the first volume of Browning's poetry to appear in her name.

APPEARANCE Elizabeth (see left) was pretty and personable. Mary Russell Mitford wrote of her about the time she'd turned 20, "A slight, delicate figure, with a shower of dark curls falling on each side of a most expressive face; large, tender eyes, richly fringed by dark eyelashes, and a smile like a sunbeam." Her Creole ancestry gave Liz a slightly exotic look. Anne Thackeray Ritchie described her as, "Very small and brown" with big, exotic eyes and an overgenerous mouth.

FASHION Browning forced her 12 year old son to wear frilly knickerbockers and shoulder length ringlets.

CHARACTER Large minded, intelligent, quietly sympathetic manner, neurotic, emotional.

RELATIONSHIPS By 1844 Elizabeth had been an invalid for many years, spending most of her time in her upstairs room, spending much of her time writing. Her 1844 Poems made her one of the most popular writers in the land at the time and inspired well known poet Robert Browning to write to her, telling her how much he loved her poems. A family friend Kenyon arranged for Robert Browning to meet Elizabeth in May 1845, and so began one of the most famous courtships in literature.
The courtship and marriage between Robert Browning and Elizabeth were carried out secretly. Six years his elder and an invalid, she could not believe that the vigorous and worldly Robert Browning really loved her as much as he professed to. After a private marriage at St. Marylebone Parish Church, making her Bobby's girl, Browning imitated his hero Shelley by spiriting his beloved off to Italy in September 1846, which became her home almost continuously until her death. Elizabeth's loyal nurse, Wilson, who witnessed the marriage, accompanied the couple to Italy.
Her father disinherited Elizabeth, as he did each of his children who married. She repeatedly sought a reconciliation with her father but he returned her letters unopened.
As Elizabeth had some money of her own, the couple were reasonably comfortable in Italy, and their relationship together was harmonious. The Brownings were well respected in Italy, and even famous. Elizabeth grew stronger and in 1849, at the age of 43, she gave birth to a son, Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, whom they called Pen. Their son became an artist, got married but had no legitimate children, so there are apparently no direct descendants of the two famous poets.
"I love thee with a love, I seemed to lose with my lost Saints
I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life!
And if God chose I shall but love thee better after death." from Sonnets from the Portuguese "Portuguese" was a pet name her husband used.

MONEY AND FAME Elizabeth's extraordinary poems brought admirers (including Browning) to the room where she languished in her bed after her spinal injury. In her day she was more highly regarded poetry wise than Robert and was the most highly regarded female poet of her day. However her 1860 Political Poems Before Congress injured her popularity as many disapproved of the Browning version of Italian political matters.

LITERATURE Liz's first known poem was written at the age of six or eight, On the Cruelty of Forcement to Man. As a present for her fourteenth birthday her father underwrote the anonymous publication of her epic Homeric poem entitled The Battle of Marathon .
1838 The Seraphim and other Poems is favourably reviewed.
1844 Poems An important collection in Victorian literature. So highly regarded that when Wordsworth died she was tipped by many to be the next Poet Laureate.
1850 Sonnets from the Portuguese. (From Robert Browning's pet name for her "The Portuguese".) Elizabeth's most famous work was inspired by her love for her husband. At the time she was still in a hot flush over the mere mention of his name.
1857 Aurora Leigh, her verse novel about the subjection of women to the dominating male.
1861 The North and the South. The last poem she wrote before her death. An admirer of Hans Christian Anderson, her last poem was written for him shortly before her death.
In 1913 500 letters written by Elizabeth and Robert were sold for £32750 at an auction.



NATURE Flush, a red cocker spaniel was the only companion allowed to the invalid Elizabeth by her tyrannical father. The first time Robert visited Elizabeth at Wimpole Street, Flush bit him. She took Flush with her to Italy with Robert and the mutt was immortalised by her the poem To Flush my Dog. Virginia Woolf later wrote his life story.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Elizabeth was bought up by a family that attended services at the nearest dissenting chapel and her father was active for years in Bible missionary societies. Liz herself went through an evangelical “phase” and it is not clear how much she retained her faith as she developed an interest in spiritualism. However, she wrote a number of pieces about social injustice including the slave trade in America, the labor of children in the mines and mills of England and the restrictions placed upon women. Paine, Voltaire and Rousseau influenced her concern for human rights.
Elizabeth was fascinated by Italian politics and she supported (theoretically) Italian unity.

SCANDAL During her time as an invalid, Elizabeth became addicted to opium due to the pain of her spinal condition. She knocked back laudanum, a cocktail of opium and alcohol to help her to sleep. Robert Browning used Chianti to wean and cure his Elizabeth of her addiction to laudanum.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS I've touched on Elizabeth's invalid condition previously in this trivial biography, but here's her full medical bulletin.
At the age of 15 Liz fell from a pony and injured her spine. She was slow to recover so a Dr Coker prescribed opium for a nervous disorder and she carried on taking it for the next 25 years. However it only made her worse and for much of the time she was bedridden, especially after 1838 when a burst blood vessel made her seriously ill.
Elizabeth's health forced her to move to Torquay on Devonshire coast, where her brother Edward accompanied her. His death by drowning was a massive blow and she returned to Wimpole Street and became a permanent recluse seeing only a few people.
In 1846, in preparation for her elopement with Robert, Elizabeth began to free herself of the habits acquired as an invalid practising standing without help and then walking where she had previously been carried.
She finally got better in Italy away from her oppressive father.

HOMES Elizabeth was brought up at the 240 acre Hope End, Herefordshire, near the Malvern Hills, which inspired some of her early poetry.
1832-37 The family moved three times due to Mr Barrett's financial losses, first Sidmouth, then 99 Gloucester Place, London, then 50 Wimpole Street, London.
1838-41 Due to her illness, Elizabeth moved back to Torquay (1 Beacon Terrace), and the sea air.
1846 Browning eloped to Italy, at Casa Guidi, Florence, now a home available to be rented. She lived in Florence until her death.

DEATH At the death of an old friend, G.B. Hunter, and then of her father, Elizabeth's health faded again, centering around deteriorating lung function. When news of the death of Elizabeth’s sister Henrietta reached her, in 1860, she became weak and depressed. Her faithful husband never left her bedside and she spent the last day of her life asleep in his arms. Elizabeth died on 29 June 1861 at Casa Guidi, and was buried in Florence's Protestant Cemetery.
She became gradually weaker and died on 29 June 1861
Died 1861 in Florence. Shortly after hearing of her father's death she suffered a complete physical collapse. Her faithful husband never left her bedside & she spent the last day of her life asleep in his arms. (2) She fell ill and died at Casa Guidi, and was buried in Florence's Protestant Cemetery.



APPEARANCES IN MEDIA 1. The classic Hollywood movie 1936 The Barretts of Wimpole Street was based on a 1930 play by Rudolf Besier of the same title. Norma Shearer who played Elizabeth was Oscar-nominated, while Charles Laughton portrayed the formidable Mr Browning. In 1957 it was Jennifer Jones and John Gielgud's turn to portray the same twosome.
2. John Lennon & Yoko Ono were inspired by the poetry of Robert and Elizabeth Browning. They often joked they were the reincarnated spirits of "Bob and Liz". Two tracks, "Let Me Count The Ways" and "Grow Old with Me" on the Milk and Honey album were inspired by the poetry of Bob and Liz.

ACHIEVEMENTS A plaque in Kelloe church, where she was christened describes Elizabeth as "a great poetess, a noble woman, a devoted wife."

Sources (1) Rosalie Mader Mrs Browning: The Story of Elizabeth Barrett
(2)
Wikipedia

Sunday 1 May 2011

Emily Brontë

NAME Emily Brontë

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Author

BIRTH b 30 July 1818 at Thornton, Bradford, Yorkshire, England.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Emily was bought up by her father, Patrick, an eccentric Irish Clergyman, who was in the habit of carrying a loaded pistol in his pocket and an Aunt, who was her mother’s unmarried sister. Her Cornish mother, Maria died in 1821 at the age of 37 of cancer. The Aunt who came down to look after them was a Calvinist Methodist. Although they appreciated her efforts, she apparently did not become a second mother to them.
Emily had four sisters including Charlotte (1818-1848) who wrote Jane Eyre and Anne (1820-49) who wrote Agnes Grey . Her one brother Patrick (1817-1848) (always known simply as Branwell, so that's how I will refer to him), was addicted to opium and alcohol and often used to frequent the Nelson Inn at Luddenden Foot, West Yorks. He was the black sheep of the family. Her two other sisters Maria and Elizabeth also died of consumption, both in 1825. Her father outlived all his children.
CHILDHOOD In 1826 Mr Brontë bought home a box of wooden soldiers for Branwell to play with. Emily (left) and her sisters joined in and together they used the soldiers to create an imaginary kingdom called Angria. When Emily was 13, she and Anne withdrew from participation in the Angria story and began a new one about Gondal, a large island in the North Pacific. She filled thousands of pages of miniature books writing about her imaginary kingdom, continuing to do so until 1845.

EDUCATION In August 1824, Emily was sent with three of her sisters, Charlotte, Maria, and Elizabeth, to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire, (which Charlotte would describe as Lowood School in Jane Eyre). As borders there cruelty, poor hygiene and starvation made life horrific and hastened the deaths of their older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth ho died of tuberculosis in June 1825. Soon afterwards Emily's father removed her and Charlotte from the school. Their father undertook to educate them himself, although this education seems to have been largely self-administered by Charlotte.
At the age of seventeen, Emily became a pupil at Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head, Mirfield, West Yorkshire, where Charlotte was a teacher, but managed to stay only three months before being overcome by extreme homesickness. She returned home and Anne took her place. At this time, the girls' objective was to obtain sufficient education to open a small school of their own

CAREER RECORD Emily took up various positions as governesses and teachers to earn money to pay for an art education for her brother Branwell. her CV reads thus:
1838-9 Emily became a teacher at Law Hill School in Halifax beginning in September 1838, when she was twenty. Her health broke under the stress of the 17-hour work day and she returned home in April 1839.
1839-42 A stay-at-home daughter, doing most of the cooking and cleaning and teaching Sunday school. She taught herself German out of books and practiced piano.
1842-43 Emily accompanied Charlotte to Brussels, Belgium, where they attended a girls' academy run by Constantin Heger. They planned to perfect their French and German in anticipation of f returning to Yorkshire to establish a school of their own.
1844 Using a small inheritance from her aunt Emily set up with Charlotte a school for girls in their home village of Haworth. Although they advertised they received no pupils, so the sisters turned to their poems and novels which they had been writing.
1846 It was the discovery of Emily's poetic talent by her family that led her and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, to publish a joint collection of their poetry in 1846. The following year, Emily's only novel, Wuthering Heights was published.

CHARACTER Emily was a silent, reserved woman almost to the point of rudeness with strangers. In private she was somewhat wacky, preferring to live in her imaginary land of Gondal, and mystical to the extent that Charlotte had to tone down her image after she died. There's nowt as queer as folk.

RELATIONSHIPS The introverted Emily was a loner and never socialised well. She had few friends outside her family.



MONEY AND FAME Whilst Charlotte was widely acclaimed straight away for Jane Eyre, Emily's fame was wholly posthumous. Within a few years of her death, Brontë mania had started and people were flocking to Haworth.

FOOD AND DRINK Emily and her sisters were keen on berries. When not, er, berrying themselves in writing they ate blackberries, gooseberries, elderberries and other moorish berries.

LITERATURE After leaving school, Emily and her sisters read widely at home including Byron & Scott. They wrote magazines in imitation of Blackwoods Magazine. In 1844, Emily began going through all the poems she had written, recopying them neatly into notebooks. In the fall of 1845, Charlotte discovered the notebooks and insisted that the poems be published. Emily, furious at the invasion of her privacy, at first refused, but relented when Anne brought out her own manuscripts and revealed she had been writing poems in secret as well.
In 1846, the sisters' poems were published in one volume as Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Only two copies were sold. The next year the three sisters each sent a novel to the publishers, and Emily's Wuthering Heights along with Anne's Agnes Grey, were both accepted.
The ideas for Wuthering Heights evolved from Gondal, her fantasy world set on a Pacific island. Her classic, poetic story was about Heathcliffe's doomed, obsessional love for Cathy located on the Yorkshire moors that Emily knew so well. The 'Wuthering Height’'s building itself is said to be modelled on a local farm house.
The critics were initially shocked by the novel's immoral passion, unusual construction and violent nature. One referred to it as "brutal, coarse & vulgar”. The book subsequently became an English literary classic.

PETS Emily had a a large mastiff dog called Keeper who was so beloved that she rose from her sickbed the evening before her death to feed him . When she died, Keeper followed her coffin and then according to Charlotte, came into the church with the family, “lying in the pew couched at [their] feet while the burial service was being read”
She also had a cat called Tiger who played at Emily’s feet while she wrote Wuthering Heights.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Emily and her sisters kept fit by walking over those desolate moors.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Emily was a silent, reserved, emotionally bound up woman. In private she preferred to live in her imagined land of Gondal rather than the real world. The mystical writer was obsessed by death and her classic, poetical story, Wuthering Heights, about Heathcliffe’s doomed, obsessional love for Cathy shocked many critics with its immoral passion, unusual construction and violent nature.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Throughout her last consumptive illness, Emily refused all drugs and medical attention despite being in extreme pain during its later stages.

HOMES Until 1820 Emily lived at a bleak, Georgian Vicarage in Market Street, Thornton, West Yorks. She moved to Haworth Rectory, in Church Street, Haworth (see left) where Emily and her sisters were bought up in isolation on the Yorkshire moors. The rectory is now a museum. Today over 200,000 tourists visit Haworth a year. Charlotte's father gave the first tour in the 1850s

DEATH Emily's health, like her sisters', had been weakened by unsanitary conditions at home and at school. Having caught She caught a cold during the funeral of her brother in September 1848, she grew very thin and ill, but rejected medical help and refused all proffered remedies, saying that she would have "no poisoning doctor" near her. She died on 19 December 1848 at about two in the afternoon. Emily was interred in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels family vault, Haworth, West Yorkshire.



APPEARANCES IN MEDIA 1. Wuthering Heights The 1939 movie with with Larry Olivier as Heathcliffe and Merle Oberon as Cathy is by far the finest of several film versions of Emily's classic novel. "No matter what I ever do or say Heathcliffe, this is me-now-standing on this hill with you. This is me, forever," said Merle Oberon memorably. The second best version was probably the 1970 one with Timothy "007" Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall (what happened to her?) The 1992 version with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche with remarkably Sinead O'Connor as Emily was a Bernard Matthews. We mustn't forget Sir Cliff's 1995 musical version and the Monty Python semaphore version.
2. Kate Bush's 1978 UK #1 Wuthering Heights was the single that introduced her to the public. (Incidentally Kate Bush shares the same birthday as Emily).
3. Devotion, a 1946 film about the Brontës where Branwell has an American accent and the Rev Nicholls a German/Austrian one.

ACHIEVEMENTS 1. Wuthering Heights is the best selling Penguin Classic in the UK.
2. The success of the Brontës helped the equality for women cause. You could say Emily's tragic masterpiece was a great weep forward.

REFERENCES Wikipedia and my knowledge.

Wuthering Heights

Charlotte Brontë

NAME Charlotte Brontë

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Author

BIRTH b 21 April 1816 at Thornton, Bradford, Yorkshire, England.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Charlotte was bought up by her father, Patrick, an eccentric Irish Clergyman, who was in the habit of carrying a loaded pistol in his pocket and an Aunt, who was her mother’s unmarried sister. Her Cornish Mother, Maria died in 1821 at the age of 37 of cancer. The Aunt who came down to look after them was a Calvinist Methodist. Although they appreciated her efforts, she apparently did not become a second mother to them.
Charlotte had four sisters including Emily (1818-1848) who wrote Wuthering Heights and Anne (1820-49) who wrote Agnes Grey . She acted as "the motherly friend and guardian of her younger sisters." Her one brother Patrick (1817-1848) (always known simply as Branwell, so that's how I will refer to him), was addicted to opium and alcohol and often used to frequent the Nelson Inn at Luddenden Foot, West Yorks. He was the black sheep of the family. Her two other sisters Maria and Elizabeth also died of consumption, both in 1825. Her father outlived all his children.

CHILDHOOD In 1826 Mr Brontë bought home a box of wooden soldiers for Branwell to play with. Charlotte (left) and her sisters joined in and together they used the soldiers to create an imaginary kingdom called Angria. Over the next ten years, she filled thousands of pages of miniature books imagining and chronicling the fantastic world of Angria.

EDUCATION In August 1824, Charlotte was sent with three of her sisters, Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth, to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire (which she would describe as Lowood School in Jane Eyre). As borders there cruelty, poor hygiene and starvation made life horrific and hastened the deaths of their older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth who died of tuberculosis in June 1825. Soon afterwards Charlotte's father removed her and Emily from the school. I'm told the Clergy Daughters' School still exists, though it was moved to Casterton shortly after the scandal.
Afterwards their father undertook to educate them himself, although this education seems to have been largely self-administered by her. In 1831 14-year-old Charlotte became a pupil at Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head, Mirfield, West Yorkshire, but left the following year to teach her sisters at home.

CAREER RECORD Charlotte took up various positions as governesses & teachers to earn money to pay for an art education for their brother Branwell. Her CV reads thus:
1835-8 A teacher at her old school at Roe Head.
1839 A governess with Sidgwick family near Skipton
1841 A governess with a family at Rawdon
1842-43 Studied languages and school management at Brussels and taught at a boarding school, the Pensionnat Héger, in the hope of returning to Yorkshire to establish a school of their own.
1844 Using a small inheritance from her aunt Charlotte set up with Emily a school for girls in their home village of Haworth. Although they advertised they received no pupils, so the sisters turned to their poems and novels which they had been writing.
1846 It was the discovery of Emily's poetic talent by her family that led her, Charlotte and Anne, to publish a joint collection of their poetry in 1846. The following year, Charlotte's first novel, Jane Eyre was published.
1850s Charlotte cared for her aged father.

APPEARANCE Charlotte was a wee slip of a girl with brown hair, a square heavily featured face, bad complexion, fine eyes and spectacles. GH Lewis, (George Eliot's lover) described Charlotte as "a little plain, provincial, sickly looking old maid." She was very self-conscious about her teeth and never smiled with her mouth open. .

CHARACTER When at home, Charlotte was a saintly drudge, a long suffering victim of duty, but away a passionate, manipulative, dynamic, emotional rebellious lady who was criticised as being un-befitting a clergyman's daughter. By Gum they were a sensitive lot up there.

RELATIONSHIPS For years Charlotte thought she was too plain to marry and was consequently eloquent about the loneliness of a single woman. She fell in love several times herself including one Monsieur Héger, a choleric, small professor of logic whom she met whilst teaching in Belgium. When she returned to Haworth she continued to correspond with him, despite the fact he was married already, until he ceased the letters. Charlotte was heartbroken.
However, all was not lost. Charlotte actually received four proposals of marriage before, on 29th June 1854, she married her father's curate, the Reverend Arthur Nicholls after initial violent objections from her dad. Charlotte wore a white muslin wedding dress with delicate green embroidery and a lace trimmed bonnet. It was said she looked like a "snowdrop".
Arthur was faithful, pleasant ans indomitable and Charlotte at first merely admired but later grew to love her hubby. He did not share their intellectual interests but made her happy. They had nine months of an increasingly happy marriage as Charlotte found joy in domestic love. But in March 1855 Charlotte died.
The extroverted Charlotte had many friends including her future biographer, Mrs Gaskell.

MONEY AND FAME Charlotte was widely acclaimed straight away for Jane Eyre, William Makepiece Thackery was especially keen. Within a few years Brontë mania had started and people were flocking to Haworth. An American bought up part of Charlotte’s discarded sash window & carried it on his back to Keighley station.
The frenchified Brontë (with the accent over the "E") was Arthur Nicholls idea.

FOOD AND DRINK Charlotte and her sisters were keen on berries. When not, er, berrying themselves in writing they ate blackberries, gooseberries, elderberries and other moorish berries.

LITERATURE After leaving school, Charlotte and her sisters read widely at home including Byron & Scott. They wrote magazines in imitation of Blackwoods Magazine. Charlotte used the pseudynomn "Currer Bell" when she published her first two novels.
Charlotte was the first to try to get something published, a small book of poems written by her, Emily & Anne under the names Currer, Ellis & Acton Bell (named thus so as not to reveal their gender). Only two copies were sold. The next year the three sisters each sent a novel to the publishers, Charlotte, The Professor, which only came out posthumously in 1857, Emily, Wuthering Heights and Anne, Agnes Grey, which were both accepted. The disappointed Charlotte quickly raced off Jane Eyre, which actually got published before her sister's novels.



In case you don't know, Jane Eyre is about an orphan girl who grew up to become a governess in a mysterious neighbourhood. The first half was written whilst Charlotte nursed her father through the aftermath of a dangerous eye operation in a hotel. The plucky, plain downtrodden Jane was partly based on Charlotte's own experiences and Rochester supposedly on Lord Byron. The Morton to which Jane fled from Thornfield Hall corresponds to the village of Hathersage in the Peak District. The deserted Wycollier Hall on Brontë Way was Jane Eyre's Ferndean Manor. Lowood School was based on Cowan Bridge School.
Other novels were:
1849 Shirley The heroine was based on Emily
1853 Villette, which was written as a result of Charlotte's heartbreak over Monsieur Héger.
Charlotte left several unfinished novels when she died including Emma, which was eventually finished and published in 1980 by "Charlotte Brontë and Another Lady.",

PETS After Branwell, then Emily, and then Anne died within months of each other, Emily's dog Keeper and Anne's dog Flossey provided Charlotte some solace in her grief.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Charlotte and her sisters kept fit by walking over those desolate moors.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY The saintly, long-suffering Charlotte Brontë was an Anglican feminist and a passionate anti-Catholic who had been influenced by her Wesleyan family background with its belief that only complete adherence to God’s will brings salvation. These themes stand out in her Jane Eyre, where only after the brooding romantic Mr Rochester’s blindness, like St Paul, and his subsequent repentance to God can the book's heroine and Rochester be bought together.
Politically a Tory, Charlotte preached tolerance rather than revolution. Despite her shyness in company, she was always prepared to argue her beliefs.

SCANDAL The extent of Charlotte Brontë's feelings for Monsieur Héger were not fully realised until 1913, when her letters to him were published for the first time. These letters, referred to as the 'Héger Letters', had been ripped up at some stage by Héger, but his wife had retrieved the pieces from the wastepaper bin and had meticulously sewn them back together.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS The sickly Charlotte believed her time at the poorly run Cowan Bridge School, where two of her sisters both died of consumption permanently ruined her health.

HOMES Until 1820 Charlotte lived at a bleak, Georgian Vicarage in Market Street, Thornton, West Yorks. She moved to Haworth Rectory, in Church Street, Haworth (see left) where Charlotte and her sisters were bought up in isolation on the Yorkshire moors. The rectory is now a museum. Today over 200,000 tourists visit Haworth a year. Charlotte's father gave the first tour in the 1850s.

TRAVEL A favorite walk of the sisters lead for two miles west to the Brontë waterfall, by no means Niagara size, just a mere trickle. Charlotte came here to mourn the loss of her sisters.
In view of the enormous success of Jane Eyre, Charlotte was persuaded by her publisher to occasionally visit London, where she revealed her true identity and began to move in a more exalted social circle. However, she never left Haworth for more than a few weeks at a time as she did not like to leave her ageing father's side.
In 1851 Charlotte visited the Great Exhibition in London and attended lectures by Thackery. The same year she also journeyed to the Lake District and Scotland and Manchester

DEATH Charlotte found she was pregnant not long after her marriage, and it was felt she would have a difficult pregnancy due to previous ill-health. Despite this, her husband insisted on her accompanying him to visiting the Brontë waterfall in the rain. The ground underneath was extremely damp and Charlotte caught a chill, leading to pneumonia. She died on 31 March 1855 at Haworth House & are buried at St Michael’s Church there.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA 1. Loads of TV and movie versions of Jane Eyre including one in 1943 where Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles starred as those famous fictional Brits, Jane Eyre & Rochester. In 1970 the lovely Susannah York played the supposedly plain Jane and George C "Patton" Scott, Rochester. There was also a 2006 BBC version, starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens, which you can see below.



2. Mrs Gaskill's Life of Charlotte (1857), is one of the classic biographies, and helped promote the Brontë legend.
3. Devotion a 1946 film about the Brontës where Branwell has an American accent and the Rev Nicholls a German/Austrian one.

ACHIEVEMENTS 1. In 1994 Jane Eyre was the 7th most borrowed classic from a library (I bet you didn't know that!) Jane was the first plain heroine in English literature.
2. The success of the Brontës helped the equality for women cause.