In the Victorian Era, literature was quite important.
A selection of the most famous writers is below.
Charlotte Brontė
Charlotte Brontė(1816-1855)was one of six children of a parish clergyman in Haworth, a small country village in Yorkshire, England. Her mother died when she was very young and a few years later, her two elder sisters also passed away while attending boarding school. Charlotte found herself caring for her brother Branwell, and her younger sisters, Emily and Anne, with the help of their aunt, who came to live with the Brontes. Charlotte received her education at two different boarding schools:Cowen Bridge, which the Lowood School in Jane Eyre is based on, and Roe Head School, where she served a short time as a teacher. With her sister Emily, Charlotte went to Brussels, where she taught for one year. Along with her two sisters, Charlotte published a volume of poetry under the pen names of Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton (Anne) Bell. This volume was published at the sisters' expense, and was unsuccessful, selling only two copies. Charlotte's next literary venture, The Professor, was rejected by the publishers. Undeterred, Charlotte finally became successful with her next work, Jane Eyre. After the death of her brother and sisters, Charlotte devoted herself to the care of her ailing father. She married his curate in 1854, and died during pregnancy in 1855.
Her major works: Emma (incomplete), Jane Eyre, The Professor (published posthumously), Shirley, Villette
Emily Brontė
(1818-1848) Emily Bronte was the fifth child of a parish clergyman in the small village of Haworth, in Yorkshire, England. She was a very reserved child, and spent much of her time wandering on the moors near her home. Emily could not endure long absenses from home as they made her ill, but she still managed to receive some education from the Cowen Bridge School. In 1842, Emily travelled with her sister Charlotte to Brussels. Emily is regarded as the most talented of the Bronte sisters on the strength of her one novel, Wuthering Heights, and on her poetry, where she also far excelled her sisters. Emily caught a cold at her brother Branwell's funeral, and unfortunately, followed him to the grave a few months later.
Her work: Wuthering Heights
Lewis Carroll
(i.e. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) 1832-1898. Carroll was the eldest of eleven children of Rev. Charles Dodgson. He was educated first at home, and then at Rugby and Christ Church, Oxford. After graduation, Carroll remained at school to teach mathematics. Carroll was ordained a deacon, although he never made a career of religion. He lived at Christ Church for the rest of his life, lecturing and publishing both his children's works, his poetry, and numerous treatises on mathematics. Carroll never married.
His major works: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Hunting of the Snark (poem), Sylvie and Bruno (short story), Symbolic Logic.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870) Charles Dickens was the son of a navy clerk who spent time in debtor's prison, while Charles had to work in a blacking factory. He was only 12. By 1835, Charles was a reporter for the Morning Chronicle. Charles became successful after publishing his Pickwick Papers in 1836. In 1858, Charles became separated from his wife Catherine. It was during this year that the author began to give public readings in England and also in the United States, which he visited a number of times. His major works: American Notes, Barnaby Rudge, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, Cricket on the Hearth, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Great Expectations, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, Martin Chuzzlewit, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (incomplete), Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiousity Shop, Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, The Pickwick Papers, Sketches by Boz, A Tale of Two Cities.
Quote of the month
Pride & Prejudice
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."
Links
Victorian literature, an overview
The Victorian literature website
Early Victorian literature
