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As far as she could see, her life was ordained to be lonely, and she must subdue her nature to her life, and, if possible, bring the two into harmony. When she could employ herself in fiction, all was comparatively well. The characters were her companions in the quiet hours, which she spent utterly alone, unable often to stir out of doors for many days together.

When Charlotte Bronte's father asked Gaskell to write his daughter's biography, his main concern was to preserve the legacy of Charlotte and present an authorised take on her life as opposed to the speculations and gossip in the yellow papers. Gaskell and Charlotte met on a few occasions but the biographer did profound research for the publication consulting a range of sources from her own notes to various letters she had access to. From the first pages of the text, we can distinctly spot Gaskell's artistic infusions of metaphors and the poetic descriptions of the setting.

Upon its publication in 1857, The Life of Charlotte Bronte quite predictably caused some controversy as various individuals accused Gaskell of libel and threatened her with legal action. Nevertheless, it is considered one of the most definitive accounts of Charlotte's life and times as well as the works of this Victorian celebrity. Some feminists, however, have recently criticised the volume for its unsexing of Charlotte as it is clear that Gaskell had to censor the writing and omit various particulars of Charlotte's multiple liaisons.

A book about a great woman by a great woman will definitely be an exciting exploration for those who cherish a piece of document-based researched writing as well as the admirers of inventive stylistic takes in non-fictional writing.

The Hero Classics series:
Meditations
The Prophet
A Room of One's Own
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
The Art of War
The Life of Charlotte Bronte