Fun Facts about Charlotte Bronte

Hey Readers!

 Today I wanted to showcase some more fun facts about another one of my favorite authors, Charlotte Bronte. She is the author of the amazing Jane Eyre, as well as other amazing works. When I read Jane Eyre, I fell in love with the story telling and of course the brooding Mr. Rochester. I honestly don't know a lot about Charlotte's life, and wanted to find some facts to share with you today, so we can all learn about this amazing author together.

• She was born on April 21, 1816
• She had five siblings
• She was able to see and read better in the dark, than she was in the light
• She was a teacher for a time, but actually despised it
• She was only about four and a half feet tall
• The school in Jane Eyre is based on her and her sisters experiences while in a school just like it
• If she was alive today she would be 201 years old
• Her sisters wanted her to make the character of Jane Eyre beautiful, thinking the public wouldn't embrace a plain looking heroine, however she refused to change Jane's appearance
• She was proposed to four different times, and turned down every single one of them
• She married Arthur Nicholls, and eight months after her wedding 
• She wrote stories with her siblings based on her brother Bramwell's toy soldiers
• She outlived her parents and her siblings
• She wrote a book of poetry with her sisters Anne and Emily
• When she published Jane Eyre under the name Currer Bell, it was an instant success
• She spoke with an Irish accent
• Her father was slightly paranoid and carried a pistol everywhere

There are a lot more intersting facts about Charlotte Bronte if you would like to know more, all you have to do is Google. The sites were I found the above facts can be found at:

http://www.annebronte.org/2017/03/19/10-fascinating-facts-about-charlotte-bronte/

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/20-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-charlotte-bront%C3%AB/

https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/five-interesting-facts-about-charlotte-bronte

https://www.cbc.ca/books/20-fascinating-facts-about-charlotte-bront%C3%AB-on-her-200th-birthday-1.4095025

http://tonsoffacts.com/30-awesome-and-interesting-facts-about-charlotte-bronte/

https://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-bront-11919959

Worlds of Ink and Shadow Review

Happy Friday Everyone!

 So today I am going to be reviewing World's of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley. This book takes the reader into the home of the Bronte children. You are introduced to all three sisters, Charlotte, Ann, and Emily, along with their brother, Branwell. The women are in the process of writing their stories, and not only do you get a glimpse into what their lives could be like, you also get thrown into this extraordinary world where their words come to life.

The description has been taken from the Goodreads website:

 "Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been close. After all, nothing can unite four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict, spartan upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to slip into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters—the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna—refuse to let them go."

I don't know what to say about this story further from the description because I don't want to give anything away, however I am still going to try. The Bronte siblings create an imaginary world that they could escape to when they wanted to get away from their normal lives. The characters in this imaginary world have been given their own personalities, and dare we say the world is adapting. Not only does this story bring you into the world of the Bronte's but Lena has created an imaginary world that even the Bronte's would be proud of. Lena's descriptions of each character is mixed with fact and fiction, to bring an added degree of depth into this amazing story of siblings. Charlotte is one of the main characters in the story, but Lena doesn't take away the importance of Ann, Emily or Branwell. The reader gets to feel how much the siblings loved each other, loved writing, and how much they would do to keep their family together.

Here is a quote from the book, "True, it was Charlotte and Branwell who created these places, but they'd been happy to take their younger sisters. In those days,they crossed over by acting out a story, not by writing. All they needed were a few opening words. A door of light would open, one of them would make that mysterious hand gesture, and they would all go through".

And with that I am going to leave that there. If you are a fan of the Bronte's I would highly recommend you read this book so that you can dive into their world of imagination.

Happy Travels!



Image taken from Goodreads website.