If you only read one Brontë sister. . .

Jane Eyre explores social class, love and religion through the eyes of one of fiction's most courageous and memorable female protagonists. We follow Jane from the trials of a harsh childhood – facing abusive family members and a difficult time at school – right through to her blossoming into adulthood, where she gets a job as a governess. She moves to Thornfield Hall to work for the reserved Mr Rochester. When a near-deadly fire breaks out and Jane saves her employer’s life, she must contend with growing questions and burgeoning romantic feelings. Though he soon confesses his love for her, Jane is sure he is hiding something. . .

Charlotte Brontë was born in Yorkshire in 1816. She was the third of six children and the elder sister of fellow novelists Emily and Anne. The sisters lived together in an isolated parsonage. Charlotte later worked as a governess, and then briefly taught in Brussels before returning in 1846 to her childhood home, where the sisters published poems under the male pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. Jane Eyre came out in 1847 and garnered immediate acclaim. Charlotte married in 1854 and died in 1855.

Wuthering Heights delivers a brooding atmosphere and a devastating revenge arc. It follows the troubled story of Heathcliff from youth to adulthood. Orphaned, he is adopted and brought to live on the Yorkshire moors. His only refuge is in the companionship of Cathy, who he has grown up with. Though they become extremely close, Cathy eventually accepts a rich suitor’s marriage proposal. Despite loving Heathcliff, she believes she cannot marry him because of his lower social status. Rejected and heartbroken, Heathcliff flees and Cathy gets married in his absence. Yet she never quite forgets him, and upon his return years later Heathcliff tries to win her back. Angry, consumed by revenge, he also wants to get back at everyone who took Cathy away from him.

Emily Brontë was born in 1818. As a teenager, she attended boarding school, suffering greatly from homesickness. She would go on to work as a teacher in Halifax and Brussels, but eventually returned to the family home and wrote. Though now a much-loved classic, Wuthering Heights was not an instant success when it first appeared in 1847 under Emily’s pseudonym, Ellis Bell. Emily died of tuberculosis the following year, mere months after her brother Branwell.

Set in the north of England, Agnes Grey depicts the small pleasures and daily struggles of life as a Victorian governess. When Agnes’ family run into financial difficulties, she resolves to find a job so she can support them and prove her independence. At eighteen, she is resolute and determined, but Agnes first has to contend with the Bloomfields’ three children, who behave horribly and never listen to her. She then goes to work for the rich Murray family and looks after two teenage girls. Agnes soon gets to know the local curate, Edward Weston, and takes a shine to him. Her meddling, flirtatious pupil Rosalie, however, also sets her sights on Edward. Agnes is aghast at the threat to one of her few sources of happiness. 

Anne Brontë was born in Yorkshire in 1820 and was the youngest Brontë child. After a spell at the same boarding school as her sisters, Anne later worked as a governess before returning home to Haworth and publishing poetry in collaboration with Charlotte and Emily. Her first novel, Agnes Grey, was released in 1847 initially under the pen name Acton Bell and sold well, followed by The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in 1848. Anne died from tuberculosis in 1849.