Reviews

The Illustrated Letters of the Brontës: The letters, diaries and writings of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë by Juliet Gardiner

thenovelbook's review

3.0

A speedy review of the Bronte sisters' lives, with extracts from their letters and journals. This book is not great on Kindle, due to the frequent illustrations with very long captions, which interrupt the flow of the text and make it a little clumsy for reading. And, honestly, if you've already read the Brontes' letters in full, or if you've read a comprehensive biography, the summing up and skimming over in this book just simply feels like it's not enough. If you want to know about the Brontes, I recommend you search out a more complete volume of their letters and let them tell you about themselves without an intermediary.

There were a number of typos, too, and a photo supposedly of Charlotte Bronte which has, for some years now, been pretty convincingly attributed to Ellen Nussey.

laurenmckane's review

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

becka6131's review

5.0

This is an excellent overview of the Brontes' lives with extensive reference to their letters, artwork and diaries - it's beautifully laid out and the reproductions of art are of high quality. I appreciate that Juliet Gardiner seems to have no desire to insert herself into the Brontes' history and lets them speak for themselves wherever possible. Would recommend this to anyone as a good start and a valuable resource when engaging with the Brontes and their history.

losethegirl's review

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

Another reader described this as an immersive experience into the lives of the Brontes, and I would absolutely agree. This is a must read for any fan of the Brontes. 

deelambe12's review

5.0

I will never be able to articulate just how much these women have meant to me over the years.

This biography similar to previous biographies that I have read about each of them, however this one has the added bonus of the glossy pictures of their environment, their art work and portraits of the people they knew/met.

A truly immersive experience and a great read for every Brontë fan. I loved it.