Book Review: The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors

 Most recently, I've just finished reading a book called The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of a Literary Family by Juliet Barker.  I didn't know too much about the Brontës before I started reading.  Of course, I knew there were three sisters, and I've read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.  That hardly makes me a scholar in this area though.

According to Barker, most of the traditional accounts of the Brontë sisters make many misrepresentations about their lives.  One of the purposes of this book is to look at accounts not studied before in order to dispel what she calls the Brontë myths.  The book covers the entire family, not just Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.  Like I said, this isn't an area I've studied, so I have no idea about the history, but this didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.

The book was more interesting than I had imagined it would be before I started reading (a good thing because it's over a thousand pages long.)  Barker is good at writing and transitioning from one subject to another.  After finishing the book, I now want to reread the two books I've already read and add more of the Brontës' books to my reading list.  If you've enjoyed any of the Brontës' books, Barker's The Brontës will be an interesting read.  I certainly enjoyed it!