Definitive, should be required reading because it adds all the context that is left out by teachers assigning "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" - the context is what makes the Brontes' writing so exciting and relevant to modern readers. Rescues Patrick's and Branwell's reputations, and doesn't make a saint out of Charlotte, like some other biographies. I wish I had read this sooner, to better compare more recent Bronte biographies marketed as containing "new" information about Charlotte's death. Exhaustive but I'm sad to be done this book - what else can I read about the Brontes now, now that I feel like I've read everything?

An absolutely fascinating look at the lives of the Brontes. After reading this I can see how incredibly difficult it would be to try to write a biography about any of the members of this family individually. Their lives were so entwined and reliant on each other. A story of tragedy, genius, love, and heartbreak. A long but thoroughly enjoyable read.

Wow wow wow! Other than having read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, I knew nothing about the history of the Brontës before reading this. Juliet Barker's writing is masterful yet measured, and I love how she examines the evidence for particular claims and beliefs.

Lots of detail, but I found the author's strong opinions frustrating. Certainly, the author of a biography can express their own views about different characters and situations, but I prefer, in the end, to be given details and allowed to form my own opinions.

OK. I think I'm done with my spontaneous Bronte readings. I think. This time.

It is the work of a biographer to present the details of one's life in a way that encompasses the complexity of personhood. To provide an accurate picture a person has to throw away biases and wishful thinking to see a person as they really were, and then use whatever faculties they have at their disposal to display that person in as clear and accurate a light as possible. Juliet Barker, with a painstakingly sourced book on the Brontes, comes as close as possible to providing a clear cut and comprehensive picture of the Brontes - at least as comprehensive as possible given their relatively private tendencies.

I have read four biographies on the Brontes this month, though none of them compared at all in length to this one, and Juliet Barker seems to have her finger on the pulse of who the Brontes were as people a bit more steadily than the other authors I have read from. I learned so much from this book that I hadn't known, not just about the sisters themselves, but also about their extended family and the community at large. When this book says that it is about the Brontes, it is about all of them including Patrick Bronte who died several years after his children. Unlike other biographies, this one doesn't leave off after Charlotte dies. It follows her father through his remaining years, and while I must confess that it didn't interest me as much as it might have if I hadn't just finished reading three other biographies in the same month, there is something to be said about that level of thoroughness.

Something interesting to note is the way Lucasta Miller's The Bronte Myth, another five star biography that I read earlier this month, is in many ways a direct answer to Juliet Barker's chunky work. I read The Bronte Myth first, so I was given a steady dose of Charlotte love right from the jump. Lucasta Miller has great affection for Charlotte Bronte; it is clear in her writing and therefore her biography of the sisters reads as a defense of Charlotte. Juliet Barker's portrayal of the sisters tries to be fair and impartial, but it is incredibly obvious in her writing that Barker views Charlotte's behavior and personality to be the least of the bunch. Having read both versions of the same stories, having seen the perspectives of both authors and the evidence both have used to support their own claims for the reality of Charlotte's character, I feel like I have a solid understanding of who she was.

I was surprised by my affection for Charlotte after reading The Bronte Myth, because I went into it expecting to hate her. I held a grudge against her for her treatment of the best Bronte, Anne, and her public criticism of Anne's work. The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors reignited some of those old irritations with Charlotte, but I think that Juliet Barker does an excellent job of trying to steer the reader toward a place of understanding. While Lucasta Miller goes all out with her bias for Charlotte, presenting her as a heroic defender of her sisters' memory and a stifled genius, Juliet Barker tries to rein in her own feelings about Charlotte. In passages where she does let her own opinions slip, she is quick to backtrack to a place of neutrality. For that reason, as well as the abundance of sources and footnotes, this is the superior biography.

Over the past month, reading all of the Brontes work in the context of their real lives, I have developed such a profound affection for the sisters, and The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors did nothing but add to that affection. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Juliet Barker's treatment of the deaths of the siblings brought tears to my eyes. Her inclusion of letters, poems, quotes, and anecdotes throughout the entirety of her factual story telling makes the book so personal. To read Anne's poetry, written immediately before her death, and see the fears that she hid from her sister; to hear of Emily's stern lack of empathy for her own condition and Branwell's descent into what was undoubtedly psychosis, or very near it, made everything that much more emotional. Reading Charlotte's lonely, mournful letters describing her own feelings after the death of her siblings was just the icing on the cake. To see the complicated relationships between siblings given such a delicate treatment was amazing.

I highly recommend this book to anybody that wants a comprehensive deep dive into the Brontes. By no means the only way to learn about them, this is by far the most comprehensive text that I've ever found. Wonderfully done.

Library hardcover

Well. This is obviously an incredibly impressive achievement, and for anyone with enough interest in the Brontes to *want* to read 1000 pages about them, it's totally worth the time and effort. I do think, though, that the author went just a bit too deep into certain topics (the politics and work issues of the father, the immense detail on the juvenilia) and so it could have been focused just a bit more...but even so, it's just chock-full of stories and imagery and exploration, and fleshes out these women so well. A nice way to close out my reading year :)

An excellent, comprehensive biography. For the most part, this included precisely the kinds of information I wanted. I was especially interested in Barker's speculations about Anne and Charlotte's simultaneous, but secret spiritual struggles. And I thought Barker did well at separating known facts from speculation and being transparent about when she was sharing her opinions. (I say that as someone with what is probably only slightly more than a passing knowledge of the Brontes' lives.) Readable throughout, with a pleasing level of detail. The descriptions of Branwell and Charlotte's Angria juvenalia were the only things that I found tedious. I understand that she was trying to show their development as storytellers and how they influenced each other, but I couldn't hold all the Angrian characters in my head, nor did I particularly want to.

I haven't read any other non-fiction book about the Brontë family, but I can tell you that this is the Brontë biography to start with. Yes, it's a tome, but it's oh so worth it. It completely erases the myths and legends surrounding the family, and relies on fact (or as close as you can get to fact) using letters and other documents.

This book may end up depressing some people who like to believe the embellished sensationalism that are rooted in rumor. However, for someone who wants to know the real Brontës, then this book is a dream. We're shown the family as they are, flaws and all, and believe me, none of them are perfect.

Stripped down are the words of Elizabeth Gaskell in her 'biography' of Charlotte, and even the words of Charlotte are examined, especially in reference to her sisters. Charlotte was grossly unfair of Anne in particular, and in Charlotte's letters, a view of Anne emerged that is untrue. The Brontës does justice to Anne, showing her as an intelligent being, when Charlotte gave her no credit in that regard. I must admit that I've always been sort of a defender of Anne; I always felt as if she got the short end of the stick, in no fault of her own.

This book is about all the Brontës, not just about the three sisters. Granted, I basically read this to read about the sisters, but reading about Patrick, and Branwell, as they truly were, was fascinating. The stereotype of Patrick being a strict tyrannical father was shot down. The view of Branwell always being a drunk and screw up is also diminished.

Of course, we also find out that some of the sensationalist events in Brontë lure were true, such as Branwell's affair with his employer's wife, and Charlotte's infatuation with Mousier Heger. Reading the details of both gave shape to how these significant events shaped each respective sibling's life.

What was also fascinating, and something I never gave much thought to, was the imaginary worlds that the siblings created. Charlotte and Branwell with their Angria world, and Emily and Anne with their Gondal world. They created worlds and characters, wrote up histories for them, write poetry that were part of these worlds, and it's evident that the sisters' earlier work on these imaginary worlds were a huge part of their future novels. There are characters and events in the Angria and Gondal worlds that show up in disguise in the seven novels, along with personal events and real life people in their lives. Reading in detail about these worlds and the sisters' real life experiences gives me a new appreciation for their novels.

I could go on and on about everything I learned from the tremendously thorough biography, but I'll stop here. I don't think I need to do any more convincing.