Charlotte Brontë, the oldest of a remarkable trio of sisters, is almost as famous for her life as she is for her work. Born in 1816, she was the third of the six children of Maria and Patrick Brontë. Her father was a clergyman in Haworth, West Yorkshire — an industrialised village near the moors, unhealthy but by no means isolated.

When her mother died in 1821, Charlotte and three of her sisters were sent to boarding school, where the two eldest became ill, dying soon afterwards. The school was to figure in her book Jane Eyre as Lowood School. Back at home, the four remaining children joined together in devising and writing about imaginary kingdoms.

After completing her education Charlotte worked as a teacher and a governess, before travelling to Brussels in 1842. On returning to Haworth she compiled a volume of poems with her sisters. At the same time she began to write novels.