Anne Bronte Reimagined: A View from the Twenty-first Century

(Paperback)

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With skilled close readings of her work, Hay convincingly argues that Bronts writing on loneliness and societys expectations for women remain relevant accessible a fine place to start for readers new to her work.Publishers Weekly

Anne Brontis now widely believed to have written the finest of all the Bront worksand the first ever feminist novel.Why, then,is she less famous than Charlotte and Emily Discover the real Anne and why she remained for so long in her sisters' shadow.

Annes writing has often been compared harshly with that of Charlotte and Emilyas if living in her sisters shadows throughout her life wasnt enough. But her reputation, literary and personal, has changed dramatically since Agnes Grey was first published in 1846. Then, shocked reviewers complained of her "crudeness" and "vulgarity"words used to this day to belittle women writing about oppression.

Her second and most famous work, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was groundbreaking in its subject matter: marital and alcohol abuse and the rights of married women. A book that refused to sweep difficult truths under the rug. A book so ahead of its time that even her sisters werent ready for it, Charlotte being one of its harshest critics. And yet today's critics see it as perhaps the best of all the Bront works. With such a contradictory life and legacy: who was Anne, really Its time to find out.

Reviews

"What pleases me most [of recent books on Anne] ... and best reveals the sources of Anne's strength, is Hay's chapter on "Anne in Nature", with its sensitive readings of her poetry and novels." Jacqueline Banerjee, Times Literary Supplement; "[Anne] is seen and shown to be ahead of her time and in this treatment, she finds an era in which her concerns, approach, philosophy and imagination ring truer than in her own ... as is not always the case with biographies, the subject is allowed to speak for herself ... well worth reading." Helen Brown, Courier; "An important contribution to Bronte studies that reinforces why Anne Bronte is such a significant Victorian writer and why her books remain relevant to contemporary culture." Claire O'Callaghan; "This is a sensitive, thoughtful, and enriching book that shines a vibrant new light on Anne Bronte calling for a radical reimagining of her work and life in the popular imagination. It does that rare thing in Bronte books of acknowledging Anne's genius without comparing her to her sisters or diminishing any of their talents and achievements ... to firmly reposition her as a revolutionary author whose voice still needs to be heard today." Dr Sophie Franklin

Author Bio

Adelle Hay is a lifelong Bronte aficionada and a passionate advocate for Anne Bronte's place in the canon of classic English writers, alongside her better-known sisters, Charlotte and Emily. The Brontes inspired Adelle's love of books from a young age, and she even went on to become a bookbinder before starting work on an academic project that focuses on textual criticism of Anne Bronte's work, and how it has been edited ever since. Adelle's dream is to create a digital archive of all the Bronte manuscripts in existence, ensuring the sisters' seminal writing is preserved for future generations to read, interpret and enjoy.