The Brontes

B> The novels of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte are regarded among the greatest and most diverse in nineteenth century literature. This book shows how the Brontes' writings engage with the major issues which dominate twentieth century theoretical work. Early critical interpretations of the Brontes' work raised questions in terms of their biography and gender - were they male or female? Were they three or one? Were they idealists or immoralists? With twentieth century critics applying feminist (later gender), then Marxist, psychoanalytic and now post-colonialist theories to their writings, biographical speculation has given way to issues of gender, class, nationalism and race. This reader shows how the Brontes' writings engage with the major issues which dominate twentieth century theoretical work and why they are amongst a set of texts on which the application of particular kinds of theory has concentrated. The essays will be grouped under broad schools of theory - biographical; feminist; Marxist; psychoanalytic and postcolonial. For those interested in Literary Criticism , The Brontes or 19th century British Literature.