The Brontë family is one of the most famous families in literary history. Sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are all celebrated novelists and poets. Victorian gothic literature simply would not be the same without their contributions to the genre and literary period as a whole. The Brontës have had a significant influence on contemporary literature, and their novels have been retold and adapted countless times, including Emerald Fennell's much anticipated 2026 adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.
The patriarch of the family, Patrick Brontë, changed his family name from Brunty to Brontë when he enrolled in Cambridge around 1802. Brontë scholars speculate Patrick's name change was to make the family sound more refined and to distinguish himself from his humble Irish origins. Whatever the reasons, his wife Maria and all of their children were given his new last name.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne were all born in Market Street, in the town of Thornton, West Yorkshire, in 1816, 1818, and 1820, respectively. The famous sisters had two siblings born before them: Maria, born in 1814, and Elizabeth, born in 1815. Both attended Cowan Bridge School and were both sent home with advanced cases of tuberculosis due to the poor conditions of the school. Charlotte and Emily also attended Cowan Bridge, and Charlotte would later use the school as a model for the boarding school in Jane Eyre.
The Brontë sisters also had a brother with whom they were very close. Branwell Brontë, born in 1817, was also a writer and a painter. As children, Branwell, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne wrote together collaboratively, creating a fantasy world they named Glass Town. Branwell would later develop an addiction to alcohol and laudanum. He died in the Brontë's home in Haworth in 1848 at the age of 31. Scholars speculate that Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was inspired by her brother Branwell.
In 1846, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne started their literary journey by self-publishing a collection of poems under the more masculine-sounding pseudonyms Currer Bell, Ellis Bell, and Acton Bell. While the poems were not an immediate success, they did embolden the sisters to try their hand at publishing other works. Charlotte (still publishing under the name Currer) published Jane Eyre on October 19, 1847; Emily (Ellis)'s Wuthering Heights was published on November 24, 1847; and Agnes Grey by Anne (Acton) came a month later in December 1847.
Jane Eyre was an immediate success. Agnes Grey received more middling reviews on its initial release. Meanwhile, Wuthering Heights was a controversial book that was not well-received by readers at the time. There were rumors that the three books were all written by the same author. In fact, it took Charlotte and Anne appearing at the publishing house in person to prove that the books were indeed written by three separate writers.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne would go on to publish additional works under their pseudonyms before all dying at relatively young ages. Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis in 1848, at the age of 30, most likely after contracting the illness from Branwell, who died only a few months before her. Anne Brontë died of tuberculosis in 1849, at the age of 29. Charlotte Brontë died on March 31, 1855, due to pregnancy complications. She was 38.
It was only after Emily's and Anne's deaths that the Brontë sisters' true identities as authors were revealed. In 1850, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were reprinted under Emily and Anne's real names. Both books included a foreword by Charlotte in which she revealed the true identities of Currer, Ellis, and Acton.
While Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were not fully appreciated during Emily and Anne's lifetime, they have since become celebrated and highly influential works of literature. Virginia Woolf argued that "Wuthering Heights is a more difficult book to understand than Jane Eyre, because Emily was a greater poet than Charlotte." Irish novelist George Moore called Agnes Grey "the most perfect prose narrative in English literature."
The best books by the Brontë sisters
Most recently adapted into a film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi and directed by Emerald Fennell, Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel, and there is no other novel quite like it. Part gothic romance and part dark revenge tale, this is the story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, two souls who are bound together in spite of everything—even if it means tearing the rest of their world apart. The audiobook is narrated by Golden Globe winner Joanne Froggatt, who brings the intense passion and violence of this story to life.
This recording of Jane Eyre is narrated by acclaimed actress Thandiwe Newton (Westworld, Crash), who breathes fresh life into a classic tale. The novel follows protagonist Jane Eyre from childhood to adulthood, when she begins working as a governess for the mysterious Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Hall. As Jane grapples with her commitment to religion and her deep feelings for her employer, she also uncovers secrets hidden in Thornfield.
Agnes Grey is Anne Brontë's highly autobiographical novel following the titular Agnes, a young woman who takes a job as a governess after her father loses the family's savings. But when Agnes begins working for an upper-class family at Bloomfield mansion, she is not prepared for the amount of abuse and subjugation the family subjects her to. This audiobook from Audible Studios is exquisitely narrated by English stage, film, and TV actress Emilia Fox (Merlin, Silent Witness).
Anne Brontë's second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, is thought to be one of the first feminist novels ever written. Seeking to escape her abusive husband, Helen flees to Wildfell Hall with her young son and assumes a new name. Helen claims to be a widow and takes on work as a painter to support her family. Locals are suspicious of the young widow and spread rumors about her, but Gilbert Markham is intrigued by Helen and becomes her friend. This recording is presented with dual narration from celebrated English actors Alex Jennings and Jenny Agutter.
While The Professor is the first book Charlotte Brontë ever wrote, it is the last book of hers to ever be published, coming out two years after her death. English actor James Wilby narrates as protagonist William Crimsworth, a well-educated aristocrat who takes a job as a teacher after he loses all of his money. This novel is based on Charlotte's experiences attending school and teaching in Brussels.
Charlotte Brontë's second published novel is set in Yorkshire during the Napoleonic Wars and focuses on the friendship between the free-spirited heiress Shirley Keeldar and her shy, more conventional friend Caroline Helstone. This story explores the depth of their friendship and their romantic lives against the backdrop of a rapidly industrializing England. The audiobook is skillfully narrated by Anna Bentinck.
Charlotte Brontë's final novel, published in 1853, was also inspired by the author's time in Brussels. Lucy Snowe leaves England to live in the town of Villette in France, where she gets a job at an all-girls boarding school and falls for two men, the physician Dr. John Graham Bretton and professor M. Paul Emanuel. Audie Award-winner and classically trained performer Justine Eyre narrates.
If you want a look into the minds and the world of the Brontë sisters, you really have to explore their poetry. The Brontës' poetry is so powerful when read aloud, as Emma Gregory's (Baldur's Gate 3) gorgeous performance of it proves. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne's poems are all collected together in one invaluable volume here.
The best listens for Brontë fans
If you want the Brontë sisters' stories to come to life before your very ears, then you need to check out these dramatized audio versions of all your favorite Brontë novels. Adapted by Rachel Joyce, these seven full-cast dramatizations cover Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor. This recording also includes a one-hour bonus conversation between Joyce and producer Tracey Neale.
You’ve likely already realized just how fascinating Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë truly are. And this is just scratching the surface. If you want to know more about the women behind these revolutionary and daring novels, then check out this audiobook, written by Brontë scholar Deborah Morse. Here, Morse explores the lives of the three sisters, their passions, their beliefs, their influences, and the many tragedies they lived through. Understanding more about these authors as people also gives listeners a deeper look into their novels and poems and how they remained so influential.
The Brontë sisters are such vibrant and interesting characters beyond the books that they've written, and so it's not surprising that they have been the subject of many fictional stories. In The Vanished Bride, Bella Ellis imagines a young Charlotte, Emily, and Anne—before any of their writings were published—as "lady detectors." After a young wife and mother goes missing from her home, the sisters investigate the strange disappearance. The Vanished Bride and its sequel, The Diabolical Bones, are narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden.
If you've ever dreamed of journeying to the Brontës' home in Haworth, listen to The Brontë Plot. After rare bookseller Lucy Alling gets caught doing questionable things to obtain her rare book collection, she knows she has to make big changes to her life. So she takes on a job as a consultant for a London literary and antiques excursion. Her travels take her all the way to Haworth, where she finds a deep connection to the Brontës' story and the characters they created. This audiobook is narrated by Laura Kirman, who critics praise for her ability to switch between British and American accents with ease.
As children, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë created what many consider to be one of the first examples of speculative fiction when they wrote about Glass Town. Catherynne M. Valente's novel imagines that the fantasy world of Glass Town was real. Just before Charlotte and Emily are sent away to boarding school, the four children find themselves falling into the pages of the world they collectively created. Will they ever return to England? Or will they hide in their imaginations forever? This novel is narrated by Kate Reading, a favorite voice of countless listeners.
In this supernatural retelling of Charlotte Brontë's famous novel, Jane Eyre is a young girl who sees ghosts, including Helen Burns, a girl who died at her boarding school. Teaming up with Charlotte Brontë and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood, Jane is prepared to hunt for ghosts in Thornfield Hall. But is she prepared for the secrets she will uncover?
Emily Martin has a PhD in English and is arguably Emily Brontë's biggest fan. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband and her two cats, Murray and Remy.
