Charlotte Brontë

A Fiery Heart

By: Claire Harman

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlotte Brontë's life contained all the drama and tragedy of the great Gothic novels it inspired. Like Jane Eyre, she was raised motherless on remote Yorkshire moors and sent away to a brutally strict boarding school at a young age. Charlotte grew up and watched helplessly as, one by one, her five beloved siblings sickened and died; by the end of her short life, she was the only child of the Brontë clan remaining. And, most fascinating and tragic of all, throughout her adult life she was haunted by a great and unrequited love - a love that tortured Charlotte but also inspired some of the most moving, intense, and revolutionary novels ever written in the English language.

Charlotte was a literary visionary, a feminist trailblazer, and the driving force behind the whole Brontë family. She encouraged her sister, Emily, to publish Wuthering Heights when no one else believed in her talent. She took charge of the family's precarious finances when her brilliant but feckless brother, Branwell, succumbed to opium addiction. She travelled from Yorkshire to Europe to the bright lights of London, met some of the most brilliant literary minds of her generation (Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, William Thackeray), and became a best-selling female author in a world still dominated by men. And in each of her books, from Villette and Shirley to her most famous, Jane Eyre, Charlotte created brand new kinds of heroines inspired by herself and her life - fiercely intelligent women burning with hidden passions.

This beautifully produced landmark biography is essential listening for every fan of the Brontë family's writing, from Jane Eyre to Wuthering Heights. It is a uniquely intimate and complex insight into one of Britain's best loved writers. This is the literary biography of the year; if you loved Claire Tomalin's Charles Dickens, this event is not to be missed.

©2016 Claire Harman. Recorded by arrangement with Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Best narration, great story, Takes you right there

The best biography i have ever had the leader of listening to. Because of the narrator's voice i lists to the story over and over. I never want it to end.

Fascinating insight, excellent narrator

I listened to this book when my book group had a Bronte month. Instead of choosing one of their novels I elected to learn more about who they were. Knowing what I now know about their lives I want to reread Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights to notice the autobiographical elements in them. I'd also like to read for the first time some of their other novels that I hadn't heard of. My favorite part was Charlotte's brief happy ending. I wish less time had been spent on her condemned attachment to her teacher in Brussels. Although the narration was a little quiet--I sometimes struggled to hear when driving or doing dishes--the narrator did an excellent job with voices and interpretation. I would recommend this book!

Outstanding!!

Claire Harman and Corrie James did great honor to the legacy of the Brontës with their outstanding work as biographer and narrator of this work!

Clear-Eyed Bio of Literature's Most Elusive Figure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Claire Harman's book cuts through all the Mythology surrounding the Brontes. In Charlotte Bronte; A Fiery Heart she lays bare all the sad nuttiness of Charlotte's up bringing and her sisters and brother. A must for any Bronte-phile

What was one of the most memorable moments of Charlotte Brontë?

Harman's chronicling of how much she longed for love and also CB's yin and yang temperament - wanting to hide behind Currer Bell and wanting to meet all her literary contemporaries. Wanting to marry, but not leave her father. Also her groundbreaking literary contributions stunned me. I was unaware of how much Literature owes CB

What does Corrie James bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The West Riding accent for all of Charlotte's letters and words. Very Nice Touch.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Fiery Heart That Turned English Literature Upside Down

Worst audio EVER

Incoherent audio on this book. Never heard an audiobook with sound this bad. I’ve been a fan of the Bronte sisters but, after scanning forward throughout this audiobook, it’s the first one I’m returning for a refund