E X T E N S I O N A YORKSHIRE FAMILY: THE BRONT SISTERS Charlotte, Emily and Ann Bront are born in WestYorkshire in the 19th century. They are three famous poets and novelists1 and live in Haworth, in the moorland2. They publish their works with pen names3 (Acton, Ellis and Currer Bell), because this is normal for women at the time. Charlotte s novel Jane Eyre (1847) is partly autobiographical. Emily s masterpiece4, Wuthering Heights (1847), is a story of love and death between the children of two families: the Earnshaws live at Wuthering Heights , a dark and sad manor on the windy moorland; the Linton family live at Thrushcross Grange , a wealthy5 house. Heathcliff and Catherine are the young protagonists: Heathcliff is stormy6 like the moorland around Wuthering Heights , Catherine is elegant like Thrushcross Grange . They are very different but they fall in love. Unfortunately, they die tragically and their ghosts wander7 on the moors forever. In 1848, Anne Bront writes The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, an epistolary8 novel. The three sisters are brilliant artists, Victorian readers love them and their novels are very popular. Unfortunately, they all die young of tuberculosis, a common mortal disease11 at that time. Today there are some famous film adaptations of Emily s novel and the English singer Kate Bush was famous in 1970 for her first single Wuthering Heights. Why don t you have a look at her videoclip on YouTube? It s a bit old but really fun! 1. novelist: a writer of long narratives in prose. 2. moorland: typical Yorkshire vegetation. 3. pen name: a name that a writer uses instead of his/her real name. 4. masterpiece: an artist s principal work. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 56 wealthy: rich and full of comforts stormy: (here) wild and aggressive wander: to walk like vagabonds epistolary: a story narrated in letters disease: a serious medical problem