Elizabeth Gaskell: The Life of Charlotte Bronte (used)

Charlotte Bronte was by situation and temperament a recluse with an almost paranoid deisre for self-effacement. The public knew little about her during her brief and tragic life. Only weeks after her death, however, Elizabeth Gaskell set to work on this biography. As one of Charlotte's few close friends, she was anxious to make known the facts of that 'wild, sad life, and the beautiful character that grew out of it.' The resulting book has long been established not only as one of the great English biographies, but also as one of the finest achievements by an author whose fiction by itself has placed her among the first rank of English writers. The text follows the controversial first edition throughout with variations from the third edition recorded in the notes and appendices.