The Letters of Charlotte Brontë: With a Selection of Letters by Family and Friends, Volume II: 1848-1851

This is the second volume in the critically acclaimed Letters of Charlotte Bronte. During the important four years covered in this volume, Charlotte witnessed the success of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but also endured the deaths of Branwell Bronte and Emily, followed by Anne’s in May 1849. Haunted by the fear that she also would succumb, Charlotte found salvation in writing Shirley, published in October 1849, and comfort in her friendship and correspondence with Ellen Nussey, with her publishers–especially George Smith–with Mrs. Gaskell, and (for a time) Harriet Martineau. She may also have received a proposal of marriage from Smith, Edler’s manager, James Taylor. This volume is fully annotated and introduced by eminent Bronte scholar Margaret Smith.