Charlotte Bronte: Legacies and Afterlives

Charlotte Brontë: Legacies and afterlives offers a timely reflection on the author’s life and work in the context of the bicentenary of her birth. Brontë’s legacy continues to evolve and the new essays in this volume, covering the period from her first publication to the present day, explain why she has remained at the forefront of western, indeed global, literary cultures.

The contributors to this volume engage innovatively with the rich variety of afterlives enjoyed by characters such as Jane Eyre and Rochester in neo-Victorian fiction, cinema and television, on the stage and on the web. They bring the story of Charlotte Brontë’s legacy up to date, exploring the devotion she has inspired among her fans and the continued fascination with her life. From obituaries to vlogs, from stage to screen, from novels to erotic makeovers, the essays show that Charlotte Brontë’s influence has been recorded in diverse and intriguing ways.

Taking a fresh look at over 150 years of engagement with one of the best-loved novelists of the Victorian period, the volume explores areas such as genre, narrative style, national and regional identities, sexuality and gender identity, literary tourism, adaptation theories, cultural studies, postcolonial and transnational readings. Students, academics and general readers will discover more about a writer who has come to be seen as an early feminist, and whose novels eloquently assert the rights of women.