Emily Bronte
Learn a little about Emily Brontë here, and then enjoy our fun colouring pages and printables with the kids!
Emily Brontë (1818-1848) wrote only one novel, Wuthering Heights, but that one novel - written under the pen name Ellis Bell and thought rather shocking when it was published - is considered to be a classic of English literature and has been made into numerous films and TV series in recent years.
Emily was born in Yorkshire, the fifth of six children (although two died in childhood). Her mother died when she was only three. After a brief spell at a severe boarding school (from which Emily's older sister Charlotte derived some of the details for her novel Jane Eyre), Emily and her remaining two sisters were educated at home with their brother Bramwell. The siblings had a strict childhood but were able to read widely. From an early age they wrote stories together and developed vivid imaginations.
As the girls grew up they dreamed of opening their own school, furthering their own educations whenever possible and taking up positions at schools and as governesses too. Emily's health wasn't good, however, and when, in her early twenties she had to return home due to ill health, she became the home-maker.
In 1847, Emily published Wuthering Heights and her older sister Anne published Agnes Grey. Wuthering Heights was thought to have been written by a man and received mixed reviews. Sadly Emily became ill soon afterwards and died just a few months after her brother, at the age of only 30. Anne also died shortly afterwards.