Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre by Glynnis Fawkes - OPTIONAL

Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre by Glynnis Fawkes, 100 pages.  GRAPHIC NOVEL Disney Hyperion, 2019.  $18.  

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW  

Charlotte Bronte grew up in a house full of siblings and when she was young, her mother passed away.  Quickly after, her two older sisters died and then she was sent away to boarding school by her father.  Charlotte had good and bad experiences at school, but for a woman in her day the only occupation she could find was as a teacher and she begrudgingly taught as much as she could.  Charlotte loved to write, and she and her two sisters and brother liked using their imagination for their pretend worlds.  Eventually, Charlotte and her two sisters were able to get their works published, but not until after a lot of rejection.  

If you have a love for Jane Eyre or Charlotte Bronte then you will enjoy this story that leads up to Charlotte’s publishing Jane Eyre, but if you aren’t already a fan, this book might bore you.  I appreciated all the illustrator’s efforts to include historically accurate depictions and her sketches give the right feel for the story.  English teachers might be able to use this to give them background on Charlotte’s life, but I’m not sure how much interest young adult readers would have.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson