Biography of the author: Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in 1816 and she was the third of six children. Because of the death of her mother, Charlotte was sent with three of her sisters,Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth, to the Clergy Daughters' in Lancashire (which is described in Jane Eyre as the Lowood School). The school was famous for its poor conditions, and for that reason,her two elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, died of tuberculosis. It is also reflected in the book, when her friend dies.

Charlotte continued her education at Roe Head. During this period, she wrote her novella The Green Dwart under the name of Wellesley. In 1842 she and Emily travelled to Brussels and taught english there. She finally returned to Haworth and later used her time at the boarding school as the inspiration for some of The Professor and Villette.

In 1846, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne published a joint collection of poetry under the assumed names of Currer (Charlotte) , Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell.

Branwell, Charlotte's brother, Anne and Emily died. Charlotte and her father were now left alone together. In 1854, Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls and became pregnant soon thereafter. Her health declined rapidly during this time, and she died, along with her unborn child, in 1855.