By sheer coincidence, I read The Bronte Sisters immediately after Dorothy Sayers's Are Women Human? and found many threads of connection between Sayers's and Charlotte Bronte's insistence that women (and their work) should, indeed must, be considered as human first and foremost. Charlotte and her sisters struggled much more than Sayers did against the attitudes that would confine women to a narrow scope of endeavour defined by men, but the attitudes are still recognizable even now. Sayers, writing around 1940, is approximately halfway between the Brontes and the present, so it's interesting to see social attitudes sampled at 80-year intervals ... interesting to see what has changed, and appalling to see how much has stayed the same.

Also, this biography was well-written, enjoyable to read, well-illustrated, and informative. I feel that I know the Brontes much better and after a thorough introduction to their entire work, I'd like to read some of the books I have yet to encounter. ( )

As a school librarian I have read many excellent books written for young adults, and I consider this to be one of them. It is a brief biography, with only 190 pages, but packed into those pages are the sorrows and joys experienced by Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother Branwell. I ached when each sibling died, knowing the sorrow their death caused, and the talents that were taken from us too soon. The author, Catherine Reef, has a beautiful writing style, one that I believe adults can also enjoy. This work might be short, but I believe, very well done. I would definitely recommend this title to anyone wanting to learn more about the Bronte family. ( )

An excellent middle grade biography of three great ladies! Filled with pictures of their life or things from their era, I felt immersed in their world and connected to their lives. Though theirs is a history laced with tragedy, the book manages to feel uplifting and not depressing. The Brontë sisters lived in very constraining times but managed to stay true to themselves and live their dream of being published authors! Very inspiring. ( )

The Bronte Sisters, The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne by Catherine Reef is a YA biography. It's well written and visually appealing. The material is presented for younger readers of course and is not quite as dark as some of the books and articles I've read about the Bronte family but the story is all there. Included are pictures of the countryside around their home, and of schools they attended or where they taught. There are also several paintings of the sisters by their brother Branwell. My one complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed. ( )

I've read several biographies of the Brontes and several (but not all) of their books and this is a great retelling of their fascinating story for teens. The numerous illustrations, including pictures of people and places involved in their lives and their own writings and drawings, are a great addition that usually get omitted from adult biographies. The author, Catherine Reef, also does a great job of connecting what they wrote about to what they experienced in life, literary connections that you don't usually see in biographies for younger people. If you hadn't read any other biographies, this would be a great first one, and if you were only going to read one, this would be an excellent choice too. (As a reader, I never felt talked down to, by the way.) ( )