Charlotte Bronte's Life Through Clothes

Eleanor Houghton

Description

Eleanor Houghton's innovative, richly illustrated biography finally gives voice to the gowns, bonnets, shawls, corsets, parasols and boots that make up the novelist's wardrobe.

Secrets are revealed in their very fibres. Brontë's steel busked corset tells the story of corporate espionage and forbidden love, whilst her striped, silk dress shows how she coped with the new-found pressures of fame. When exposed to 21st century technology, a tiny sample of fabric from her 'Thackeray Dress' reveals important innovations of the Industrial Revolution going on around her and a black lace veil, worn after the deaths of her siblings, expresses how she dealt with repeated familial loss.

These clothes, some of which still bear the imprint of her foot or the sweat from her pores, prove themselves to be far more than mere celebrity curios. When 'read' alongside letters, portraits, her novels and the recollections of those who knew her well, Charlotte emerges as a woman altogether braver, more vulnerable, less isolated, less provincial, more fashion conscious than anyone ever expected. Myths are shattered, preconceptions challenged, and, the real Charlotte Brontë, beyond the famous author, finally emerges.

Details

  • Format
    Hardback
  • Pages
    376
  • Size
    240 x 165mm
  • Publisher
    Bloomsbury
  • ISBN
    9781350514089
Stock Code
260117
Our Price
$49.99
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