This book explores the representations of militarisim and masculinity in Charlotte and Branwell Brontë's youthful writings. It offers insight into how the siblings understood and reimagined conflict (both local and overseas) and its emotional legacies whilst growing up in early-nineteenth-century Britain. Their writings shed new light on a period little discussed by social and military historians, providing not only a new approach to Brontë Studies, but also acting as a familial case study for how the media captivated and enticed the public imagination.
1. The Brontës at war.- 2. Angria and war in context.- 3. Wellington and Napoleon: the fantastical crafting of military celebrity.- 4. The Napoleonic Wars: 'emotion and the everyday soldier'.- 5. Colonial warfare: 'violence and blackness'.- 6. Civil war and conflict: 'rebellion and revolt'.- 7. Conclusion: The Brontës violent legacies.
Emma Butcher is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in English Literature at the University of Leicester, UK. Her research focuses on childhood, literature and war in the nineteenth century. In 2017, Emma was named as one of the BBC/AHRC's New Generation Thinkers and she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio, as well as various public history platforms. She has worked closely with the Brontë Parsonage for a number of years, co-curating their 2015 exhibition, 'The Brontës and War'. This is her first book.
Agent: Kirsty McLachlan, David Godwin Associates.
"The strengths of The Brontës and War are Butcher's clear exposition of the historical war and military milieu within which Charlotte and Branwell wrote ... . she has engaged in admirably wide-ranging and nuanced research around war and military cultures and valuably opened up a field for further study." (Sue Thomas, Victorian Studies, Vol. 63 (4), 2021)
"Butcher's contribution to the history of childhood in the early nineteenth century is significant, adding depth to the existing study of material culture in post-Napoleonic-War Britain ... ." (Vic Clarke, BAVS Newsletter, Vol. 21 (3), 2021)
