EmilyJaneBront?wasthemostsolitarymemberofaunique,tightly-knit,Englishprovincialfamily.Bornin1818,shesharedtheparsonageofthetownofHaworth,Yorkshire,withheroldersister,Charlotte,herbrother,Branwell,heryoungersister,Anne,andherfather,TheReverendPatrickBront?.Allfivewerepoetsandwriters;allbutBranwellwouldpublishatleastonebook.
FantasywastheBront?children'sonerelieffromtherigorsofreligionandthebleaknessoflifeinanimpoverishedregion.Theyinventedaseriesofimaginarykingdomsandconstructedawholelibraryofjournals,stories,poems,andplaysaroundtheirinhabitants.Emily'sspecialprovincewasakingdomshecalledGondal,whoseromanticheroesandexilesowedmuchtothepoemsofByron.
BriefstaysatseveralboardingschoolswerethesumofherexperiencesoutsideHaworthuntil1842,whensheenteredaschoolinBrusselswithhersisterCharlotte.Afterayearofstudyandteachingthere,theyfeltqualifiedtoannouncetheopeningofaschoolintheirownhome,butcouldnotattractasinglepupil.
In1845CharlotteBront?cameacrossamanuscriptvolumeofhersister'spoems.Sheknewatonce,shelaterwrote,thattheywere"notatalllikepoetrywomengenerallywrite…theyhadapeculiarmusic–wild,melancholy,andelevating."Athersister'surging,Emily'spoems,alongwithAnne'sandCharlotte's,werepublishedpseudonymouslyin1846.Analmostcompletesilencegreetedthisvolume,butthethreesisters,buoyedbythefactofpublication,immediatelybegantowritenovels.Emily'seffortwasWutheringHeights;appearingin1847itwastreatedatfirstasalesserworkbyCharlotte,whoseJaneEyrehadalreadybeenpublishedtogreatacclaim.EmilyBront?'snamedidnotemergefrombehindherpseudonymofEllisBelluntilthesecondeditionofhernovelappearedin1850.
Inthemeantime,tragedyhadstrucktheBront?family.InSeptemberof1848Branwellhadsuccumbedtoalifeofdissipation.ByDecember,afterabriefillness,Emilytoowasdead;hersisterAnnewoulddiethenextyear.WutheringHeights,Emily'sonlynovel,wasjustbeginningtobeunderstoodasthewildandsingularworkofgeniusthatitis."Strongerthanaman,"wroteCharlotte,"Simplerthanachild,hernaturestoodalone."