Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for This Dark Night:
It’s a family thing.
Quick synopsis:
The life of author Emily Brontë.
Fact for Non-History People:
Emily’s initial pen name was Ellis Bell.
Fact for History Nerds:
Emily first received attention when she co-authored a book of poems with her sisters.
My Take on This Dark Night:
Ah, the Brontës. They are proof that genius can grow in truly chaotic environments. Or maybe genius grew because of the chaos. Chicken or the egg, I suppose. In This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz, we get to focus on Emily Brontë who gave us a lot of poetry and Wuthering Heights. Like Jane Eyre, it is one of those books they told you to read in high school and you probably pretended to read it for the book report. Later, you come back to it as an adult and realize, damn, this lady was good.
Lutz tells a chronological biography which is almost a slow process of piecing together what would become Wuthering Heights. For the uninitiated, almost everyone dies early. No, I don’t mean the novel; I mean the family. Emily herself wrote Wuthering Heights at age 27 and would be dead by 30. If that is a spoiler to you, I think this book is not for you. I wouldn’t call this an introductory level book to the Brontës. This is more for people familiar with the general outlines of the family. This is not at all a criticism but merely expectation-setting.
Lutz’s writing style is easy to follow and infused with a love for the family and the work produced by them. If I were to level a criticism or two, I would first admit this is purely my perspective, but I think Lutz is way too hard on Charlotte, while being way too easy on Emily and their father. Branwell is treated exactly as he should be. That said, my criticisms should not in any way ward you off of the book. Lutz’s perspective is completely valid (no duh, how nice of me to admit to someone who spent so much time researching while I didn’t), but hey, this is my review, and I get to make grand pronouncements! Anyway, if you know the Brontës and want to know more, pick this one up.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and W. W. Norton.)
Verdict:
A good read. Buy it here!
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