Brontes in Brussels

Five years before becoming best-selling authors, in 1842 Charlotte Brontë (1816-55) and her sister Emily (1818-48) arrived in Brussels to improve their languages. Emily stayed for a year, Charlotte for two. Although this is a little-known episode of their lives, it is a fascinating one. Two of Charlotte's four novelsVillette andThe Professor were based on her time in Belgium, which was pivotal for...