Winner of the Cheltenham Prize for Literature In this groundbreaking and unconventional biography, Lyndall Gordon dismantles the insistent image of Charlotte Bronte as a modest Victorian lady, the slave to duty in the shadow of tombstones, revealing instead a strong and fiery woman who shaped her own life and transformed it into art. 'An exemplary biography' Jan Marsh, New Statesman 'Brilliant and powerful... Gordon brings us the closest we are ever likely to get to an understanding of the source of Charlotte Bronte's creative genius' Mark Bostridge, TES 'Sensitive, open-minded, vivid, full of psychological insight' Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times 'Magnificent... Gordon's best book and the best thing about Charlotte Bronte yet' Fiona MacCarthy, Observer