Emily Brontë Reappraised

People-hating spinster, fragile mystic, dog-beater: Emily Brontë has been described as all of these. She has also been posthumously diagnosed with anorexia and Asperger’s.

In the 200 years since her birth, her totemic lone novel and the scattered verse she left behind have been dwarfed by the wild speculation churned out by scholars and Brontë buffs. Emily Brontë Reappraised is Claire O’Callaghan’s attempt to shine a light on the weirdest of literature’s weird sisters.

Some of what is believed about Emily holds up. She was stubborn, handy with a pistol and not one for small talk. But her private life is decidedly underdocumented, and into the gaps have flooded downright bizarre theories. For instance, not convinced that the passion spilling from the pages of

Wuthering Heights could have been the product of imagination alone, romantic interests have been conjured up for Emily, among them her own brother, Branwell.

And then there’s that episode involving her beloved pooch, a bull mastiff named Keeper. As punishment for climbing on to a bed with muddy paws, she apparently beat his face to a pulp with her bare fists. But it seems profoundly unlikely given the depth of feeling she displays for animals throughout her writing.

It’s a fascinating read but O’Callaghan can’t resist adding a contemporary twist to her otherwise convincing portrait. How would Emily spend her free time were she alive today? Instagramming…