Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë, the first of many biographies of the Brontës, helped to establish the family's public image as a dynasty characterised by literary genius and personal tragedy. Volume 2 covers the publication of Jane Eyre, the death of Charlotte's siblings and her marriage to Arthur Nicholls.

Gaskell's successful biography helped to establish the Bront s' public image as a family characterised by literary genius and personal tragedy.