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Sometimes You Have to Change Directions

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Sometimes You Have to Change Directions
And, in this instance, I’m talking about books. I’ve been on an Elizabeth Gaskell kick of late, reading North and South, Wives and Daughters, and Cranford. I enjoyed them all very much and probably North and South most of all.

So, while waiting for other Gaskell books to be ready at the library, I decided to read The Life of Charlotte Bronte. Well, I have to say that it was definitely an interesting book. I haven’t read enough biographies to really be able to critique Gaskell’s take on Bronte’s life. They were, however, friends in real life and natives of the same northern area of England, which, I am sure, made Gaskell an excellent choice for a biographer.

What a life Charlotte Bronte led. Tragedy after tragedy, nearly constant ill-health, depression — the list of trials in her life is very long. And, yet, it was fascinating, too, to learn about her, about this era in England’s history, also to learn what she thought about other writers (including Austen!), and about the area of the country in which she lived. It was fascinating and also more than a little depressing — which I will acknowledge that I don’t need right now. So I’ve changed gears, so to speak, and have begun reading The Essays of E.B. White. So far, so good.

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