Stars of English literature

This month's travel feature, entitled "Learning by Walking", takes us to the Yorkshire Dales in England. Not far from this national park is Haworth, a village famous as the home of three sisters who were, and still are, stars of English literature.

The Brontë sisters — Charlotte (born 1816), Emily (b. 1818) and Anne (b. 1820) — wrote poems and novels while living at Haworth Parsonage. Their father had published poetry and fiction, so his daughters grew up looking at his books. Perhaps it is no surprise that writing came naturally to them, too: in 1847, Charlotte used the pen name Currer Bell to publish Jane Eyre, the story of a woman who rises in society through her good character.

Her sister Emily, using the name Ellis Bell, published Wuthering Heights the same year. The story of Catherine Earnshaw and her adopted brother is, like Jane Eyre, a classic work of English literature. As Cathy and Heathcliff grow up, their friendship turns into love. But the story takes a tragic turn, which is played out on the Yorkshire moors, close to the Brontë home in Haworth.

Anne, the youngest sister, wrote a book of poetry with Charlotte and Emily called Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, as well as the novel Agnes Grey. The least famous Brontë died of tuberculosis at the age of 29.

If you plan to visit the Yorkshire Dales, then pay a visit to Haworth Parsonage. The Brontë home is a museum.

If you have never seen the 1939 film Wuthering Heights with Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, then at least watch the entertaining trailer.

*Find out in the March Spotlight how you can learn English by walking in the Yorkshire Dales. Also see Franz Marc Frei's continuing photo essay about the region, exclusive to Spotlight Online.