Tales of the Islanders

On a cold December night in 1827, the four Brontë children each chose an island and chief man to rule it; as storylines gradually fleshed out over the next year, Charlotte would record the momentous events that were to take place in the island kingdoms. Populating the distant island with a school full of wayward children, bullying ruffians and villainous noblemen and making it the home of the Duke of Wellington and his family, the children’s imagination spawned tales of swashbuckling adventure, darkest intrigue and malevolent spirits. Interspersed with authorial interventions, peppered with reference to her siblings’ behaviour and showing a remarkable fascination with contemporary politics, the four stories which make up Tales of the Islanders offer a unique insight into Brontë family life and Charlotte’s development as a writer. A high-spirited and hugely enjoyable collection of juvenilia, Tales of the Islanders displays Brontë’s remarkable creative powers, suffused with a youthful zeal and exuberance.