Charlotte Brontë

Born in Yorkshire, England in 1815, Charlotte Bronte was the eldest of the three famous Bronte sisters. She was a novelist and poet, most famous for 'Jane Eyre' which was a commercial success and one of the pioneers of the Gothic novel genre.

Charlotte originally published under the male pseudonym, 'Currer Bell' in order to preserve her reputation as a society woman. However, after news of her gender became public knowledge, Charlotte's books actually did better in sales because of their perceived impropriety.

Charlotte saw success in her lifetime and became one of England's biggest names of the time, spending time with other authors such as Elizabeth Gaskell and William Makepeace Thackeray.

Charlotte got married in June 1854 to a man named Arthur Bell Nicholls and it was he on whom she based part of her pseudonym. She became pregnant in 1855 but suffered a difficult pregnancy and died with her unborn child on March 31st of that year.

She is remembered to this day as being a great author and poet and a trailblazer for women.