A Brontë Encyclopedia

Once upon a time I was quizmaster at a social evening of Brontë enthusiasts. One of the contestants really did know everything about the Brontës and left the rest of the contestants embarrassingly adrift. The “know all” – and I use the term factually, not pejoratively – was Dr Robert Barnard, 22 years a teacher in universities in Australia and Norway (seven years Professor of English at Tromsø University), successful author of over 40 crime novels (he won the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger award for his lifetime achievement in 2003), author of A Short History of English Literature (...