A Literary Family: The Brontes Quiz

Born in 1816, Charlotte was the oldest of the Brontes, followed by Emily, then Anne.

Mother Maria died of cancer in 1821, just a year after giving birth to her final child, Anne.

Branwell, born in 1817, was the only boy in the Bronte family.

Charlotte and Emily both attended the Clergy Daughters' School. Their experience was so wretched that Charlotte used the school as inspiration for Lowood when penning "Jane Eyre."

The Bronte sisters all contributed poems to a book of poetry in 1846, using a small inheritance to pay to have the book published.

All three sisters submitted their work under the name of a man, with all three taking the surname Bell. Women authors were frowned upon in the early 19th century.

Just two copies of "Poems" sold, making the book an utter flop by any standard.

Charlotte was the first to submit a book to a publisher when she wrote "The Professor." While the work was rejected, the publisher saw promise in her writing and encouraged her to try again.

Charlotte wrote "Jane Eyre," a book about a poor governess who falls for the master of the house.

"Jane Eyre," written under the pen name Currer Bell, came out in October 1847 and was an instant bestseller.

Emily wrote "Wuthering Heights," which came out in December 1847 and wasn't nearly as successful as "Jane Eyre."

Anne's "Agnes Grey" came out in December 1847 and was packaged in a single volume along with "Wuthering Heights."

Youngest sister Anne was the first to published a second novel when she wrote "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" in 1848.

Anne, Emily and Branwell died of tuberculosis (aka consumption) in rapid succession.

Emily was just 30 years old when she lost her life to tuberculosis, dying just months after brother Branwell.

Anne died less than six months after Emily, at age 29. Hoping the sea air would cure her, she and Charlotte had moved to Scarborough, England, but the move was not enough to save the young woman.

Charlotte published "Shirley" in October 1849, just months after losing the last of her three siblings.

"Villette," the final Charlotte Bronte novel published during her lifetime, came out in January 1853 and told the story of a governess who fell in love with a married headmaster.

Charlotte married Reverend Arthur Bell Nicholls on June 29, 1854, making her the only Bronte sister to make it to the altar.

None of the three Bronte sisters became mothers, though Charlotte was in the early stages of pregnancy when she died.

Charlotte died less than a year after her wedding at age 38. Like her sisters and brother, she died of tuberculosis.

Bronte's first rejected novel "The Professor" was finally published after her death. A friend also penned "The Life of Charlotte Bronte," which has long served as an important biography of Charlotte and her sisters.

Patrick Bronte died at age 84 in 1861, long after his wife and six children had died.

The sisters grew up at Haworth Parsonage, a Yorkshire, England, mill town. The surrounding moors provided inspiration for Emily while penning "Wuthering Heights."

Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" is an epic gothic novel, telling the tale of the Earnshaws and Lintons and their lives at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.

The Bronte sisters informed their publisher of their gender in 1848, after all three had already published at least one novel.

Even after their publisher was informed, no one else knew that the Brontes' books were written by women. Charlotte finally spilled the beans in the foreword to an 1849 edition of "Wuthering Heights" and "Agnes Grey."

Agnes Grey is a governess, just like Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre becomes a governess at Thornfield and falls in love with Mr. Rochester in Charlotte's classic novel.

Brother Branwell's painting is at the National Portrait Gallery in London.