First published in 1968, this reissue of Dr. Craik's critical appreciation of the completed novels of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë is seminal for the way in which it shifts emphasis away from the Brontë family biography towards a detailed critical analysis of the novels themselves.

Separate chapters are given to each of the seven novels. The author's aims and techniques in each are assessed and Dr. Craik shows what light the books throw on each other, how they are related to the novels of the Brontë's predecessors, and how the Brontë novels compare with their great contemporaries in the nineteenth century novel.