A Companion to the Brontës brings the latest literary research and theory to bear on the life, work, and legacy of the Brontë family. * Includes sections on literary and critical contexts, individual texts, historical and cultural contexts, reception studies, and the family's continuing influence * Features in-depth articles written by well-known and emerging scholars from around the world * Addresses topics such as the Gothic tradition, film and dramatic adaptation, psychoanalytic approaches, the influence of religion, and political and legal questions of the day - from divorce and female disinheritance, to worker reform * Incorporates recent work in Marxist, feminist, post-colonial, and race and gender studies