Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters, whose novels are considered classics of English literature.

In January 1831, Charlotte entered school at Roe Head at the age of 14, leaving the following year to homeschool her sisters Emily and Anne, returning in 1835 as a governess. Charlotte obtained a position as a governess with the Sedgwick family in 1839, but left after a few months to return to the village of Haworth, where the Brontë sisters had established a school. However, they abandoned the school project because they were unable to attract female students. Instead, the Brontë sisters turned to writing, first publishing in 1846 under the pseudonyms Currer Bell, Ellis Bell, and Acton Bell. Charlotte wrote her first novel, The Professor, which was rejected by publishers, but she was able to publish her second novel, Jane Eyre, in 1847. The sisters adopted the Bell pseudonym in 1848, and by the following year the Brontë sisters had established a reputation in London’s literary circles. Charlotte was the last of her siblings to survive. In June 1854, shortly after her marriage, Charlotte became pregnant and died on 31 March 1855, most likely from hyperemesis gravidarum, a complication of pregnancy that causes excessive nausea and vomiting.