A few years after Esther Alice Chadwick (fl. 1882–1928) - who wrote under the name Mrs Ellis H. Chadwick - had read a copy of Elizabeth Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë, she moved to a house near the Haworth vicarage where the Brontë family had lived. As a result, Chadwick was able to speak to many people who had known the family, and in 1914 she published this extensive biography of the family. Beginning with the Irish ancestry of the three famous sisters, Charlotte (1816–55), Emily (1818–48) and Anne (1820–49), she traces their short but eventful lives. Chadwick examines their early years and the influence of their father, Patrick, his work in the ministry and the family's time at Haworth. Later chapters are devoted to the sisters' education and their literary output, seeking to understand their extraordinary creativity amid the difficult circumstances of their life.