The Rivals (Sopernitsy)

Charlotte Brontë, one of the most popular English writers and the author of Jane Eyre, is known throughout the world. Her literary talent was evident early on. As children, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell Brontë, the children of a parish priest, devoured books from the family library and invented games and stories that would later become their creative works. Young Charlotte explored a variety of genres; her writings include romance, adventure, and fiction, and they incorporate both witty irony and polemical spirit. However, over time, love became Charlotte Brontë's primary theme. This edition includes her short stories and novellas from 1829–1834, as well as stories by her brother, Branwell. Translator E. Dobrokhotova-Maikova writes in the preface: 'To follow step by step the development of a daring, unexpected talent that astonished her contemporaries and continues to amaze posterity—for this alone, Charlotte's early books deserve the most careful reading.'