An Oxford graduate, Lucasta Miller published her postgraduate research on Milton before working in advertising. She then became a literary journalist, working for a time as deputy literary editor of the London Independent. She has reviewed for many British publications, including the London Times, the Sunday Telegraph, the New Statesman, the TLS and the Economist. She lives in London with her husband, the tenor Ian Bostridge. The Bronte Myth, from which this extract is taken, is her first book. It is published by Jonathan Cape next week at £18.99 in UK.