[BookCat]

Please move this if it's in the wrong part of the forum.

I've often been curious about why the Brontes died so young and in such close succession. The accepted theory seems to be tuberculosis, but I've also read 'conspiracy theories' that they were poisoned by Arthur Nicholls Bell who married Charlotte. She seems to be the only one who had an easily understood (by modern medicine) cause of death: extreme morning sickness.

Before reading these theories, I've wondered if their deaths were related to their environment, the private school they attended, or some genetic illness. Although the 'average' lifespan was much shorter then, this average usually includes child mortality, which distorts the statistics, so it wouldn't have been the norm for all the members of a single family to 'drop like flies'.

Curious to hear whether anyone knows of other theories or findings.