I think it's a load of sensationalist crap with a catchy would-be 'shocking' title. Tanya Gold writes as if she had discovered something new, but Lucasta Miller covered the same material in 'The Bronte Myth' in depth, properly researched and written. It has been known for years that Gaskell omitted some things and distorted others, but as a letter in the Guardian following this article pointed out, she was writing shortly after Charlotte's death, when her father and her husband were still alive, and at a period when any mention of Charlotte's hopeless passion for a married man would have ruined her reputation. The Gaskell biography is still a fascinating read though, as the first example of a modern biography.
The recent Juliet Barker biography 'The Brontes' is also an excellent (though weighty' read.
