Here is a sample subscription for you. Click here to start your FREE subscription
- The Clue to the Brontës
- 'But, actually, they did get out quite a bit'
- Simply, Patiently, Quietly
- Sounds That Shape
- The Gothic Brontës seminar day
- More Recent Articles
Routledge Revivals brings back a pioneering revisionist biography of Charlotte Brontë, first published in 1948: By G. Elsie Harrison Routledge (Routledge Revivals) ISBN 9781041003250 June 2025
Originally published in 1948, The Clue to the Brontës was written in part as response to a previous biography of Charlotte Brontë by Mrs Gaskell. The author argues that Gaskell's biography gets it all wrong. Harrison draws connections between Patrick Brontë and John Wesley. She finds Gaskell paid too much attention to gossip and did not verify her facts. The influence of John Wesley and the revival of evangelical religion is seen as a force in the Romantic Movement's impact on the English novel. The same influence is here seen to be at work in the writings of the Brontës, including those of their father Patrick.
The Yorkshire Post has a chat with Ann Dinsdale and Sharon Wright about their new book Let Me In. The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar. When we think of the Brontës, typically they might be stomping over wild and windy moors surrounding their home in Haworth - looking out into the world but, nonetheless, confined to their own place in it. A perception persists that Charlotte, Anne and Emily ‘didn’t get out much’, but two of our foremost experts on this family know it’s not quite so simple. It is an idea that has manifested because “they are so firmly rooted and associated with Haworth, like snails in a shell,” says Ann Dinsdale, principal curator at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, the literary family’s former home in the Bradford village. “It’s that perception. Which has been encouraged by a lot of the biographies that they lived in this isolated parsonage. But, actually, they did get out quite a bit.” Much of their life away from Haworth did, like any of us, involve the siblings spending plenty of time indoors, where their imaginations could truly run wild. With that in mind, Ann and journalist Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, have been on a journey of discovery to find these places - some well known, some obscure - and put it into a new book Let Me In: The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar. They write about the histories of Haworth Old Post Office, the sister’s Thornton birthplace and, of course, the Brontë Parsonage Museum itself, where Ann has worked for more than three decades. Then there are less-trodden places. “Initially, we were going to cover all the buildings in this country connected with the family, all the domestic buildings,” says Ann. “We actually drew up a list that I think had about 70 different buildings on it, and we decided quite early on that we were going to have to be selective. “We couldn’t cover everything and we didn’t want it to be just a catalogue with a bit of information about each property. "We wanted to tell a story, so we picked out not always the best known buildings, but ones that we thought had got something new to say, really. So I think it’ll be a surprise to some people to find some of the buildings that we’ve actually chosen.” In fact, it is not in Yorkshire but in Cornwall - Chapel Street, Penzance, to be precise - where the book begins, as it was the birthplace of the siblings’ mother, Maria Brontë (née Branwell). Mrs Brontë is often “left in the shadows” compared to her husband, Patrick, says Ann, though they did also visit places from his earlier years in Ulster’s County Down. The co-authors wrote about half of the book each, with Ann focusing mostly on the Yorkshire links and Sharon, who is based in London, taking care of the capital and surrounding areas. To her dismay, she found that at Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner, a 1939 memorial to the sisters was missing the diaereses (dots) over the ‘e’ for Brontë. But, as The Yorkshire Post reported in September last year, this was something she finally got corrected after 85 years. Sharon also visited Vanity Fair author William Makepeace Thackeray’s former home in Young Street, Kensington, where Charlotte “went to the dinner party from hell” in 1850, one which resembles passages in her novel Jane Eyre. Charlotte, says Sharon, “was supposed to be the cabaret - (Thackeray) had lined up all his spiky, socialite friends and she just froze because she was so shy”. Of course, Yorkshire locations form a significant part of the book and one motivation behind it, they admit, is that it allowed them to be nosy - and their expertise made getting into people’s homes somewhat easier than it might have been. “We’ve kind of taken advantage of that privileged access that we can get to private houses and homes, and then shared them with other people,” says Ann. “So I think the book is for anybody that’s got an interest in the Brontës, or if they’re nosy, like me, and love looking around people’s houses.” The sisters’ birthplace, a terraced house on Market Street in Thornton, Bradford, is now owned by the public after a community campaign. Ann says: “I was actually one of the trustees on the committee at the time that they acquired the house. So I had that privilege of being able to watch all the renovations happen and hear about things that they discovered about the building on the way.” Kipping House, the nearby home of Mrs Brontë’s friend Elizabeth Firth, is an example of how important details about the family’s lives are linked to buildings which have endured - even if they are contained in what Sharon calls her “deeply boring diary”. “We get that idea of not only Mrs Brontë’s life, but the very young Brontë siblings’ life. We know what Patrick got up to, because he was a man and he was a clergyman, and it all got written down. But finding out what those five happy-ish years were like very much involved understanding Kipping.” Then there was the old Clergy Daughters’ School in Cowan Bridge, just over the border in Lancashire. The older Brontë sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, died of tuberculosis, aged 11 and 10, in 1825. It is thought they caught the infection at the school, which served as the inspiration for the Lowood School in Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. One of the surviving cottages is now a holiday let, so Ann and Sharon went to stay and, returning a second time with their friend Jane Sellars, former director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, she declared that “this place oozes Brontë”. Ann says: “It was quite a spooky house. You always had that fear at night that there’d be little hunched faces peering in at you.” They also cover Haworth Old Post Office, where the sisters would have posted their manuscripts and letters, and witnessed the renovation of that property, which “was in a quite a derelict state the first time we got to see it and of course, now it’s a thriving cafe bar at the top of Main Street,” says Ann. Sharon says: “These are not just fusty old places that nobody cares about that are not important anymore. "They certainly are important because they connect us with our country, connect us with our own literary heritage. They connect us with our own sense of place, and it’s a constant need to sound a battle cry for these places.” In a chapter called A Lament, Sharon writes ruefully about the ruined state of Lousy Farm, Liversedge, a former home of Patrick. A cheerier read comes in the form of The Branwell Pub Crawl, an entire section dedicated to the Black Bull and Cross Roads Inn at Haworth, Lord Nelson Inn at Luddenden, and the Old Cock in Halifax. One building, perhaps above all, is of special interest not only to the authors but to Brontë fans the world over. Ann says: “Of course, for me the key building is this one, the Parsonage, because I’ve worked here for 36 years now - so I’ve almost been here longer than the Brontës - and I probably know this house better than any other. "And actually that made it harder, I struggled more with writing the piece on the Parsonage, I think, than the rest of them.” It is, she says, “difficult to try and decide on what would be interesting to other people”. There is new information in her piece relating to structural changes “which were always thought to have happened, but which we now know didn’t happen”, but she has also treated it like a guided tour, taking the reader around the museum, including personal anecdotes during her time. Sharon says: “It’s a tour de force and I think readers are going to go straight to that, if I’m honest, because it’s chapter and verse. "Who’s going to know more and tell you more and explain more about this iconic house across the world than Ann, because she knows every brick, don’t you?” “Well, I should do, after all of that time,” says Ann. (John Blow)
Perhaps this writer at The Standard should take a look at the book before claiming that, North Yorkshire, with its windswept heaths and sea-battered cliffs, is the brooding landscape that inspired Emily Brontë’s ‘wild and windy moors’ in Wuthering Heights. While its romantic pull remains, the days of staying in dated guesthouses and crumbling country houses are over. (Annabelle Spranklen) Emily Brontë was inspired by West Yorkshire, actually.
Artnet tries to describe the concept of 'pastoral'. Emerging in poetry and literature, the pastoral dates all the way back to Ancient Greece. Hesiod’s poem “Works and Days,” dating to 700 B.C.E., for instance, already expresses a longing for a bygone life in nature. Across the centuries, a host of writers have taken up the pastoral, including Ovid, Virgil, Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë, and Thomas Hardy. (Katie White) On screen and off, in work as at home, Stalter seems to seek out soul-deep connections. It’s the kind of romantic quest that, like a wounded American girl giving love a second shot in the land of Wuthering Heights and Notting Hill, you can’t help but root for. (Judy Berman)
by Charlie Rauh Illustrated by Christina Rauh Fishburne String Letter Publishing ISBN-13 : 978-1936604494 April 2025
For guitarists seeking new repertoire or anyone drawn to the creative process, this collection offers a path back to curiosity and wonder. Distilled to their essence, these pieces by guitarist-composer Charlie Rauh reveal how power resides in simplicity. Rauh’s compositions offer guitarists accessible yet profound pieces that embrace space and quiet as essential musical elements. In accompanying essays, Rauh shares the experiences that shaped these works – from encounters with children at airports to healing sessions with animals. Christina Rauh Fishburne's illustrations create a visual counterpoint to the notation, inviting players and listeners alike to experience music as a complete artistic conversation. Simply, Patiently, Quietly includes notation and tablature for 32 original compositions.
In the Brontë Babe Blog's review, one of the book's highlights is noted as the description of the creative process behind a lullaby inspired by Anne Brontë's poem The Doubter's Prayer, ultimately released as Though Weak Yet Longing to Believe. You can listen to the final composition here:
Another review can be read on ECM Reviews.
BBC Radio Leeds discusses one of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 events: Charlotte Brontë's Senseless Trash: Listen to sounds that shaped the Brontë sisters lives with Senseless Trash. The New York Times discusses how literature is no longer as important as it used to be. Although: People still have attention span enough to read the classics. George Orwell’s “1984” (an essential guide for the current moment) has sold over 30 million books and Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has sold over 20 million. Americans still love literary books. When the research firm WordsRated asked Americans to list their favorite books, “Pride and Prejudice,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Jane Eyre” all came in the top 10. (David Brooks) For those who don’t know, Emma Rice’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel follows the story of Heathcliff, who is adopted by the Earnshaw family and taken to live at Wuthering Heights, where he meets Catherine Earnshaw. When they are forced apart, a chain of events is set in motion. At times, you do need to suspend reality to believe that an actor is the parent of another when there is just four years between the oldest and youngest cast members - but the believable performances help you do just that. Although they never appear on stage, the dedication and commitment of directors Mary Benzies and Rachel Lewin is clear to see. An example is evident in the way Emma Wheeler, who played Catherine, displayed so much confidence and prowess on stage. Her very proud mum Amanda, the newly-inaugurated mayor of Stamford, shared with me beforehand that the experience with the Theatre Makers has helped her to flourish. As well as Emma, I’d also like to give a shout out to Beatrice Ford, who really brought to life the spirit of the Yorkshire Moor. (Kerry Coupe)
Vulture reviews the premiere of the new Lena Dunham serie s, Too Much: The plot of many a corseted period drama on which Jessica, the main character and narrator of Lena Dunham’s new Netflix series Too Much, has built her image of England goes something like this: An ingénue finds herself in a new environment, where she — clumsily, unpreparedly, authentically — falls in love with a distinguished gentleman who loves her back despite her “poor connections” and her faults. Often, this story is set on a picturesque estate, somewhere huge and stately with plenty of corners perfect for running into your prospective lover. This is how it goes for Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy; it’s how it goes for Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. (...) Jessica calls the NHS and paramedics put her under the cold water of the shower to ease the burn. Gaz is there to offer some well-intentioned support, but his presence is made obsolete by Felix’s return. “By God, Wendy,” she narrates, “there he was. My Mr. Darcy. My Rochester. My … Felix.” It’s already obvious that Felix doesn’t have any of Mr. Darcy’s or Rochester’s fortunes, nor their arrogant attitudes. But the comparison suggests that Felix will have secrets and that this rom-com will build toward unwelcome revelation. (Rafaela Bassili)
A genre-savvy, meta romantic comedy in the tradition of Emily Henry’s novels and the best of Nora Ephron, Too Much, from co-creators Lena Dunham and Luis Felber, visualizes Jess’ Wuthering Heights fantasies and features a scene in which her family dissects Alan Rickman’s sex appeal in Sense and Sensibility. (Judy Berman) As a fan of Britain’s period romances AND gritty crime dramas — “I’m, um, a Wuthering Heights, Prime Suspect rising,” she says later — Jessica is eager to go. (Tara Ariano) They share a weird sense of humor, but they’re separated by a significant cultural gap, with Jessica not comprehending British slang like “bollocking.” Felix knows her type, too, pegging Jessica right away as “one of those Love Actually-loving girls”… although she actually prefers Wuthering Heights and Prime Suspect. (Dave Nemetz) And Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Manchester Evening News, Salon... We fully endorse reading classics like A Room With a View, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, but the category has now expanded into the most modern sensibilities. ( Audrey Van Buskirk) Firstly, Woolf declared, being highbrow is the best. She was unabashed in her preferences: The highbrow “is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind at a gallop across country in pursuit of an idea. That is why I have always been so proud to be called highbrow. That is why, if I could be more of a highbrow I would.” She went on to cite some of her highbrow idols—Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen—before affirming that being named among them was “of course beyond the wildest dreams of my imagination.” (Shan Wang)
Wuthering Heights “Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living” This is the story of a wild love and a betrayal that sparked a lifetime of revenge. Heathcliff was an orphan raised by the Earnshaw family. He forms a close bond with Catherine Earnshaw. His heart gets completely shattered when she marries another man, Edgar Linton. This makes him disappear, only for him to return rich and full of vengeance. Wuthering Heights starts as a simple heartbreak and spirals into a life driven by revenge. Heathcliff manipulates those around him and passes his bitterness on to the next generation. There is love. There is obsession. And there is revenge.
Leila Aboulela was instantly catapulted to literary spotlight after the release of her first novel, The Translator (1999). Nobel laureate J M Coetzee called it “a story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written.” The semi-autobiographical novel was written in 1990 after the author moved to Aberdeen in Scotland. The book follows Sammar, a Sudanese widow working as an Arabic translator in Aberdeen, grieves the loss of her husband and separation from her son. When she begins translating for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, their intellectual connection blossoms into love. Yet their relationship is tested by Rae’s secular worldview and Sammar’s deep religious convictions. Aboulela has described The Translator as “a Muslim Jane Eyre.” Several Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever mentions around: Castlemaine Mail, Guildford Echo News, Blog Preston...
An alert for tomorrow, July 12, in Haworth: Sat 12 Jul, 10:00am The Brontë Event Space at the Old School Room
Dive into the world of Gothic fiction and explore its impact on the Brontës’ work in this fascinating seminar day during Haworth Festival with Dr Sam Hirst. Sam is a Gothic specialist and Teaching Associate in Romanticism at the University of Sheffield. Together, you’ll investigate the Brontës’ own reworkings of the classic Gothic novel and examine the impact of the three sisters’ writing on the genre.
The day will be split into five sessions.
Hour |
Session |
Description |
10am-11am |
Exploring the Brontës’ Gothic Influences |
In this first session, you’ll be introduced to key texts of the early Gothic and some of the early Gothic's key features and concerns. We’ll look at the ways in which the Gothic functioned as more than just a series of skeletons in closets and explore some of the texts that we know the Brontës read and had access to. |
11am-12pm |
The Gothic and the Brontës’ Juvenilia |
The Brontës’ early work shows the strongest influence of the early Gothic with kidnappings, doubles, magic, torture and necromancy all taking place in their early worlds. This session will be an opportunity to explore the worlds the siblings created and trace the development of their relationship with the Gothic. We’ll be looking at a number of stories and poems but we recommend reading ‘The Foundling’ by Charlotte before the session. We will include a discussion of this story in the class. |
12pm-1pm |
Lunch break |
(you’re welcome to bring your own lunch or join us at Cobbles & Clay café in Haworth) |
1pm-2pm |
The Gothic Worlds of the Brontë Sisters |
In this class, we will dive into the Gothic worlds of some of the Brontës’ most famous novels. We will explore how they rewrote and remade the Gothic and reimagined the Gothic hero and heroine. Taking the Gothic from exotic mountain landscapes in Europe to the bleak moors of the North of England, from ruined castles to ‘haunted’ homes, and from a celebration of virtuous heroines to an exploration of passionate, independent women. |
2pm-3pm |
The Gothic Afterlives of the Brontës |
In this session, we’ll look at the Brontës' afterlives, both literal and figurative. We’ll explore the work of nineteenth-century spiritualists claiming to have channelled Charlotte’s new novel, the Gothic films their works inspired, and their influence on later Gothic literature. We’ll finish the seminar with our own explorations of Gothic possibilities – the stories, adaptations, and ideas that your Gothic day in the Brontës home has inspired! |
3pm-4pm |
Session in the Museum library |
See related collection items up close with our Principal Curator. |
More Recent Articles
|
|