REPORT ON BRONTË CONFERENCE 2009

Helen MacEwan writes:

The combination of the theme of this year's conference, Men in the Brontës' Lives, encompassing so many fascinating figures, with the setting of York made it an irresistible event. We heard ten talks in two days by some of the people best qualified to tell us about the men in question. Thus we heard about Patrick Brontë from his most recent biographer, and about Arthur Nicholls from the husband and wife team who have dedicated their retirement to researching this sometimes maligned and sidelined figure. And who better to tell us about M. Heger, Charlotte's inspirational Belgian teacher, than the translator and editor of Charlotte and Emily's "Belgian Essays"?

Like all Brontë Society events, this one was attended by a mixture of academics and the non-academic members who are in a majority and are as interested in the Brontës' lives as in their works - this fascination with their lives is surely what gives the Brontës their unique appeal for such a wide variety of people. In this conference with its emphasis on biography the Society succeeded, as it generally does, in pitching its appeal to both groups.

We were housed on the campus of York University, made attractive by its lovely lake. Between talks we enjoyed stimulating conversations with other members and made new friends. We were entertained as well as instructed, particularly by an amazing after-dinner speech by the Society's new president Gyles Brandreth, writer, broadcaster, TV personality and, above all, entertainer. His anecdotes were hilarious but his underlying message was one he feels passionately about. He spoke about how the Brontës' works (which he discovered through his three elder sisters) introduced him to the world of literature, and about the importance of literature in general and the fascination of 19th century literature in particular.

At the end of the conference, some of the youngest attendees – students at school or university – were invited to give their impressions on what we had heard. Charlotte Jonné, a student at Brussels University who has written a dissertation on Charlotte Brontë's The Professor, has written the report below on the talks.

Brontë Conference 31 July-2 August 2009: Men in the Bronte's Lives

A report by Charlotte Jonné

(Note: I have done my best to give an accurate report of the speakers' ideas. If any inaccuracies have slipped in I apologise and will correct them if pointed out.)

As I am writing this, I am sitting on my bed in the lovely York Youth Hostel pondering events past, and basically not wanting to go back home. Home, which is – granted – a few degrees warmer, but not as appealing as a conference room filled with Brontë enthusiasts. A lot has happened over the past weekend. I have listened to eminent scholars making their points (accompanied by the occasional plugging of a book), I have got to know very nice people from all over the world (including fellow country…women I should say), and I have had heated discussions about the actor to play Heathcliff / Mr. Rochester in the perfect screen adaptation. The perfect screen adaptation which of course only exists in our mind’s eye (which is, I believe a submerged reference to Shakespeare’s Hamlet – an inside joke never hurts, but I’ll stop now, I promise). What I am trying to say, in this rather roundabout way, is that there was something for everyone at last weekend’s Brontë Conference at the University of York, the topic being Men in The Brontës' Lives - Influences, Publishers, Critics and Characters.

The very first lecture was by Christine Alexander, who talked about hero-worship and Charlotte Brontë. She agreed that there is a lot of hero worship in Brontë's work, because it was fashionable at the time, and because children model their behaviour on people they admire. The Brontë circle being as closed as it was, Charlotte had to look elsewhere, and found the Duke of Wellington among her father’s heroes. However, Alexander argues, Brontë always found a way of putting her admiration into perspective. Alexander then showed how this was done in throughout Brontë’s juvenilia and in Shirley.

The second lecture was given by Dudley Green, an expert on Patrick Brontë. He shed some light on the characteristics the Brontë children inherited from their father. Reverend Brontë made sure they had proper schooling and encouraged them to read, write, paint and play music. His religious influence can also be seen in the many biblical references in his children’s works. A special place in his heart was reserved for Emily, with whom he went shooting. He imprinted on Charlotte his sense of determination to succeed, which she would need when going to Belgium and when looking for a publisher. Patrick was paid a beautiful compliment on his parenting skills by M. Heger, who was impressed by the remarkable character of Charlotte and Emily.

The third lecture on Friday did not have a literary basis. Jane Sellars, an art historian, told us about the Brontë family portraits, of which there are two: Branwell's Pillar Portrait and Gun Group, which has been severely damaged. Sellars reviewed Branwell’s artistic influences and presumed intentions in painting his sisters, but also tried to look at the paintings afresh. She pointed out that the Pillar Portrait was painted when none of the sisters were famous, before the family tragedies. And yet, she argues, our modern-day perception of the portrait is distorted, because in our eyes, it has absorbed all the biographical information we now have about the Brontës.

On Saturday, Miriam Bailin gave us her views on the relationship between Charlotte Brontë and the critic George Henry Lewes. Lewes was the first person to characterise fictional realism, and that is what he wanted out of Charlotte Brontë: realism. He warned her about melodrama and was of the opinion that she should stick to her own experience. Charlotte recognised Lewes’s wisdom but did not accept it, since that was exactly what she had done in writing The Professor, a novel everyone was reluctant to publish. Brontë and Lewes had a lively correspondence, until he judged Shirley harshly, and revealed that the author was a woman. Charlotte felt wronged, since he had judged her as a woman and not as an author. Their frank interchange came to an end.

Michael O’Neill subsequently gave us a talk on Emily Brontë’s poetry and Romanticism, firmly establishing the ties between the Romantics (especially Shelley) and Emily’s poetry. He showed how Brontë reworked Romanticism, and how she responds to her predecessors.

Lucasta Miller, author of The Brontë Myth, gave us an introduction to Letitia Elizabeth Landon, an English poet and novelist, whose celebrity turned into notoriety after a series of scandals. Miller connects L.E.L.’s world with that of Charlotte Brontë. One similarity is the gossip: Charlotte Brontë was the alleged mistress of Thackeray. Unlike Landon, Brontë refused the part of the scandalous woman, and allowed no flirtation with anyone whatsoever. It is, however, interesting to ask the question: if Charlotte Brontë had lived in London, would she have been tempted?

Then Patsy Stoneman took the stage with her lecture on Rochester and Heathcliff as romantic heroes. As in earlier romantic stories, e.g. Jane Austen's, the relationship of Jane Eyre and Rochester is very Oedipal, Stoneman argues. He is an older man. He is also dark, moody, powerful, with hidden sorrows, not unlike Zamorna, Brontë’s Romantic hero. Whereas in the earlier stories it is often the heroine who changes, Jane Eyre revolves around the reformation of the hero. This has become a defining feature of modern romance writings. Rochester is gentler than many Byronic heroes and is prepared to share his life with his wife.

Heathcliff, however, is different from the traditional hero of romance and the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff is far from Oedipal, Stoneman claims. It stems from an earlier psychological phase, the mirror phase, where the child needs another person as a mirror to reflect it back to itself. This love, comparable to love between siblings, is a heritage from the Romantics, and explains the doubt as to whether there is adult sexual attraction between Heathcliff and Cathy. Heathcliff is a Romantic hero with a capital ‘R’, his story being sad and epic, while Rochester has more of the traditional romantic hero with a small ‘r’; his is a more appealing storyline.

Next, Paul Edmondson established the tie between Shakespeare and Anne Brontë’s novels. He showed that Anne has digested and reworked Shakespeare’s work. She had a copy of his work and the creases in its pages indicate what she read, where she paused, etc. The plays she alludes to most are Hamlet and Othello.

Richard Mullen subsequently analysed the relationship between William Makepeace Thackeray and Charlotte Brontë. The two of them had several meetings and an animated correspondence. Theirs was a very ambivalent relationship; Charlotte was at the same time very pleased and displeased with him. Even after Thackeray had revealed her identity in public, she continued to go to his lectures, but five years after that, she was tired of him, and he of her, and their correspondence ended. Charlotte had got too close to her idol.

On Sunday, Mr and Mrs Cochrane, two local historians, lectured on Arthur Bell Nicholls, Charlotte Brontë’s husband. Nicholls has been neglected in Brontë studies, has always stayed on the periphery, because Brontë admirers in general have had a strong antipathy towards him. The Cochranes emphasised that this does not do him justice, and that we should be grateful to him, since he gave Charlotte one of the happiest years of her life.

After which Sue Lonoff brought up M. Heger. She split her subject up into four parts. Firstly, Constantin Heger, the busy, Catholic man who lost his first wife and child. Secondly, Charlotte and Emily’s professor, an inspiring man with remarkable teaching methods. Thirdly, Heger is transformed into M. Paul Emanuel in Villette. This is a radical revision of reality: in Villette, Emanuel is a bachelor, whereas M. Heger was very much a family man. Fourthly, Heger was very responsive to Brontë fans, answering questions and giving them Charlotte’s essays as souvenirs.

The last lecture was one from Margaret Smith, who talked about George Smith and William Smith Williams and their connection with Charlotte Brontë. Smith was a very good friend, gave her advice on financial matters and was even an alleged love interest, although he wasn’t in the least attracted to Charlotte. William Smith Williams sent her books and advised her to write a three-part work (Jane Eyre) rather than another two-part work like The Professor. Charlotte dissolved their correspondence with a rather cold letter.

To conclude the conference we were asked our opinion, and our suggestions for future Brontë Conference topics. Suggestions were: “Branwell”, “The influence of the Brontës on their contemporaries”, “Brontë and Shakespeare”, “Brontë influences”. In sum, there is enough material to keep on talking for many, many years to come!

Charlotte Jonné is a member of the Brussels Brontë Group (http://www.thebrusselsbrontegroup.org)

Below, Parsonage Director Andrew McCarthy introducing Sue Lonoff, York University's Central Hall, student delegates with Paul Edmundson, Gyles Brandreth standing on his head:

Poetry and Picnics

Bring your own picnic to enjoy on the Parsonage lawn on one of our creative poetry days. Yorkshire Dales Ice-Cream will be on site for the three days, selling ice cream fresh from their local dairy.

On Tuesday 11 August, poets Sarah Hymas and Sue Wood will be working at the museum for the day, engaging with visitors and creating fun poetry-based activities for visitors and families. Have a go at creating your own poem, or simply enjoy the poetry readings in the garden at various times throughout the day.

On Saturday 15 August, poet Mark Ward will be reading from his latest collection Thunder Alley in the grounds of the museum, while local storyteller Peter Findlay will be entertaining children and families with his very silly songs at various times throughout the day.

Another creative poetry day on Friday 21 August will see poets Jane Commane and Char March offering activities for families and visitors to enhance their visit to the museum. Come and explore the museum in extreme close-up using a magnifying glass, or create your own Brontë-style story in less than 50 words!

Ghosts

News release from Jenna Holmes:

GHOSTS: AN EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS BY
SAM TAYLOR-WOOD

An exhibition of landscape photographs by one of Britain’s most famous artists, Sam Taylor-Wood, will go on show at the Parsonage on Friday 17 July until Monday 2 November 2009. The exhibition will be formally opened on Friday by broadcaster and art critic Matthew Collings.

The series, titled Ghosts, was shot on the moors near Top Withens, the fictional place where Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is set, and the novel serves as a backdrop to Sam Taylor-Wood’s photographs.

The landscape in Ghosts is bleak and unremitting, and echoes the brutal portrayal of heightened passion and suffering found in Wuthering Heights. Traces of the novel are found in Taylor-Wood’s landscapes; in Ghosts II, two solitary leafless trees, twisted towards each other, embody Cathy and Heathcliff and throughout the series Sam Taylor-Wood’s response to the book has been to photograph the wildness of the air that inspired Brontë’s novel.

The series was originally exhibited as part of Sam Taylor-Wood’s most recent show, Yes I No, at White Cube, London in October 2008. The photographs have been resized to fit the Parsonage and will be exhibited in the period rooms of the Brontë Parsonage Museum as part of its Contemporary Arts Programme 2009. The exhibition has been made possible with the support of Arts Council England and the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

“Exhibiting such powerful work by such a prominent artist is tremendously exciting. As well as showcasing the ways in which the Brontës continue to influence contemporary culture, Ghosts is also an important addition to the strong legacy of landscape photography in the area.

We hope that by exhibiting Ghosts in the place that inspired it, new layers and connections will be drawn between the work and the Parsonage, as well as offering the public a unique opportunity to see important contemporary art in an unusual setting”. Jenna Holmes, Arts Officer, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Sam Taylor-Wood (b.1967) graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1990 and has received international critical acclaim for her work in photography and film. In 1997 she was awarded the Illy Café Prize for Most Promising Young Artist at the Venice Biennale and a Turner Prize nomination followed in 1998. Taylor-Wood is at the centre of the Young British Artist movement of contemporary British art, part of the same generation as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Since her first solo exhibition at White Cube in 1995, she has had numerous solo exhibitions, including being the youngest artist ever to be granted a solo exhibition at The Hayward Gallery. In 2004 she famously exhibited a film of David Beckham asleep. The work was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and is in their permanent collection.

Solo exhibitions include Kunsthalle Zurich (1997), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek (1997), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC (1999), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2000), Hayward Gallery, London (2002), State Russian Museum, St Petersburg (2004), MCA, Moscow (2004), BALTIC, Gateshead (2006), MCA Sydney (2006), MoCA Cleveland (2008) and Contemporary Art Museum, Houston (2008).

For further information about the exhibition or arts events contact jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk/ 01535 640188.

Image below courtesy of Sam Taylor-Wood and White Cube

Eighth not fifteenth

The local residents' free admission day is Saturday 8 August, not 15 August as reported recently.

Jane Eyre in French

Jon Lindseth writes:

I am compiling a census of two Bruxelles 1849 adaptation editions of Jane Eyre in French language. If any one knows of any copy other than those listed below, please let me know.

1. The first is: Jane Eyre. Bruxelles: Alp. Lebegue, imprimeur-editor. 1849. Translated by “O.N.” (Old-Nick; i.e. P. E. Durand-Forgues.) 2 v in 1. This is an adaptation of pp143;104.  It is discussed by Emile Langlois in Brontë Society Transactions Part 81, No.1 of Volume 16, 1971. It is shown in one copy on COPAC, that at Cambridge and in three copies on OCLC, at Cambridge, Princeton and Leiden University.

2. The second is: Jane Eyre. Bruxelles: Meline, Cans et Compagnie. 1849. No translator listed but now known to be the same Durand-Forgues as in book (1) above. 2 v. Pp [iv] + 269; [iv] + 284. In 27 chapters.  Not discussed by Langlois or listed in any Brontë bibliography. No copy in COPAC or OCLC. I have a copy which so far is the only one located.

Neither book shows in American Book Prices Current (ABPC online) for recorded auctions since 1978, or on Artfact or Jahrbuch der Auktionspreise.

The Bodleian has not posted their pre-1920 books on COPAC but a check of their catalogue shows they have no Jane Eyre editions, Bruxelles, 1849. The British Library has neither edition. Bibliotheque royale de Belgique and the Belgian Union Catalogue have neither. Bibliotheque nationale de France and the French Union Catalogue locate neither edition. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the national library of the Netherlands, confirms they have neither edition; their search of the Dutch Union Catalog confirms that only Leiden University holds the Alp. Lebegue adaptation edition and the Meline edition is not found.

My speculation is that other copies will turn up in personal Brontë or Victorian woman writer collections or library shelves of people who have inherited books and don’t know the significance of what they have.

If you know of other copies of either edition, please contact me at jalindseth@aol.com

Help from the Lottery Fund

A news release from Andrew McCarthy, Parsonage Director:

The Brontë Parsonage Museum has been awarded a grant of £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support a programme of exciting new developments.

The museum has ambitious plans to completely refurbish the historic interiors of the Parsonage over the next two years. This will involve researching and introducing a new decorative scheme to the Parsonage rooms, the renewal of interpretation giving visitors of all ages information about the house and the family, and installing new object cases and displays. The project will also seek to create a greater focus in the museum on Haworth’s history and the social-historical context in which the Brontës lived.

As part of this initiative there will be a programme of community activity to involve local people in the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will fund stage one of the project which will involve the introduction of new interpretation, object cases and displays and the community programme of events which will begin with a local residents’ free admission day on 8 August.

The museum, which was home to the famous Brontë family for over forty years, and is where Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s great novels were written, recently completed a major refurbishment to its permanent exhibition space located in an extension to the original Brontë house. The refurbishment was the first major development at the museum in over twenty years and the new exhibition space, Genius: The Brontë Story, which includes the treasures of the museum’s collection as well as fun interactive displays for children, has proved a big hit with visitors. This latest project will see further improvements to the museum.

Fiona Spiers, Head of HLF, Yorkshire and the Humber Region, said: "This fantastic project will really bring the museum’s collections to life for everyone to explore. HLF is dedicated to supporting projects that open up our heritage for locals and visitors to learn about and enjoy."

We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting us with this work. The Brontës are the heart of Haworth but they were part of a broader community when they lived and wrote here and the museum has an important role in reflecting that and in forging links with the twenty-first century Haworth community.

This project will hopefully allow us to work in partnership with that community to reinterpret the Brontës and the Parsonage for the next generation.

More on the Annual Meeting

Brussels delegate Helen MacEwan writes:

One of the joys of the annual Brontë weekend in Haworth  is the encounters with the other members who converge on the village each year. They (we) are a very diverse group of people ranging from academics who have devoted their lives to researching the Brontës to local people who grew up with them, so to speak, and have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the family and of local lore. Some even have family links with Brontë connections, like Audrey Hall, who has inherited a scrapbook of Ellen Nussey's containing newspaper cuttings about Ellen's beloved friend Charlotte Brontë.

Then there are the claims made by some enthusiasts. There's the lady who claims to be a descendant of an illegitimate child of Branwell Brontë. Or the one who took a photo of the Parsonage and believes that a shadowy outline in the doorway is the ghost of Charlotte.

Of course the Brontës were keen on the supernatural so it is perhaps natural that ghosts should come up sometimes in the tales that are swapped over pints and generous helpings of Yorkshire pudding in the pub after the day's events. Have you heard the story about the London taxi-driver who saw Charlotte's ghost sitting in his cab? 

Enjoyable as these stories are, however, few Brontë Society members claim to see ghosts or dabble in any way in the supernatural! True, most of us have our passions and enthusiasms. Such as adding to our libraries of Brontë-related books. The Brontës must be the most written-about literary family in the world and we always live in hopes of picking up first editions or rare biographies in the many second-hand bookshops in Main Street.

The Brontës have always attracted creative people. In the pub I talked to the Italian cellist Paolo Mencarelli who belongs to a chamber music group called the Gondal Trio and is interested in the similarities between Emily's writings and Beethoven's music, and jazz singer Val Wiseman who's brought out an album of songs inspired by members of the Brontë family and by characters in their books.

Turning to the scheduled entertainment, one of the highlights was a concert given by Veronica Metz, who recently performed for the Brussels group, of her Celtic settings of Emily Brontë's poems.

Another was the panel discussion with novelists Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat), Jude Morgan, Amanda Craig, and Kate Walker who writes for Mills & Boon, on the influence of the Brontës on their work. Look out for Jude Morgan's The Taste of Sorrow, a fictionalised biography of the Brontës, which has just come out.

Interesting insights were provided during the discussion both by the writers and by members of the audience. For example, Patsy Stoneman said one gets the feeling from their novels that the Brontës somehow wanted to be women and Romantic heroes at the same time.

We also had talks by Juliet Barker, THE Brontë biographer, who started her career working in the Parsonage Museum. She refutes many of the "myths" about both Haworth and the Brontës perpetrated by Mrs Gaskell in her Life of Charlotte Brontë, and spoke to us about the motives that led Gaskell to deliberately distort some of the facts. But despite its inaccuracies, the Life is still a wonderful introduction to the Brontës. Our Brontë weekend in Brussels in 2010, the bicentenary of Mrs Gaskell's birth, will focus on her and we'll be exploring the ways in which she researched the material for her biography.

The revised edition of Juliet Barker's own Brontë biography is about to come out and she told us that some new facts have come to light, for example fresh evidence discrediting the story that Branwell went to London to study art at the Royal Academy and returned penniless having failed in the attempt and spent his money on drink.

The Society's annual general meeting, which all members can attend, always takes place over the weekend, with the Society's Council members reporting on developments in the past year. Financially, the Society relies heavily on revenue from visitors to the Parsonage Museum, and this year has seen an exciting revamp of the exhibition area. Every year there is an extensive arts programme. The Museum promotes works by contemporary writers and artists inspired by the Brontës and offers a wide range of educational activities.

As always, there were guided walks and happily the weather, which for the first part of the weekend was much more conducive to ghost stories round the fire than to walking, cleared up in time for our tramp over the Moors.

Next year's Brontë weekend in Haworth will be from Friday 4 June to Monday 7 June 2010. The main events are from Friday to Sunday, with an all-day excursion on Monday for those wishing to prolong the weekend.

Hope to see some of you there!

(See also the Brussels Brontë Blog in Links)

Below, concert by Veronica Metz of the band Anois in the Baptist chapel in Haworth used for many of the events:

Sex, Drugs and Literature

On Thursday evening the new exhibition Sex, Drugs and Literature: The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë was viewed by an appreciative crowd. Branwell's life is presented in a balanced way, with recent research appropriately incorporated. We saw Branwell the impressive translator, Branwell the accomplished musician and Branwell the inspirational child as well as Branwell the drunk, Branwell the mediocre painter and Branwell who was hopelessly in love with his distant Lydia: her name appears in Greek lettering on one of the documents. It is beautifully set out and well designed, with banners by Den Stubbs.

"Branwell with his red hair would have been bullied had he been sent to school," Juliet Barker told her audience yesterday. "The only reason he wasn't sent was because his father couldn't afford it." She was speaking on her own, efficiently introduced by Jenna Holmes from the Parsonage, and without Justine Picardie, who is ill. The listeners included a contingent of younger aficionados, sitting cross-legged on the floor, an excellent sign.

Later yesterday, Director Andrew McCarthy talked about the new permanent exhibition and how problems installing it were overcome, using a slide show. Today, there's the church service, the AGM in the afternoon and  The Brontës and Romance. Tomorrow, there's music and walking - hopefully not too lashed by the Pennine weather.

Below, four of the overseas members - Maddalena and Paolo Mencarelli from Italy, Judith Watkins from Canada and Helen MacEwan from Belgium.

Full details of the weekend can be found on the Museum website at www.bronte.info

Annual Meeting 1954

The Writing the Century programme on BBC Radio 4 yesterday evening was fascinating on several levels. The series explores the twentieth century through dramatisations of diaries and letters belonging to what are described as 'real people' - as opposed to politicians, presumably, who are unreal. The real person on this occasion was Linton Andrews, whose diary from 1954 was brought to life beautifully by Vanessa Rosenthal. He was the editor of the Yorkshire Post and lived in Alwoodley in Leeds.

We heard about his blood pressure, something called 'purchase tax', a wedding reception at the Polish Club on the Chapeltown Road in Leeds and how he changed his black Ford Prefect for a grey Hillman Minx. We also heard about the Annual Meeting of the Brontë Society, of which he was chairman - the Society in those days was strongly connected with journalists. This took place in May (it was later changed to June, of course) and the main speaker was Rebecca West, with whom he had cocktails before returning her to the Queens Hotel.

"She was a lively companion, perhaps too lively," he commented. "The famous flowing of wit sounded too much like a dripping of malice." West had previously dined with Dr Phyllis Bentley, novelist, author of The Brontës and their World and prominent citizen of Halifax. "Isn't she pure?" said West to Andrews. "Of course, she's all for Hopkinson in his row with The Daily Sketch."  She then went on to describe Hopkinson as  "a CP member and a slimy trickster........as soon as I open my mouth on the subject of the Communist Party, I am accused of being a McCarthy supporter, according to J B Priestley."

Andrews was careful with his replies. You can listen to the whole fifteen minutes, wherever you are in the world, by clicking here.

Can anyone shed any light on this Hopkinson? Or the conflict with The Daily Sketch?

Rebecca West below:

Linton Andrews on Radio 4

Richard Wilcocks writes:

A little late for a reminder, but you might catch it: on Radio 4 this evening (19.45) - in the Writing the Century programme - Linton Andrews holds forth. He was Editor of the Yorkshire Post - and Chairman of the Brontë Society half a century ago. 1954 is the year for today....

American women writers and the Brontës

A message from Rachel Page:

Monday 15 June: American women writers and the Brontës

Elaine Showalter

Chaired by Ion Trewin

One of the first essays that Virginia Woolf had published, in The Guardian when she was 22, was about a ‘pilgrimage’ to Haworth. She was writing 50 years after the death of the last of the Brontë sisters, Charlotte, but the ‘thrill’ of the bleak Yorkshire vicarage and the sisters’ small relics was vivid and powerful. Haworth had already become a place for pilgrimage not just for British admirers, but also for Americans, many of them writers.

Elaine Showalter discusses the enormous impact of the Brontës – through Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Villette and Mrs Gaskell’s Life of Charlotte Brontë – on American women’s writing in the 19th century: writers black and white, novelists and poets, from Emily Dickinson to Sarah Orne Jewett, who used the lives and novels of the Brontës as inspirations for American stories. A professor emerita at Princeton and former chair of the judges of the Man Booker International Prize, Elaine Showalter has just completed a new book, A Jury of Her Peers: American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx, published by Virago Press in May. Her previous books include A Literature of Their Own: British women novelists from Brontë to Lessing.

The talk will be held, as usual, in the Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre at the Courtauld Institute, Somerset House, WC2, and will begin at 7pm, with doors opening at 6pm. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception. Free for Fellows and members of the RSL; £8 for non-members; £5 concs.


Rachel Page
Royal Society of Literature
Somerset House
Strand
London WC2R ILA
T: 0207 845 4677 (direct line)
F: 0207 845 4679
E: rachel@rslit.org

Writers at the Brontë Weekend

Jenna Holmes writes:

A programme of literary events will take place in Haworth between 5 – 7 June as part of the annual Brontë Society weekend. Writers Joanne Harris and Justine Picardie will be amongst those taking part in author readings and discussions as part of the weekend of events.

The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë
To coincide with the new special exhibition focusing on Branwell Brontë, which opens at the Brontë Parsonage Museum on Monday 1 June, writer Justine Picardie and Brontë biographer Juliet Barker will be discussing the life and legacy of Branwell Brontë on the afternoon of Friday 5 June, at 3.30pm in the West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth. As a child Branwell was considered the greatest genius of the Brontë family, but while his sisters went on to write great novels, Branwell died aged 31 after declining into alcoholism and with a string of failed career attempts behind him. Juliet Barker and Justine Picardie will be debating whether this description of Branwell is fair and discussing some of the remaining mysteries that surround him. Justine Picardie is the author of the novel Daphne, which tells the story of the author Daphne du Maurier’s obsession with Branwell Brontë. Tickets are £5 and can be bought on the door.

The Brontës and Romance
An evening panel event on Saturday 6th June will see authors Joanne Harris, Amanda Craig, Jude Morgan and Mills & Boon author Kate Walker discussing the Brontës and romance novels. Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are often described as being amongst the greatest love stories in literature and this discussion, chaired by Justine Picardie, will look at the ways the novels have inspired romance writers. Huddersfield-based writer Joanne Harris is the author of the bestselling novel Chocolat (which became an Oscar-nominated film starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche). Jude Morgan’s latest novel, The Taste of Sorrow, is a fictionalised account of the life of the Brontës, while Kate Walker has based one of her recent Mills & Boon novels on the story of Wuthering Heights. This event takes place at 8pm at the West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked from jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk / 01535 640188.

Zenobia the strong-minded

Sarah Laycock writes:
A newly acquired Brontë treasure will go on display at the Parsonage this half-term for the first time.

The delicate pencil drawing was recently bought by the Brontë Society from a private owner in the USA, following a successful public appeal and grants from The Art Fund and the MLA / V&A Purchase Grant Fund.

The drawing, by Charlotte Brontë, is a portrait of one of the most significant characters in the Brontës’ early writings, Zenobia Marchioness Ellrington. Zenobia is a strong-minded, independent and intellectual woman, a forerunner to Jane Eyre and other later Brontë heroines. It is thought that the portrait of Zenobia was modelled on the Countess of Blessington, who Charlotte would have been aware of through her friendship with the scandalous Lord Byron - a great inspiration to all of the Brontë siblings.

Zenobia is one of three characters all drawn on the same day, in a burst of creativity by the 17 year-old Charlotte. The other two drawings are still in private collections and are only known through reproductions, so we are delighted that visitors to the museum will now be able to see this rare and wonderful drawing for the first time.

The Zenobia drawing will be displayed at the museum through the half-term holiday before it is removed for conservation work to be undertaken. Half-term is also a chance to see the museum’s current special exhibition, Who Were The Brontës, before it closes in early June, and the newly refurbished exhibition space, which features the treasures of the museum’s collection and fun interactive displays for families. There are also puppet making workshops for children on Wednesday 26 May (bookings: 01535 640185). There will be a limited number of special, 2 for 1 vouchers available in the village, including the Tourist Information Centre, allowing one adult or child free admission to the museum when accompanied by another adult.

Contacts & Further Information:
For further information on any new acquisitions please contact Ann Dinsdale - Collections Manager on 01535 640198

Jane Eyre. Bruxelles 1849

John Lindseth writes:

I am compiling a census of two Bruxelles 1849 editions of Jane Eyre in French language. If any one knows of any copy other than those listed below, please let me know.

1. The first is: Jane Eyre. Bruxelles: Alp. Lebegue, imprimeur-editor. 1849. Translated by “O.N.” (Old-Nick; i.e. P. E. Durand-Forgues.) 2 v in 1. This is an abridgement of pp143;104.

It is discussed by Emile Langlois in Brontë Society Transactions Part 81, No.1 of Volume 16, 1971.

It is shown in one copy on COPAC, that at Cambridge and in three copies on OCLC, at Cambridge, Princeton and Leiden University.

2. The second is: Jane Eyre. Bruxelles: Meline, Cans et Compagnie. 1849. No
translator listed. 2 v. Pp [iv] + 269; [iv] + 284.

Not discussed by Langlois or listed in any Brontë bibliography.

This edition may also be an abridgement, it is difficult to tell. It has 27 chapters and the Jane Eyre, London, first, second, third and fourth editions all have 38.

No copy in COPAC or OCLC. I have a copy which so far is the only one located.

Neither book shows on American Book Prices Current (ABPC online) for recorded auctions since 1978, or on Artfact or Jahrbuch der Auktionspreise.

The Bodleian has not posted their pre-1920 books on COPAC but a check of their catalogue shows they have no Jane Eyre editions, Bruxelles, 1849.

The British Library has neither edition. Bibliotheque royale de Belgique and the Belgian Union Catalogue have neither. Bibliotheque nationale de France and the French Union Catalogue locate neither edition.

Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the national library of the Netherlands confirms they have neither edition; their search of the Dutch Union Catalog confirms that only Leiden University holds the Alp. Lebegue abridged edition and the Meline edition is not found.

My speculation is that other copies will turn up in personal Brontë or Victorian woman writer collections or library shelves of people who have inherited books and don’t know the significance of what they have.

If you know of other copies of either edition, please contact me at: jalindseth@aol.com

New Gaskell letter

News release from Sarah Laycock:

New addition to museum collection:
Unpublished letter by Charlotte Brontë's friend and biographer Elizabeth Gaskell.

An original letter by Elizabeth Gaskell, author of Mary Barton (1848) and The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857) has recently been purchased by the Brontë Society.

Mrs Gaskell first met Charlotte through mutual friends in 1850 and remained in correspondence with her up until Charlotte’s death in 1855. After Charlotte died, she was approached by Patrick Brontë and asked to write an account of his daughter’s life authorised by the people that knew her best. The ‘account’ turned into one of the most famous biographies ever written about an author’s life and proved to be a great success - giving Charlotte more popularity and fame than ever before.

The content of the letter, in which Gaskell responds to an autograph collector’s request for Charlotte’s signature, gives us some insight into just how popular and iconic Charlotte Brontë had become since her death and how sought after her signature became following the publication of The Life of Charlotte Brontë. The letter has never been published before nor has it ever been displayed for the public to see.

Visitors can see the letter at the museum as part of a new Charlotte Brontë exhibition which runs until the end of the year. The exhibition includes some of the more personal and intimate items belonging to Charlotte as well as a selection of her artwork and manuscripts.

Easter at the Parsonage

A news release from Director Andrew McCarthy:

Following a major refurbishment to its main exhibition space in February, the Parsonage has had a brisk start to the year with visitors numbers up on 2008. The new exhibition, Genius – The Brontë Story, has allowed the museum to display more of its amazing collection of treasures than ever before, some things for the very first time. It also features fun interactive displays for children and families.

This Easter the museum also has a packed programme of activities to keep visitors entertained. Throughout the holiday there’ll be a special Brontë egg hunt for children in the museum. There’ll also be storytelling and art and craft activities for children and families together. There’ll be a special appearance from Branwell Brontë who’ll give his version of the Brontë story through a hilarious, performance poetry presentation; and scenes from Charlotte Brontë’s famous novel Jane Eyre will be performed in the Parsonage garden. In addition to all of this, the museum has all new displays in the historic rooms of the Parsonage and an exhibition of costumes from the forthcoming TV production of Wuthering Heights.

There’s lots of new things to see at the Parsonage this year, not least of all our fabulous new exhibition which is the most significant development here in nearly thirty years. This Easter is a great opportunity for people to get out and see some of the rarest treasures of the museum’s collection and also enjoy a full programme of activities that will appeal to the whole family

Easter Events at the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

Throughout the holiday there’ll be a special Brontë egg hunt for children in the museum

Friday 10 April - Storytelling for children and families - 1.30pm to 5.00pm

Saturday 11 April - Art and craft activities for children -10.00am to 4.30pm

Sunday 12 April - Branwell’s About! - Branwell tells the Brontë story; performances in the Parsonage garden - 2.30 & 3.30pm

Monday 13 April - Special drama performances - scenes from Jane Eyre performed throughout the day in the Parsonage garden

All events are free on payment of normal admission charge to the museum

For further details contact the museum on 01535 642323/ bronte@bronte.org.uk/ www.bronte.info

Richard Wilcocks adds:

Andrew has been performing in role as Branwell for several years now. If you haven't  seen him in Branwell's About yet, now's your chance. It's educational in the best sense of the word, involves members of the audience (I remember one occasion when he delighted a Danish contingent on the lawn) and it's......funny.

Below, Andrew McCarthy at the opening of the new exhibition:

Branwell with Aspergers Syndrome?

News release from Arts Officer Jenna Holmes:

GRAPHOLOGIST EXAMINES HANDWRITING OF THE BRONTËS TO REVEAL NEW INSIGHT INTO THEIR PERSONALITIES

Leading graphologist Diane Simpson will be resident at the Parsonage on Saturday 14 March, working with visitors to analyse the handwriting of the Brontës. Diane has been working with the Parsonage to analyse the handwriting of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë and to produce new insights into their personalities.

The museum commissioned her to look at the Brontës’ writing as part of the Alter Ego exhibition of paintings by artist Victor Buta, currently on show at the museum, which is based on Brontë handwriting and signatures.

This is the first time that the Brontës’ handwriting has been examined by a graphologist and Diane has analysed examples of original handwriting held in the museum collections. By analysing the writing of the four Brontës, using samples written at various different stages in their lives, Diane has produced individual profiles for Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne. Her research has revealed new information about the famous siblings. The graphology event on 14 March is free.

A summary of Diane Simpson’s profiles of the Brontës:
Charlotte
Nowadays, Charlotte would have been described as a workaholic. Diane believes Charlotte’s handwriting marks her as a fiercely motivated and driven person, without a particular need to be liked, with the result that speaking her mind - even if it meant going against prevailing opinion - would not have been a problem. However, the deaths of Branwell and Emily in 1848 and the illness of Anne in the same year marked an enormous change in her self confidence and ability to run her life …both of which markedly diminished.
Branwell
The only son of the family, Branwell never reached the high expectations of his family and turned to drink and drugs. Despite being highly creative, Branwell never found his niche and suffered from a lack of focus. His obsessive behaviour and mood swings worsened as he got older and Diane has also hinted that some of his personality traits could be likened to those of Asperger’s Syndrome.


More information on Asperger's Syndrome here.Emily
Less introvert than Branwell and not as outgoing as Charlotte, Emily was in many respects firmly in the middle. It has always been believed that Emily rapidly succumbed to tuberculosis before her death in 1848, however Diane believes that she was actually masking her symptoms for a lot longer than was previously thought. She could have been gradually getting weaker for as long as three years before anyone became aware of it.
Anne
The youngest and least well-known of the Brontë sisters, Diane believes that Anne’s writing shows she was in fact intellectually superior to her siblings. Initially self-confident, and despite a desire to make progress, as she grew older she became increasingly self-critical and reluctant to expose her abilities, and indeed herself, to the scrutiny of others. With a formidable intellect and strong sense of fair play, perhaps had she been born 60 years later and been physically stronger she may well have been a prime mover of the Suffragette Movement.

Diane Simpson says:

“Despite reading Jane Eyre while at school I am ashamed to say I knew little or nothing about the Brontës apart from that they were a family of writers who lived in a then remote part of Yorkshire in the early 1800’s. I embarked on this project without reading any more about them and, therefore, with a very open mind. What I have found so far has been utterly fascinating and I now intend to read everything written by and about them.

What I discovered were four intellectual giants, three with staying power, and one without, because of which his possible achievements seemed to have dissipated as repeatedly one interest was taken up only to be supplanted by another.
The most talented of the four? I haven’t yet decided but confess that at the moment Anne is in the lead. When I have studied them longer perhaps I will change my mind”.

Diane Simpson has become particularly well known for her work with West Yorkshire Police on the Yorkshire Ripper case. A founder member of the British Institute of Graphologists, she has worked with numerous museums and galleries and has analysed the handwriting of historical figures such as Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn.

Further information - Jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk 

Below - Diane Simpson

Parsonage Catalogue Online

A news release from Sarah Laycock, Collections and Library Officer:

The Parsonage's collection is now accessible online. The catalogue includes images and information on over 7000 items. The catalogue, made possible by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a generous donation from a member of the Brontë Society, is a landmark achievement in the history of the museum, allowing global access to its remarkable collection.

Every January, the museum is closed for cleaning and conservation work, with object displays changed and different Brontë treasures introduced to ensure that items displayed through the previous year are protected and preserved and that there are new Brontë treasures for visitors to admire and appreciate. The museum is only able to display around 10% of its collection and it would be impossible for the whole of that collection to be exhibited at once. The new online catalogue will give visitors a chance to browse through the collection at their leisure and will give an indication as to its size and diversity.

The museum has recently undergone a major refurbishment allowing us to display more of our collections and improving the way objects are presented; making the museum much more interesting for visitors. The new on-line catalogue is also about making more of the treasures of our collections available for people to see, but in this case they can do so from anywhere in the world. So anyone with a passion for the Brontës’ shoes, china, jewellery or furniture, or wanting to read their letters, or just curious about them, can search the catalogue to learn more about them and see what’s kept in the museum’s stores as well as on public display

In conjunction with the museum catalogue, there is also an extensive research library catalogue listing thousands of entries including critical works, biographies, articles, film and drama archive material, journals and much much more. Simple and more advanced search options allow users to be as general or as precise as they need to be and for those who are planning a visit to the museum’s library, the online catalogue will enable them to plan what material they might like to see prior to a visit.

To search the catalogue simply click HERE and follow the link on the homepage.

Alter Ego

A news release from Jenna Holmes:


An exhibition of abstract paintings by Haworth based artist Victor Buta has opened at the Parsonage. The exhibition, Alter Ego, is based on the Brontës' signatures and pseudonyms and has been inspired by numerous items of Brontë handwriting and correspondence in the museum collections, including the Brontës’ pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, their famous ‘little books’ and the origins and development of the Brontë surname.

The exhibition takes place as part of the Museum’s contemporary arts programme and Victor Buta has also used the signatures of Cornelia Parker and Paula Rego within his work – two contemporary artists who have previously responded to the Brontës as part of the programme at the museum. Alter Ego is on show until 31 March and all of the paintings on display are also for sale.

As part of the exhibition, there are two special events taking place at the museum. On Saturday 28 February, Victor Buta will be holding a practical workshop for artists of all abilities to create their own paintings inspired by his exhibition and the Brontës’ handwriting. The day will include a trip to the Parsonage library to see examples of original Brontë correspondence. The workshop costs £25.00 (£15.00 concessions) and includes entry to the museum, materials and refreshments.

Spaces are limited but a few places remain available. For further information contact jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk / 01535 640188. The museum has also commissioned leading graphologist Diane Simpson to analyse some of the Brontës’ handwriting as part of the project. Diane will be resident at the museum on Saturday 14 March, working with visitors to explore her findings. This event will be free on admission to the museum.

Victor Buta is a Haworth based artist who has developed a number of projects and exhibitions based on signatures, including a series of paintings using doctors’ signatures, now in the permanent collection of the NHS Hospital Teaching Trust. He has been exhibiting in solo and group shows for twenty-five years, teaches art to a variety of groups and has been involved in numerous large-scale community art projects.

Refreshed

Richard Wilcocks writes:

Everything has been refreshed, thanks to the hard work of the Parsonage staff during the closed period. In general, more is on display, and costumes from the ITV version of Wuthering Heights (expect it on UK screens this year, ‘possibly in the early summer’) have been placed in the spruced-up rooms, so visitors will be able to see what Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley wore for the filming when they walk around with the television images in their recent memories. The costumes all look freshly-stitched and ..….pristine. I suppose it would be too much to expect a line of dried moorland mud on Cathy’s hem.

The Genius exhibition is very impressive, a great improvement on what was there before, and the newly-uncovered window makes a significant difference. There are brief quotes on the walls, displays at appropriate eye-levels, intelligent selection and labelling, increased colour and a sense of airiness. There is also a section for younger children, who are invited to lift little blue lids to see illustrations of what it was like in the mid-nineteenth century. In an ideal world in which large sums of money can be brought by obedient genies, in some kind of separate visitors’ centre, there would be an abundance of stimulatory material for primary school visitors – toy soldiers and more....

Something like ten years ago, there was much talk on Brontë Society Council about a new visitors’ centre – should it be an earth-sheltered, ecologically-sound structure, or a kind of converted barn, and so on, and at one stage plans were drawn and a booklet produced. I remember contributing a piece. It was all fantasy, though, a series of optimistic speculations based on the supposition that a huge grant would be given.

Bonnie Greer (pictured below) was the guest at the official opening on Friday evening. She said all the right things, wonderfully, after an introduction from Director Andrew McCarthy. She was genuinely overwhelmed by simply standing inside the Parsonage, the place where so much of global literary significance had happened. She mentioned the influence of Patrick, the loving and unusually liberal paterfamilias who had allowed his daughters to read and write so much, and the continuing power of the Sisters: “I read Wuthering Heights at a young age, and if Emily Brontë can have such an effect on a little black girl in Chicago, she can have a big effect on anyone.”

Half Term Activities at the Parsonage

Media release from Jenna Holmes:

An exhibition of costumes from the upcoming ITV adaptation of Wuthering Heights, a newly refurbished exhibition focusing on the Brontës’ lives with interactive displays for families, and arts and crafts drop-in workshops are just some of the activities for visitors to the Parsonage  during half term week.

Bafta-winning costume designer Amy Roberts has worked with the museum to display several of the costumes that she designed for ITV’s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The drama, which will be broadcast later in 2009, stars Tom Hardy, Sarah Lancashire and Charlotte Riley and was filmed in Yorkshire last year. Visitors will be able to see items worn by Heathcliff, Cathy and Isabella, amongst others, on display in the period rooms of the museum and find out more about how the costumes were created.

The newly renovated major exhibition room in the Parsonage now showcases more of the museum’s collection of precious manuscripts and artefacts than ever before, and its interactive design and bold new graphics also offer fun ways for children to explore the Brontë story.

On Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18, and Thursday 19 February Education Officer Susan Newby will be running drop-in arts and crafts activities for families throughout the day, free on admission to the museum. Visitors to Haworth should look out for special entry coupons that can be found in the cafes and shops in Haworth during half term week, offering special entry prices to the museum from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 February.

Also currently on display at the museum is a new contemporary arts exhibition by Haworth-based artist Victor Buta. His series of abstract paintings, Alter Ego, is based on the Brontës’ handwriting and signatures and the exhibition also offers new ways to discover the Brontës’ letters and handwriting. Victor Buta will be running an artists' workshop on Saturday 28 February for beginner or experienced artists to create their own Alter Ego paintings. For further information contact Arts Officer Jenna Holmes on 01535 640188.

Transformation at the Parsonage

News Release from Parsonage Director Andrew McCarthy:

The Brontë Parsonage Museum will re-open on 1 February 2009 following a major refurbishment. The museum’s permanent exhibition, focusing on the Brontës’ lives and works, had been in place for over twenty-five years and although it remained popular with visitors, was in need of renewal.

The exhibition room is located in an extension to the original Brontë house, which was added in the 1870s, nearly twenty years after the Brontës’ residency ended with the death of Patrick Brontë in 1861. The new exhibition, developed with Ilkley based designers, Redman, has taken around eighteen months to plan and is set to transform the space.

Panelling obscuring many of the room's historic features, including original windows which give views out across the Parsonage garden and graveyard down to Haworth Church, have been uncovered; new state of the art casing has been introduced which will allow for more of the museum’s collection of precious manuscripts and artefacts to be displayed, some for the first time ever; there are bold new graphics and updated interpretation to guide visitors through the Brontës' lives and writing; interactive displays for families have also been introduced to offer fun ways for children to explore the Brontë story; there will also be a completely new decoration scheme and a final flourish to the new contemporary design will be the Brontës’ own words adorning the walls of the room, with some of the most famous quotes from their great novels.

This is the most significant change to the museum in nearly thirty years and will transform our main exhibition space. The exhibition will still tell the Brontë story, but we have focused more on the Brontës’ writing and also introduced imaginative activities that will appeal to young children and families. The museum’s collection has grown considerably in recent years and this refurbishment will allow us to greatly improve the way we display the collection and also show more of it. In terms of the design, it will bring together the historic and the contemporary, restoring many of the room’s original features whilst also presenting the exhibition in an exciting contemporary way.

The new exhibition, entitled, GENIUS: THE BRONTË STORY will open to the public on Sunday 1 February.

The exhibition will be formally opened by playwright and critic Bonnie Greer at a special media event on Friday 13 February.

For further details contact the museum on 01535 642323/ bronte@bronte.org.uk/ www.bronte.info


____________________________________________________________________________

Notes to Editors:

Brontë Parsonage Museum

Please see the Brontë website for further details at http://www.bronte.info or contact Brontë Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley BD22 8DR T: 01535 642323, F: 01535 647131

Opening Times

The Museum is open every day of the year except 24-27 December 2009 and 4 to 31 January 2010 inclusive:

10.00 am - 5.30 pm (April to September) 11.00 am - 5.00 pm (October to March)

For admission prices and further information see www.bronte.info

A unique resource

A news release from Andrew McCarthy – Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum:

The Brontë Parsonage Museum has just been awarded full accreditation status from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The accreditation scheme award demonstrates that the museum has achieved defined national standards relating to governance, visitor services and collections management.

The museum houses the world’s largest collection of Brontë material including letters, manuscripts, furniture, clothing, personal artefacts and artworks. There are over 7000 items in the collection which is a unique resource for academics from around the world. The treasures of the collection are displayed within the Parsonage which also draws general visitors and lovers of the Brontës’ books to Haworth in tens of thousands every year.

We are delighted to have been granted full accreditation. The Brontës are of course intimately associated with Haworth and Yorkshire, but the Parsonage museum has a collection which is nationally and internationally important and we should all celebrate that fact. The museum’s collection has continued to grow in recent years and through our education and arts programmes we’ve offered all kinds of exciting new ways for visitors to experience the museum and find out about the Brontës.

The museum is offering free admission to children every weekend in December and in January will close for a major refurbishment which will see the installation of a new exhibition focusing on the Brontës’ lives. The exhibition will include many new acquisitions to the collection and also fun interactives for families.

Christmas at the Parsonage

A news release from Jenna Holmes:

For those who feel the modern Christmas is just too commercial, the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth is offering a taste of Christmas past over the next few weeks. The Parsonage rooms have been decorated in traditional holly and ivy and with children under 16 able to enter the museum completely free of charge every Saturday and Sunday in December, the museum is hoping to encourage families to come and experience the special festive feel of the Parsonage at this special time of year.

On Saturday 13 December, there’ll be some added festive spice with Branwell Brontë’s Christmas Cracker, which involves Branwell visiting the museum, with mulled wine and mince pies on offer. Branwell will be performing his own hilarious version of the Brontë story at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm. There’ll also be a special children’s Christmas treasure hunt.

The truth is that Christmas for the Brontës was very different because it was before the Victorians got their hands on it. It was a religious festival without a lot of the paraphernalia which has come along since. 

We think the Brontë Christmas would have been much more civilized and if people are fed up with the modern commercial holiday, they should rediscover a simpler Christmas; come and get away from it all here at the museum. They can always get their Christmas gifts in the museum shop anyway, which has an excellent range of festive presents.

Andrew McCarthy – Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum

As well as festive decorations, Branwell, and Christmas gifts, visitors to the museum in December will be able to take part in an exciting new musical project. The Fragmented Orchestra takes place at 24 public sites across the UK, including the Brontë Parsonage Museum, and launches on Friday 12th December. Visitors will be invited to become both player and audience of a vast interactive musical composition extending across the UK.

December is also the last chance to see the museum’s special exhibition for 2008, Emily Brontë: No Coward Soul, which has attracted visitors from around the world. The exhibition is the first time ever that such an extensive range of manuscripts, letters, art works and personal artefacts relating to Emily Brontë has been displayed. The exhibition, which earlier in the year included high profile loans from the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, will only run to the end of the year.

Further information from;
Andrew McCarthy, Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum
01535 640194/ andrew.mccarthy@bronte.org.uk

Footnote:

It's time again to make mention of Dickens's A Christmas Carol........

Charles Dickens first published his world-famous ghost story in 1843, under the title A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.

A phenomenal six thousand copies were sold in the week following its publication. Dickens has probably had more influence on the way that we celebrate Christmas today than any single individual in human history except one.

Can he be blamed for the many millions of tons of seasonal decorations shipped in from China, though? That is, if they are still being shipped in during the current recession........perhaps we should be thinking of Tiny Tim as well as the Original Parsonage Christmas. End of sermon.

Below, the man who invented Christmas-as-we-know-it-today

‘Life is Compost’

IS reports on Diane Setterfield's recent visit to Haworth:

'Life is Compost' - The Thirteenth Tale

Perhaps it was quite courageous that this former French teacher, turned superstar author, from Harrogate, informed her audience, in the Baptist chapel in Haworth - within sight of the literary shrine - that it had not been the Brontës who had influenced her to write The Thirteenth Tale. It was from a very different kind of writer - the writer of psychological thrillers, Patricia Highsmith, a writer who herself very much preferred her own personal life to remain private - that she gained inspiration. After reading avidly the stories about 'the incredible Mr Ripley’- whom Mrs Setterfield described as an amazing character- living a double life- with those around him thinking he was an honourable, successful, conventional business man.

However Mr Ripley himself is the only one who knows the truth because nobody else is allowed in on the real man. So it was with a feeling of disappointment she realised that, with the death of Mr Ripley, there would be no more stories and the world would never know the truth- which left her with lots of questions in her mind. There is little consolation in death but perhaps one consolation is the consolation of being remembered but here again, if one is leading a double life, there is difficulty. Mr Ripley was human- was he tempted at the end to tell the truth? Surely after committing the perfect murders- so perfect nobody knew the perpetrator- you may be forgiven for thinking that he might need someone to know- need to proclaim to the world ‘ It was me!’

So Mrs Setterfield thought that she might be the one to put the record straight- might be the one to give Mr Ripley the somewhat dubious credit he deserved. She had no wish to pick up the mantle of Highsmith but was left with a ‘pressure cooker’ of desire. Walking home across the Stray, in Harrogate, a voice came to her, a voice with a bullying, hectoring tone and, as if in the grip of some unknown force, she raced home and began writing- thus The Thirteenth Tale was born. She went on to describe her book’s equivalent of Mr Ripley- the famously reclusive Vida Winter who decides, for the first time, after a lifetime of lies and tall stories, to tell the truth about her life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea - herself somewhat reclusive- a person who likes to remain on the margins of life. Both women desire not to be known but come together to tell Miss Winter’s story.

Mrs Setterfield described , to a captivated audience, that she thought of life as compost and, whilst she emphasised that the Winter character was in no way autobiographical, the idea for her characters came from her dreams, her conversations, books she had read and people she had met and she had drawn from this ‘compost’ to write the book. However, if left long enough, all the individual things that go in to make a compost heap will disappear and will become one rich mulch- the imagination. Some stuff does not decompose straight away and so it is, in our own minds, with dreams. Like eggshells that are instantly recognisable for quite a while, which keep surfacing through all the other stuff, dreams can stay with a person or can keep turning up unexpectedly. Mrs Setterfield’s ‘eggshell’ was the dream of a library on fire with two people fighting in the flames. Certain things in a compost heap never disappear - an avocado stone stays there permanently and the author’s ‘avocado stone’ was a story related to her by one of her French students, who, being told, at the age of eighteen, that he was born a twin and that his brother had died when he was three days old, said ‘So that’s it’- he had always known there was ‘something’ but had not known what that ‘something’ was.

The whole compost heap, including the eggshells and the stones, all went into the writing of this book- which has comparisons to the Brontës and references to Jane Eyre - and which has landed one of the biggest first book deals ever and was actually published a year after first being sent to agents. I am sure everyone who listened so intently to Mrs Setterfield speaking at Haworth, if they have not done so already, will soon be reading what sounds to be a very intriguing story and then, will eagerly await the publication of, perhaps, ‘The Fourteenth Tale!’

Mourning Ring

Mourning Ring by Ian M Emberson was published on October 1st 2008, and is a small collection of poems relating to the Brontës – their lives, writings and the landscapes associated with them. It is an expanded version of a previous publication Three Brontë Poems, and is lavishly illustrated by the author, with a picture on each page. The composer Robin Terry is working on a song-cycle based on the poems, and it is hoped that this will have its first performance in Haworth next year.

The basic details are as follows:

Mourning Ring:Brontë related poems
by Ian M Emberson,
Angria Press, 2008, 20 pp. £3.00
ISBN 978 0 9521693 6 9

It is available from the Gift Shop, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire. UK. BD22 8DR – telephone (01535) 642323; fax (01535) 647131; e-mail sales@bronte.org.uk

or direct from the publishers:

Angria Press, 1 Highcroft Road, Todmorden. UK. OL14 5LZ; telephone (01706) 812716; e-mail ianemberson@aol.com.
Website www.ianemberson.co.uk

BBC update on clampers

Click here to watch yesterday's report on BBC Look North. See local MP Ann Cryer voicing her concerns and Betty Boothroyd voicing her anger. See also Ted Evans, owner of the Changegate Goldmine, telling us that it's just something he has to do.......

Maggie O’Farrell in Haworth

Jenna Holmes announces:

Novelist Maggie O’Farrell will be speaking about and reading from her latest novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox and discussing the influence of the Brontës on her writing, at the Old Schoolroom, Haworth on Wednesday 12 November at 3.30pm.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox tells the story of a woman edited out of her family history, exploring themes of sanity and madness, and parallels have been drawn with Jane Eyre.

Maggie O’Farrell was born in Northern Ireland in 1972, and grew up in Wales and Scotland. Her debut novel, After You’d Gone, was published to international acclaim, and won a Betty Trask Award, while her third, The Distance Between Us, won the 2005 Somerset Maugham Award.

Her visit to Haworth is part of the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s contemporary arts programme.

Admission is £5.00. For further details and bookings contact the Brontë Parsonage Museum, 01535 640188/ jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk


Below, Maggie O'Farrell: