The Yorkshire heatwave shows no sign of relenting, and we don’t have the parasols the Brontës found so useful in summer. That’s why many are choosing to stay inside in the shade when the sun is at its fiercest, and…
The Bronte Gift That Changed Everything
Tonight sees a pivotal moment in England’s World Cup campaign, and this day in 1826 was a pivotal day in the Brontë story. By 1826 the young Brontë siblings had already known more than their fair share of tragedy. Their…
The Boyhood Of Branwell Bronte
This week in Thornton, Bradford in 1817 saw a happy event: the birth of the first son of the parish priest: named after him, and taking, as was tradition, his mother’s maiden name as his middle name Patrick Branwell Brontë…
Happy Father’s Day Patrick Bronte
Today here in the UK, in the midst of a heatwave and a World Cup in which it could finally be coming home, we are celebrating Father’s Day. That means that today we celebrate Patrick Brontë, father of the greatest…
The Gaskell Daughters On The Brontes
We meet the Brontë sisters through their writing, and we are all the better for it, as well as through biographies that many writers have contributed throughout the decades (and I’m lucky enough to count myself as one of them).…
On The Anniversary Of The Death Of Patrick Bronte
Today marks yet another sad anniversary in the Brontë story, for on this day 1861 the Brontë line came to an end. Patrick Brontë, the man who had first taken the name after changing it from Prunty, died aged 84,…
An Account Of The Death Of Anne Bronte
I know that all of you who visit this site regularly are great fans of Anne Brontë and her work, so I know you share with me in thinking that this is one of the saddest weeks in the Brontë…
Anne Bronte’s Last Journey To York
An unseasonable heatwave has arrived, and it seems that England is about to head into its first ever warm and dry bank holiday (as far as I can remember.) The roads to the coast will no doubt be jammed, and…
Letters To Eliza Kingston
One of the greatest insights into the lives of the Brontë sisters comes through the letters of Charlotte Brontë. Emily wrote letters very rarely, and whilst Anne Brontë may have penned more we have few surviving letters from her. Thankfully…
The Brontes And The Sea
You may have noticed that last Sunday marked a very rare occurrence in this blog – my weekly post failed to appear! Really sorry about that, I was at sea on a Scandinavian cruise and I ran into technical problems…