Anne Brontë died tragically young, aged just 29 (whatever it may say on her Scarborough tombstone), but the last week has marked the anniversary of the death of a man who could only have dreamt of reaching such an age.…
Month: August 2018
Anne Brontë’s Preface To The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall
Anne Brontë’s second novel, ‘The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall‘, was published by Thomas Cautley Newby in late June 1848, and it proved an instant and huge success. Most people today would be surprised to hear that it sold even faster…
The Kind, Brilliant William Weightman: A Tribute
In this extra mid week post I’m going to take a look at a man who played a central part in Anne Brontë’s life: William Weightman. I believe that Weightman was loved by Anne and that he loved her back, and…
Martha Brown And John Brown, Brontë Servants And Friends
1855 was a tumultuous year in and around the Haworth Parsonage, one that had started with such promise and happiness, as the newly married Charlotte Nicholls, nee Brontë of course, found that she was pregnant, ended with three families inextricably…
The Five Faces Of Anne Brontë
Last Tuesday I was privileged to present a talk at the stunningly beautiful Morrab Library in Penzance, where I discussed the Branwell family of Penzance and the Brontë family of Haworth. The Branwell influence can clearly be seen in Anne…
A Brontë Yorkshire Day – With A Cornish Twist
I’ve just spent a blissful week in Cornwall, firstly in Newquay soaking up the sun and watching the sun setting over Fistral Bay turn the sea to a golden fire, and then in Penzance, where I followed the Brontë maternal…