Beautiful picture from the Bronte E-newsletter

With Bewick on my knee, I was happy’

 

The manuscript of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, who wrote the novel under the pseudonym Currer Bell – now believed to be after local patron Frances Currer. Photograph: Hulton Archive

 

A rare first edition of Thomas Bewick’s History of British Birds belonging to Frances Currer, the woman believed to have inspired Charlotte Brontë’s pseudonym of Currer Bell, has come to light.
Dubbed “England’s earliest female bibliophile” in Seymour de Ricci’s history of collectors, Frances Mary Richardson Currer’s library in her family home of Eshton Hall, Yorkshire, ran to 15,000 to 20,000 volumes. Among them lay Bewick’s classic of British ornithology - the work Jane Eyre is reading as Charlotte Brontë’s novel opens, and whose “enchanted page[s]” the author also celebrated in poetry.

With Bewick on my knee, I was happy’ … Charlotte Brontë and pages from British Birds. Photograph: Getty/Bernard Quaritch

Currer herself would have been known to the Brontës, said the antiquarian bookseller Bernard Quaritch in its catalogue for the edition: she was the patron of the Cowan Bridge School, attended by Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily, and was known locally as a generous patron.
“It is thought that she was the ‘benevolent individual, a wealthy lady, in the West Riding of Yorkshire’ who gave £50 in 1821 to a fund to aid the impoverished and recently widowed curate of Howarth – Patrick Brontë,” said the bookseller.

Read all: theguardian/book-inspired-charlotte-bronte-bewick-history-british-bird

The Bronte Society

The Bronte Society

The Bronte Society would like to say a very big thank you for the wonderful response to our appeal for second-hand Bronte novels to send to pupils at Khemisti Middle School in Algeria. Such was the generosity of our members that we were able to send several copies of each of the seven novels, together with an edition of Emily's poetry and a copy of Gaskell's biography of Charlotte.

Brontë Country . Bradford.

The Telegraph and Argus reports that Brontë Country is one of the destinations selected as part of a new national tourism campaign. Brontë Country is among destinations across the district being promoted as part of a new initiative. Visit Bradford is taking part in a national campaign showcasing the region’s heritage. The venture is part of a VisitEngland project, which will include a series of national radio adverts. Several itineraries in the district will be spotlighted, including a visit to Haworth and the chance to experience life as a Bronte sister. Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s executive member for employment, skills and culture, said: “We are delighted to be working with VisitEngland on this campaign to promote our heritage to visitors from near and far.
“Bradford has a rich and fascinating history and this is highlighted by the variety of experiences people can enjoy across the district this spring. "There’s something for everyone, from the great Victorian grandeur to the beauty of the moors. “People who wouldn’t normally consider visiting the Bradford district are going to find out about all the wonderful experiences we have to offer.”
If you'd like to see how much tourism has changed in the area, do take a walk down memory lane with Keighley News and reminisce about the local Brontë bus firm.

Samantha Ellis, doing research for her forthcoming book about Anne Bronte.

Bronte Parsonage Museum

Samantha Ellis, author of 'How to be a Heroine', has been in our Library this week, doing research for her forthcoming book about Anne Bronte.

 

Haworth History Tour

Amberley Publishing has just published a new book about Haworth:
Haworth History Tour
Steven Wood, Ian Palmer
Amberley Publishing
ISBN: 9781445646275
168 x 124 mm | Paperback | 96 pages | 120 illustrations | February 2015

Haworth is a picturesque Pennine village that is now famed for the Brontë family and the steam railway. Behind the tourist village of today lies a long history of people making a living from the uncompromising moorland of this area. Haworth History Tour takes the reader on a journey through the many changes the village has undergone in its long history. While some areas will seem relatively unchanged, many are now unrecognisable. The curious and nostalgic alike will delight in uncovering or rediscovering the roots of Haworth with the help of this wonderfully illustrated guide.