Saturday night, 9pm on BBC Two, sees the first broadcast of a landmark documentary about the Brontë sisters – Being The Brontës.

Tonight, 9pm on BBC Two, sees the first broadcast of a landmark documentary about the Brontë sisters – Being The Brontës. Its timing is perfect of course, as it comes just a month before the 200th birthday of Charlotte Brontë.

What I really like about the documentary’s premise is that three presenters will each tell the story of one of the sisters. Martha Kearney and Helen Oyeyemi will represent Charlotte and Emily, while Lucy Mangan is batting for Team Anne. You may know Lucy for her articles and features in the Guardian, or for one of her best selling books such as Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory.
Read all on the weblog Nick Holland: annebronte/being-the-brontes-team-anne

Charlotte Brontë, 26 March 1853 (letter to George Smith).

“When people think too much and sit too closely – the circulation loses its balance, forsakes the extremities and bears too strong a current on the brain; I suppose exercise is the best means of counteracting such a state of things”
facebook/The Brontë Society

 

The letters were loaned to Bronte's biographer by one of her friends

Rare collection of letters written by Charlotte Bronte is to return to the writer's West Yorkshire home after they were bought at auction for £185,000. The recently discovered letters, which were expected to fetch between £100,000 and £150,000, were bought by The Bronte Society at Sotheby's in London.
They will be returned to the Jane Eyre author's former home in Haworth, which is now the Bronte Parsonage Museum. The six letters were written between 1832 and 1854. Bronte died in 1855.

School friend

Ann Dinsdale, collections manager at the museum, said: "These are amongst the most significant Bronte letters to come to light in decades. "They belong in Haworth and we are delighted that both scholars and members of the public will now have the opportunity to study and enjoy them, either here at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, or through our online resources."

Bronte's closest confidante Ellen Nussey, who she met as a pupil at Roe Head school in 1831, is the recipient of all but one of the six letters. The letters were among a collection loaned by Nussey to Bronte's biographer Elizabeth Gaskell in 1857. They were discovered in a first edition copy of Gaskell's two-volume biography, from a private collection, which was also included in the auction lot. The Bronte Society were able to buy the lot following a £198,450 donation from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.oe Head. bbc/news/uk-england-leeds 

I AM NO BIRD PARTY.

 

Exhibition and party to celebrate the bicentenary of Charlotte Bronte’s birth.
South Square Centre is located on the outskirts of Bradford in Thornton, a village which is also birthplace of the three Brontë sisters. April 2016 marks the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, so to celebrate all of South Square’s exhibitors will be women and there will be a range of artworks, events and activities in response to this throughout April and May. South Square has commissioned Yorkshire Film Archive to create a short film, weaving together images of women recorded on film over the decades of the twentieth century, engaging in a variety of activities from politics, engineering, education and sports. T...he footage has been drawn from the collections housed by the Yorkshire Film Archive & North East Film Archive - these are films that capture women going about their varied and everyday lives through the ages. To accompany the film there will be a soundtrack by Todmorden-based musician Magpahi (aka Alison Cooper). The music will be made using a mixture of acoustic and electronic instruments, processed vocals as well as objects inherited from her Bradford born relatives.

South Square also invites audiences to nominate Bradford born or based pioneering women from the time of the Brontë’s to the present day. Candidates so far include: Charlotte Brontë (Author of novels featuring strong-willed women such as Jane Eyre), Margaret McMillian (Educator and campaigner for improvement of health care for children), Beryl Burton (Record-breaking Cycling) and Marianne Straub (Textile Design and 3rd female student at Bradford Technical College). Suggestions can be made at the exhibition, by email (y.carmichael@southsquarecentre.co.uk) or twitter (@South_Square).

Opening Event: 7-9pm Friday 1st April 2016 - FREE All Welcome
After Party: 9pm onwards The New Inn (next door to South Square), fun quiz hosted by Agnes Clout (aka Laura Dee Milnes) DJ sets by Lucy Barker and Kirsty Taylor Everyone is invited to bring along their own 5-song DJ-sets showcasing their favourite female musicians on mp3 players to add to the nights soundtrack.  Also get your Limited Edition Risographed Poster by Anna Peaker
PLUS 5-11pm RUSTICA by De Luca Boutique will be offering Artisan Street Food for hungry gallery goers including pizzas made to order in a wood fired clay oven!

Exhibition Open: 2nd April - 29th May, Tues - Sat 12-3pm or by appointment

Supported by Arts Council England, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Bronte Parsonage Museum. facebook/South-Square-Centre