Brocklehurst's letters

The Yorkshire Today publishes an article about the forthcoming auction of some Brontë-related material.
A BATCH of 94-year-old letters which show how close Charlotte Brontë came to being sued for the content of Jane Eyre are to go on sale. (by David Hogg)

The letters show the thoughts of the Reverend William Carus-Wilson, the young writer's real-life headmaster at the Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge, later at Casterton, in Cumbria. He was angry at what he saw as her unfair depiction of the institution in her novel.
The letters were written by his grandson, Edward Carus-Wilson, who wanted to sell them with a revised Jane Eyre manuscript as part of deal to raise funds in 1912 to pay for medical treatment for his son.The headmaster was so angered by Charlotte Brontë's portrayal of the school he had founded – recognisable in Jane Eyre as Lowood School, 'the school for clergymen's daughters' – that he considered suing her for libel.
He was also the inspiration behind the terrifyingly strict Mr Brocklehurst character, head of Lowood.
Edward Carus-Wilson believed the young novelist had been sufficiently scared by his grandfather's objections and changed her original manuscript for the book.
In one of his letters he said: "She did not write favourably of the school and my grandfather was advised to take up the matter publicly if not legally, but he refrained from doing so."
He however wrote to Charlotte Brontë to remonstrate with her and the result was that she wrote the sketch that I have in my possession retracting a good deal of what she had formally written about the school."
The letters, which are to be sold by Shropshire auction house Mullock Madeley, also claim Charlotte Brontë gave her old headmaster permission to publish the manuscript in order to set the record straight about the school but he refrained to do so and the matter never came to light.
Richard Westwood-Brookes, documents expert for Mullock Madeley, said: "It is fascinating to think that, even in the early part of the 19th Century, such a sensationally successful book as Jane Eyre could bring its author an unwelcome brush with the law – and clearly Charlotte must have been rattled by the reaction she got from Carus-Wilson."
Knowing the vast sums which are paid for Brontë manuscripts today, it is also interesting to reflect on the fact that Edward Carus-Wilson had decided to sell his precious manuscript after seeing an advert in the Exchange and Mart magazine – and was willing to sell for '10 guineas or near offer."
It is possible Edward Carus-Wilson could have invented the content of the letters in order to bump up the value of his collection.But this seems unlikely, according to Mr Westwood-Brookes, as an historical precedent had already been set. Celebrated Victorian biographer Elizabeth Gaskell blamed the school's harsh regime and inadequate food for the deaths of the elder Brontë sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, and for the ruin of Charlotte's own health.
She described its clergyman founder as "willing to sacrifice everything but power" but she had to revise her biography of Charlotte Brontë in 1857 after another lawsuit was threatened.

Although the paper says that the auction will take place at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire on June 7, checking on the Mullock Madeley website we can read the following:

"[Bronte (Charlotte)] author of ‘Jayne Eyre’ (sic) three autograph letters signed by E Carus-Wilson , dated May 11th-15th 1912, concerning the sale of a manuscript by Charlotte Bronte in his possession which he was willing to sell to his correspondent, but rev"
Guide Price: 70-100
Venue: Ludlow Racecourse, Ludlow, Shropshire Wednesday 21 June 2006, at 1.00pm
Viewing: 9.30am-12.45pm on day of sale.

Categories: Brontëana, In_the_News