Further on Carus-Wilson's letters

Right after we were done posting our previous post, we took a look at our inbox and - surprise! - we had an e-mail from Mr Westwood-Brookes, Head of Historical Documents at Mullock Madeley. He was kindly forwarding a photograph of one of the letters (see picture) and the press release they have issued. Here it is:




LETTERS REVEAL CHARLOTTE BRONTE’S LIBEL DILEMMA

A group of fascinating letters have come to light which reveal that Charlotte Bronte so angered the real life Headmaster of the school she portrayed in her novel Jane Eyre that he considered suing her for libel.

The three letters were written in 1912 by a school teacher named Carus-Wilson, whose grandfather , the Rev William Carus-Wilson had been Charlotte’s Headmaster at the Clergy Daughter’s School at Casterton, Westmoreland, which he had founded, and they reveal how close Charlotte came to being in trouble with the law.

‘Carus-Wilson wrote the letters because he was wanting to sell a manuscript of Charlotte Bronte which was in his possession. He needed the money in order to pay for medical treatment for his son,’ commented Richard Westwood-Brookes, Documents Expert for auctioneers Mullock Madeley who will sell the letters in their next sale of historical documents at Ludlow Racecourse, Shropshire on June 7th*.

‘In one of the letters, Carus-Wilson reports : ‘Charlotte Bronte …wrote some of her experiences in connection with the school in her tale of Jayne Eyre. She did not write favourably of the school & my grandfather was advised to take up the matter publicly if not legally, but he refrained from doing so. He however wrote to Charlotte Bronte to remonstrate with her & 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…’

‘According to another of the letters, she even gave his grandfather permission to publish the manuscript in order to put the record straight about the school, but he refrained to do so, and the matter never came to light

‘It is fascinating to think that even in the early part of the 19th c even 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 the Rev Carus-Wilson.

‘Knowing the vast sums which are paid for Bronte manuscripts today it is also interesting to reflect on the fact that 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’’

‘What is now a most fascinating aspect of this matter is that the manuscript might still exist. Although a great deal of history has taken place since 1912 – not least two world wars – there is always the possibility that somewhere in a library, attic, basement or an autograph collection there is lying a completely unknown and unattributed manuscript of Charlotte Bronte effectively re-writing an important section of her book.

‘Unless you are well acquainted with her hand, it is quite possible that whoever now has this manuscript in their possession might not even realise that it is so important – merely thinking that it is an interesting 19th c piece of prose.

‘Perhaps now is the time for Bronte enthusiasts throughout the world to get searching.’

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That's what we have been saying all along, even before this came up: take a good look at your attics and cellars, people!

This press release says the auction will take place on June 7 while we have mostly read it was scheduled for June 21. We will try and confirm the actual date.

On a more serious note: a BIG thank you to Mr Westwood-Brookes for his kindness.

EDIT: We asked a couple of questions to Mr Westwood-Brookes and he has kindly replied.

*Firstly, we enquired about the actual date and he confirmed that the date of the auction is definitely June 21.

And secondly we asked where these letters came from. Mr Westwood-Brookes's says the letters come from someone he frequently works with and that "the folder that they are in is marked on the cover in pencil £5 5s. indicating that the folder was sold by some dealer in the dim distant past for that price - this could well be a dealer who operated out of Dover Street in London. The price certainly indicates a date which is pre decimal coinage and therefore pre 1971.".

He also tells us something interesting about one of the letters where "Carus-Wilson indicates that the ms was unsigned and 'obstensibly written to one of her school fellows by "An old friend & Schoolfellow". It originally came with a signed covering letter by Charlotte which Edward Carus-Wilson says he remembers being shown when he was a boy by his grandfather, but by 1912 the covering letter has long gone."

Also, he confirms that the original letter from William Carus-Wilson to Charlotte Brontë is definitely not extant (that we know of) and that she probably didn't keep it (if she received it).

Finally, Mr Westwood-Brookes encourages one and all to raid your attics, cellars, basements, anything you can think of. Brontë-related or not, you might always come across something valuable!

Once more: our most sincere thanks to Mr Westwood-Brookes for his attention.

Categories: Brontëana, Charlotte_Brontë, Jane_Eyre