Coming Home

At last the Brontë letters from the Albin Schram collection which were recently auctioned and acquired by the Brontë Society are reaching home, the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Today in The Telegraph & Argus:

Guardians of the Bronte heritage are celebrating the arrival at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth of a rare letter written by Charlotte Bronte.
It is accompanied by a letter written by her father, the Reverend Patrick Bronte, after Bronte experts successfully bid for the two items at Christie's, the London-based auctioneers.
Charlotte's letter, berating critics of her second novel, Shirley, published in 1849, was bought for £21,000.
The note written by her father, which shows his concern about a parishioner's health, went under the hammer for £3,100.
They were among 600 letters and manuscripts by famous historical figures which was part of a collection belonging to Czech-born Albin Scham (sic).
The letters are understood to have been discovered in a filing cabinet kept in a laundry, between a tumble dryer and washing machine.
Charlotte's letter, written on mourning paper, will go on display at the museum within the next few weeks.
Patrick's note will go on display in the new acquisitions cabinet in February.
Parsonage collections manager Ann Dinsdale said Charlotte's letter told a lot about her state of mind at the time of the publication of Shirley. Her first book, Jane Eyre, had been a tremendous success.
"Branwell, Emily and Anne were already dead and her publisher had just sent her the reviews of Shirley and in the letter she is expressing her disappointment," she said.
"She was quite vulnerable and she found the comments hurtful. She was still grieving for her siblings and she had lost their support and encouragement."
Charlotte's sisters and brother had died within nine months of each other between September 1848 and May 1849.
Charlotte died in March 1855, in the early stage of pregnancy, aged 38. (Clive White)

Picture: The Bronte Parsonage Museum's Ann Dinsdale with the letters. (Source)

Categories: Brontë Parsonage Museum, Brontë Society, Brontëana, In the News