Q&A with Sarah Barrett

Sarah Barrett, author of A Room of Their Own, a book that celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, has been so kind as to answer a few questions for us.

When and how did you discover the Brontës? What was it about them that trapped you?

I first remember going to Haworth with my Grandmother on coach trip from York where I lived at the time. I was about 9 or 10 years old. I remember thinking Charlotte’s boots were such a strange, elongated shape, and I tried to copy the drawings from the Diary papers for some reason when I got home. My Grandmother bought me an abridged copy of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights which I doodled in after reading. I still have them now so I must have loved them! Wuthering Heights struck me as hard to understand and a little weird, I enjoyed Jane Eyre immensely and tried to get hold of the real novel. I think every girl/young woman can relate to Jane.

Which would you say is the novel which feels more ‘at home’ at the Parsonage? Why?

That would have to be Wuthering Heights. As much as I love the other novels, Wuthering Heights just seems to fit the Parsonage, Haworth and the surrounding moors. It’s the isolation from society, the wild weather and the landscape that all contribute towards it.

Over the years and the research for A Room of Their Own you have had the chance of seeing many Brontë items – which is the most special – both for personal and actual reasons – you have seen?

I have seen a lot and been very privileged, but what stands out for me was holding Anne Brontë’s pebbles that she collected on the beach at Scarborough. I was thinking ‘did she collect these when she was suffering with the Robinson family or when she went on her final trip before she passed away’. Anne Brontë had held those stones and now I was, it felt quite personal. They are a beautiful orange colour, cornelian stones I believe.

Which is your favourite room at the Parsonage – the one you could spend hours on end in?

Definitely the Dining Room, I have given it two pages in my book as I feel that’s the most important room, so much happened there as I explain in the chapter. The writing of the novels, meeting guests, Emily’s death on the sofa, Nicholls’ proposal to Charlotte…

Which corner from the Parsonage would you ‘copy’ in your own house?

Again, that would have to be the Dining Room, as it’s furnished you have a good idea of what it would have looked like, and I think the crimson and cream colours go well together. With the fire roaring away I think it would be a nice, comfortable room to get some writing done.

Despite the years and the other inhabitants, the Brontë Parsonage still feels very much like their home thanks especially to the efforts of the Brontë Society to make it as similar as possible to the home they once knew. But which according to you is the room where their presence is still most felt and why?

I actually think that would be the whole downstairs area of the house. It hasn’t changed that much compared with the rest of the house, the fact the rooms are furnished helps enormously to imagine they are there. I like to look out of the windows in the rooms, wherever possible, and imagine that they did also.

Along the same lines as the previous question: it is said by most visitors that entering the Brontë Parsonage is like sneaking in while the Brontës have gone out for a walk, so real it feels to them. But, after writing A Room of Their Own, do you think the Brontës would still recognise the Parsonage as the place that was once their home?

I think they would, yes, despite the Wade wing addition and changes to the church and surrounding area, it is still fundamentally as they knew it. I think they would be pleased to know how famous they are today and that the museum is being looked after along with all their belongings. I have a feeling Charlotte and Branwell would be especially proud!

What do you think has been the best improvement carried out at the Parsonage over these 80 years?

I think that would be the way the building and all its belongings are looked after so well in general. It’s hard to choose one thing; I think you have to look at it as a whole. It’s great to see the museum has gone from strength to strength and is still extremely popular. New techniques in science and conservation over the past 80 years have contributed to their protection and ensure the collection will be around for a long time to come.

Which is your favourite anecdote related to the Brontës and their home – an anecdote where both are simply inextricably joined together and which always comes to you upon crossing the Parsonage threshold?

Immediately, it is the novels that jump into my head, as that is what they are associated with the most. The visitors may have read the books and want to see where they wrote them. But for me as I have read so much on the family biographically and know what else happened in that house, a lot of things come to me as I go around each room, something that happened there I find myself analysing and putting myself in their shoes; how would I have coped or dealt with it? The Brontë family were just a family with problems that we have today, they are remarkably normal, and similar to us, but of course their literary milestones are what makes them stand out.

What would you suggest the visitors not miss when at the Brontë Parsonage Museum – that one thing that encapsulates everything?

That’s a tough one as there is so much to see, I think it would have to be the Diary papers. Despite their size, so much is revealed and you get a great chance to view an every day situation in the house. Emily and Anne’s writing and little drawings are extremely personal, but you get a sense of their friendship, character and what they found important to note at that particular time in their lives. What they were having for tea for example!

A Room of Their Own is released tomorrow just in time for the Brontë Society AGM weekend. If you are not attending but would like to purchase a copy of this book, just send an email to cbellpublishers@aol.com for further details.

Categories: Alert, Brontë Parsonage Museum