Hyperemesis Gravidarum is medical terminology for the excessive vomiting of early pregnancy. There is a commonly held belief that Charlotte Nicholls (née Brontë) suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum; however, is this merely a myth, a story, a false idea or is it true, a reality, and an accurate description of her tragic, final illness and untimely death?
Charlotte’s official death certificate of 1855 showed that the disease Phthisis, also known as consumption or tuberculosis, was the cause of her death. Yet modern Brontë commentators claim that Charlotte died from excessive vomiting of pregnancy / hyperemesis gravidarum.
Charlotte wrote in Jane Eyre (1847),
“I cannot proceed without some investigation into what has been asserted, and evidence of its truth or falsehood.”
And so, on 19 January, 2026, the very same day a hundred and seventy-one years ago in 1855, when Charlotte wrote to Ellen Nussey explaining that,
“… indigestion and continual faint sickness have been my portion …”
Join us via Zoom from the Brontë Birthplace, Thornton to hear esteemed retired Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Dr Michael O’Dowd present evidence both for and against the concept that Charlotte was affected by hyperemesis gravidarum.
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