Not to be missed

University of Leeds has published a press release about the Becoming the Brontës exhibition:

‘Becoming the Brontës’ offers visitors the unique opportunity to gain a rich insight into the origins of Yorkshire’s most famous literary family. The exhibition follows Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë on a chronological journey from childhood to the beginning of their literary careers and finally their lasting legacy as genre-defining authors. 

Opening on Friday 30 June at the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, the exhibition features an array of fascinating manuscripts, handwritten letters, personal sketches and more, together on public display for the first time. 

‘Becoming the Brontës’ is co-curated by the British Library, the Brontë Parsonage Museum and the University of Leeds’ Brotherton Library. Many of the items on display come from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library – a unique literary collection that was saved for the nation in a campaign led by the Friends of the National Libraries and a consortium of libraries and writers’ houses including the organisations involved in this exhibition.  

What’s on display 

The exhibition features incredible items on display together for the first time including:  

A rare, surviving notebook filled with over 30 of Emily’s poems, with annotations by Charlotte, including the handwritten line: “Never was better stuff penned”  

First editions of ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Agnes Grey’ and ‘Shirley’, previously owned by the family’s faithful servant Martha Brown  

Emily’s own annotated copy of the first Brontë book, ‘Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell’, published under the sisters’ pen names to hide their gender 

Eight miniature books, handwritten and crafted by Charlotte during childhood and adolescence, including two that are bound in packaging originally used for Epsom salts 

A pencil sketch by ten-year-old Emily that shows a small hand reaching through a broken window, evoking the image of Cathy grasping Lockwood’s hand in ‘Wuthering Heights’ 

Letters from the sisters that reveal their frustration at errors in first editions of ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Agnes Grey’ and the challenges they faced together to get their work seen by publishers. 

Sarah Prescott, Literary Archivist at the University of Leeds, who was one of the curators of Becoming the Brontës, with the exhibition in the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery. First editions of major Brontë works in the background.

Sarah Prescott, Literary Archivist at the University of Leeds, said: “It’s such a privilege to host this exhibition here in Leeds, and to work closely with experts in the field at the British Library and the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The display features some of the most significant Brontë items to come to light, and it’s unlikely that they will be on public display together again in our lifetimes. These items give us intimate insight into the lives, hopes and ambitions of some of the most famous and well-loved writers in English literature.” 

Ann Dinsdale, Principal Curator at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: “The Brontë Parsonage Museum is proud to have been part of the consortium that fought to save the Blavatnik Honresfield Library for the nation. Now, these wonderful manuscripts will be brought together again, offering unique insight into the intense collaboration and creativity that bound the Brontë children together, making clear their long apprenticeship as writers.”  

Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Heritage Collection at the British Library, said: “The British Library is thrilled to have been part of the remarkable and unprecedented collaboration that led to these extraordinary works being preserved for the nation. Now visitors will have the unique opportunity to see these incredible items from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library on display together for the first time and gain an unprecedented insight into the Brontës’ evolution as writers.” 

Masud Khokhar, University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds, said: “It’s a pleasure to share this once-in-a-lifetime collection of literary treasures with the public in this free exhibition. Making collections accessible for the public good is at the heart of the University of Leeds Libraries vision. This unprecedented collaboration has brought together the collections and curatorial expertise of the Brotherton Library, the British Library and the Brontë Parsonage Museum to celebrate the literary lives and legacy of the Brontës and the saving of the Blavatnik Honresfield Library for the nation. 

“This is an extraordinary collection of objects, beautifully displayed, and not to be missed.” 

British Library has a press release about it too.

Discover the creative lives of Yorkshire’s most famous literary family: the Brontës.

Our intimate display of precious Brontë material – displayed together for the first time and previously unseen by the public for over 80 years – has opened at the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery in Leeds. See Becoming the Brontës until 28 October.

Explore the childhood imaginations of the Brontë sisters with fantastical miniature books handcrafted by Charlotte, featuring drawings by ten year old Emily.

Continue your literary adventure with first editions, handwritten poems and letters from the sisters. Uncover their thoughts on early drafts of Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, and their frustrations as female writers, struggling to get noticed by publishers.

This display is the latest in our growing programme of activities in Leeds, where we’re making a new home for the Library. In anticipation of a new site, we’re working with local people and partners to open up our collections with events, exhibitions and community projects. Find out more on our dedicated Leeds page.

Becoming the Brontës is co-curated by the University of Leeds, the British Library and the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The material displayed is from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library, which was purchased for the nation in 2022 by the Friends of the National Libraries with the support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and many other generous supporters.

The Skimm recommends some 'Books Our Editors Can’t Stop Raving About This Month' and one of them is

“Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano

“Guess what? We get book recommendations from theSkimm too. When Jana included this book from Ann Napolitano in Skimm Your Life, I was instantly intrigued. So I bought it and it sat in my TBR stack for three months (I was busy reading “Harry Potter” for the first time). This month, I finally got to it, and all I can say is…woah. It’s a modern classic with Austen, Brontë, and Alcott energy, following four sisters and the saga of their everyday lives. If you’re looking with something filled with more substance for summer, definitely check this out. Psst…if it’s good enough for Oprah, it’s definitely good enough for me.” (Margo Ghertner)

The Italian Rêve interviews, Carlotta Sanzogni, founder of the #BookClubZeroSbatti.

Which book or books would you use to describe yourself?

That’s a tough one! [laughs]

[...] In fact, I always find pieces of myself in characters that seem to have nothing to do with me, for example, Jane Eyre. She’s been with me my whole life, also because I was a “gerontophile” for a long time [laughs]. Just kidding, actually because Jane Eyre is the girl I always want to remember I should be like, like when you tell a psychologist something that bothers you and they say, “Yes, okay, but what do you want?” and Jane reminds me of what I want, she is my warning, and I hope she will describe me more and more. (Angelica Corà)

Clarín (Argentina) features Theatre producer, director, actress, etc. Carla Calabrese, who speaks about how she began:

Le gustaba enseñar y era buena con el idioma. Y sus clases, que también las daba en los colegio Santa Inés y Marín, se fueron transformando en dramatizaciones.

“Tenía que enseñar el presente perfecto en inglés y armaba clases para actuar con las frases. Leíamos Jane Eyre, de Charlotte Brontë”, dice. Ese histrionismo la llevó a que le propusieran dirigir los concerts (actos escolares en inglés). (Silvina Demare) (Translation)

The Saturday Paper reviews the novel Chinese Fish by Grace Yee.

Place and time are subtly cemented through pop culture references, particularly in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when Cherry comes of age: her schoolboy crush has “hair like Leif Garrett”; when she hangs out with her new friend Delia in a graveyard after school, they’re “Cathy-and-Heathcliff zombies”. These nods, used sparingly, place the teenage character in a setting separate from her parents and siblings. It’s a splintering of worlds that is further highlighted when Cherry dissects rats in science class – the same creatures that scurry across the shop floor. (Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen)

The Saturday Paper also includes the following quiz question: 'Who was the youngest of the Brontë sisters?' (and apparently only '27% of people got this question correct').