The Times reviews The George at Hathersage.
Charlotte Brontë knew there was something special about the five-centuries-old George at Hathersage. She included a fictional version of this former coaching inn in the Derbyshire village of Hathersage as part of Jane Eyre, even writing some of her most famous novels here. [...]
Pick of the rooms is the Lady C Brontë suite, with its original circular stained-glass window overlooking the village’s main street, a standalone bathtub in the bedroom and superking bed — though its real draw is that this is where Brontë is said to have written parts of Jane Eyre. (Helen Ochyra)
Well, that's news to us. As far as we know, she would only have alighted from the coach there before she had even begun writing Jane Eyre.
the recently reopened Grand Hotel Astoria on Rue Royale now rebaptised Corinthia Brussels, has ... a Brontë suite!
The hotel describes this suite or penthouse as “a literary haven” and tells us:
“Inspired by the literary legacy of the Brontë sisters, who once resided nearby and immortalised our hotel in Villette, the Brontë Penthouse offers a refined and creative retreat. Grand and elegant, this suite boasts a living room styled as a library, filled with curated books, alongside a study for your own musings. Savour gourmet moments in the dining room or unwind on the private terrace with breathtaking views of the city’s cathedral.”
Just to explain this connection: The original building, designed by Cluysenaar (the fashionable architect who created the elegant Galeries royales Saint-Hubert shopping arcade), was an apartment building. At the time of Charlotte and Emily’s stay in Brussels, they had English friends, the Wheelwright family, living there.
Their five daughters attended the Pensionnat Heger, where Emily taught piano to some of the younger girls. Emily wasn’t very popular with them because she insisted on holding the lessons during play hours so as not to sacrifice her own study time.
Charlotte remained in contact all her life with the eldest Wheelwright girl, Laetitia, who became a friend and correspondent. The Hôtel Cluysenaar, as the apartment building was called, very likely inspired the "Hôtel Crécy" in Villette where Paulina de Bassompierre and her father live. Charlotte describes it as "an hotel in the foreign sense: a collection of dwelling-houses, not an inn — a vast, lofty pile, with a huge arch to its street-door."
You can read about the history of the building on our blog.
Even if your finances don’t stretch to staying in the Brontë Penthouse, you can drop by the hotel and have a coffee or apéritif in the Palm Court, as I did the other day! (Helen MacEwan)
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