Handwritten poems, miniature books and printed first editions are going on display at the University of Leeds in a free exhibition tracing the evolution of the Brontës into literary icons.
‘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.
Opened last week e 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.
Among the pieces in the exhibition are 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”
There are first editions of ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Agnes Grey’ and ‘Shirley’, previously owned by the family’s faithful servant Martha Brown and 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 as well as eight miniature books, handwritten and crafted by Charlotte during childhood and adolescence, including two that are bound in packaging originally used for Epsom salts
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.”
