My Journey with Anne Brontë in Scarborough, Part 1: St. Mary’s Church and the Woodend Exhibition

If there is a place synonymous with the Brontë family, it is, of course, the village of Haworth in West Yorkshire. Haworth was the home of the family from 1821 when Patrick, Maria, and their six children made the journey from nearby Thornton so that Patrick could take up his new position as Perpetual Curate…

More Advice from Charlotte Brontë: Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.

Charlotte Brontë is my hero. I admire her mind, her talent, her courage, and her determination. When challenging circumstances arise in my own life I often find myself wondering what Charlotte would do in the same situation. The main piece of advice that has helped me may at first seem like a standard/expected/stereotypical reaction, but…

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg – Review

A few months back a very interesting looking book caught my eye due to some intriguing and exciting snippets that I spotted doing the rounds on Twitter. One of the snippets was an illustration of Charlotte Brontë's adored hero from her worlds of Glass Town and Angria, the Duke of Zamorna, invading the real world…

Brother Branwell, Sister Charlotte: A Complex Collaboration

For years now I’ve been drawn to the Brontë family. Not just their fascinating childhood writings and elaborate fantasy worlds of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal, but their lives, relationships, and every day interactions. The two figures that draw me in repeatedly are my favourite writer of all time, the smart, strong, determined figure of…

I’m Just Going to Write Because I Cannot Help It: Part 2 – When Glass Towns Collide

Let me travel back in time to April 2011. Almost a year after graduating with such high hopes from university, and after being turned down for MA funding, I was stuck in a bit of rut. In my hometown, once famous for its glass, we were hit hard by the recession, our heritage and industry…

Reading Challenge 2020

I have a lot of resolutions for 2020; things to do, places to see etc., however, like most bookworms I also have some more reading resolutions. Following a mainly successful 2019 Reading Challenge I've devised a new set of challenges for 2020 which you can find below. I've also set myself another Goodreads challenge which is…

A Modern Regency Romance: Art and Grace by Catherine E. Chapman

A few months ago I had the pleasure of reading a short, Brontë inspired story, Brizecombe Hall by Catherine E. Chapman. You can read my review of it by clicking here. Shortly afterwards I was delighted to be contacted by the author herself, who very kindly offered me a copy of her latest novel, Art and Grace, to read…

Charlotte Brontë’s Unfinished Novels: Ashworth

Introduction Charlotte Brontë is best remembered as the author of Jane Eyre (1847), a literary masterpiece and my favourite novel of all time. In her lifetime she also published two other novels, Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). Another novel, The Professor, was published posthumously in 1857 after being rejected by publishers a decade earlier. Prior to this in 1846, Poems by Charlotte and her…

The Mother of the Brontës by Sharon Wright – Review

Despite our love of and fascination with the Brontës, there are still many gaps in the story of the world's most famous literary sisters. In our quest to better know the lives, hearts, and minds of those who penned literary classics such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Brontëites have attempted to find out…

Literary Discoveries in 2019

At the beginning of 2019 I drew up my reading challenge for the year and aimed to read at least 30 news books in addition to ticking off specific tasks such as reading a new piece of Brontë inspired fiction. I hoped that by making a list, I would be able to read more widely.…