This month marks Charlotte Brontë’s 200th birthday, on the 21st April.
Along with her two sisters, she is probably the most famous author to come from Yorkshire. This year, hosted by the Brontë Society in celebration of the bicentenary there are many special events and exhibits for visitors to enjoy at the Brontë Parsonage Museum and the Old School Room in Haworth. Click here to view or download the full article.
Elsewhere, celebrations include an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery ‘Celebrating Charlotte Brontë’, (before transferring to the Morgan Library in New York). Northern Ballet are presenting the world premiere of the new version of Jane Eyre in May and Sally Wainwright’s Brontë drama To Walk Invisible will air on BBC1 in the autumn. Charlotte left a lasting legacy to the world of classic literature, capturing the imaginations of many readers as well as inspiring writers world wide and led an interesting but relative short life. Here we take a look at the history that surrounds her, and our Junior Reporter Selina, shares her experience of her enjoyable and educational visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum where the family spent much of their lives.
CHARLOTTE BRONTË AT 200
BY PETER THORPE
“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question.”
So began one of the most famous works of literature in the English language, the story of ‘Jane Eyre’ created by one of Yorkshire’s greatest writers, Charlotte Bront?, born on April 21st 1816 at Thornton near Bradford.
