Ellen and I took a train north to Yorkshire — and the tiny town of Haworth, where the Bronte sisters lived, walked, wrote novels for the ages, and then died far too young. I have loved their books for many years, Jane Eyre my special favourite.
The parsonage where the Brontes lived is a much-loved museum now. There were six siblings, but the sisters we know (and read) were Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Here is the room where they did most of their writing — Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were all written in this small room. In the evenings, the sisters walked around and around the table for hours, talking about their work. After Emily and Anne died, Charlotte, the last to survive, continued to walk alone. (Maybe, when the lights go out, they walk here still? I love that thought.)
Anne, Emily and Charlotte, left to right, below:
Charlotte's writing desk, like so many of the time, was portable — a kind of moveable "drawer" topped by a writing surface. Functionally, it's not so different from a laptop. Amazing.
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