In the Footsteps of the Brontes. E-book. Formato PDF - 9780259672210

My first copy of Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Bronte was sent to me from Haworth, and some years afterwards fate decreed that I should go to live on the edge of the glorious moors, within bowshot of the Haworth vicarage. It mattered not to me that Mrs. Gaskell had described the moorland village as bleak, wild, and desolate; it was the home of the Brontes, and therein lay its charm.

After living in Haworth for nearly two years, I had the good fortune to reside for the next six years in two other districts closely associated with the Brontes, on the borders of the Shirley country, and within a pleasant walk of Woodhouse Grove. In those days - now nearly thirty years ago - there were many who had known the famous family at the Haworth parsonage, including Dr. Ingham, the medical adviser to the Brontes; the sexton's family; and Mr. Wood, the village carpenter, who never failed to tell visitors that he made all the coffins for the Bronte family except Anne's. Since those days, I have met many, in different parts of England as well as in Brussels, who knew Charlotte and Emily Bronte.

When opportunities offered I made repeated pilgrimages to every Bronte shrine, both in England and abroad. To be a devotee of the Brontes is to find an Open Sesame wherever true literature is valued, and it is one of the pleasantest recollections of my life to remember that in no single instance have I met with a refusal when seeking permission to see the interiors of houses and schools with which the Brontes have been connected. It is impossible to adequately acknowledge the uniform kindness which, as a stranger, I have received. Several who have so willingly helped me have passed away during the writing of this book: Miss F. Wheelwright, of Kensington; Mrs. Ratcliffe, of Haworth; and M. l'Abbe Richardson, of Brussels.