Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Charlotte Brontë: Ten Letters and a Fictional Fantasy

“I would still endeavour to keep my expectations low respecting the ultimate success of Jane Eyre,” wrote Charlotte Brontë to William S. Williams of the publishing firm Smith, Elder & Co. in October 1847. “A mere domestic novel will I fear seem trivial to men of large views and solid attainments.” How wrong she was! Brontë’s personal letters, a selection of which is presented here, reveal the doubt, pain, hope, and confidence she voiced before emerging as one of the world’s most successful novelists. She confides in friends as she endures a stint as a governess, reveals her true identity to her publisher, and watches her three adult siblings fall mortally ill in quick succession. In 1854, her new husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls, expressed concern about the disposition of the personal letters of his famous wife. “Men’s letters are proverbially uninteresting and uncommunicative,” Brontë told her friend Ellen Nussey. “As to my own notes, I never thought of attaching importance to them, or considering their fate.”

This online exhibition was created in conjunction with the exhibition Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will, on view from September 9, 2016 through January 2, 2017 and organized by Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts.

Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will is made possible by Fay and Geoffrey Elliott. 
The catalogue is underwritten by the Andrew W. Mellon Fund for Research and Publications.

001. 1. Letter to William S. Williams, 28 October 1847, page 1
002. Letter to William S. Williams, 28 October 1847, pages 2–3
003. Letter to William S. Williams, 28 October 1847, page 4
004. 2. Manuscript, 4 February 1836
005. 3. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 30 June 1839, page 1
006. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 30 June 1839, page 2
007. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 30 June 1839, page 3
008. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 30 June 1839, page 4
009. 4. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 24 January 1840, page 1
010. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 24 January 1840, page 2
011. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 24 January 1840, page 3
012. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 24 January 1840, page 4
013. 5. Draft of a letter to Hartley Coleridge, December 1840
014. 6. Letter to Charlotte Brontë, 24 July 1848, page 1
015. Letter to Charlotte Brontë, 24 July 1848, page 2
016. Letter to Charlotte Brontë, 24 July 1848, page 3
017. Letter to Charlotte Brontë, 24 July 1848, page 4
018. 7. Letter to William S. Williams, 13 July 1848, page 1
019. Letter to William S. Williams, 13 July 1848, pages 2–3
020. 8. Letter to William S. Williams, 2 October 1848, page 1
021. Letter to William S. Williams, 2 October 1848, pages 2–3
022. Letter to William S. Williams, 2 October 1848, page 4
023. 9. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 1 May 1849, page 1
024. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 1 May 1849, pages 2–3
025. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 1 May 1849, page 4
026. 10. Letter to William S. Williams, 8 May 1849, page 1
027. Letter to William S. Williams, 8 May 1849, pages 2–3
028. Letter to William S. Williams, 8 May 1849, page 4
029. Letter to William S. Williams, 8 May 1849, page 5
030. Letter to William S. Williams, 8 May 1849, pages 6–7
031. 11. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 7 November 1854, page 1
032. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 7 November 1854, pages 2–3
033. Letter to Ellen Nussey, 7 November 1854, page 4