161-657: The Brontës ( / ˈ b r ɒ n t i z / ) were a nineteenth-century literary family, born in the village of Thornton and later associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire , England . The sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855), Emily (1818–1848) and Anne (1820–1849), are well-known poets and novelists. Like many contemporary female writers, they published their poems and novels under male pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Their stories attracted attention for their passion and originality immediately following their publication. Charlotte's Jane Eyre
322-439: A best-seller , despite some commentators denouncing it as an affront to good morals. The pseudonymous (Currer Bell) publication in 1847 of Jane Eyre, An Autobiography established a dazzling reputation for Charlotte. In July 1848, Charlotte and Anne (Emily had refused to go along with them) travelled by train to London to prove to Smith, Elder & Co. that each sister was indeed an independent author, for Thomas Cautley Newby,
483-551: A pastiche on general or philosophical themes. The lessons, especially those of Constantin Héger, were very much appreciated by Charlotte, and the two sisters showed exceptional intelligence, although Emily hardly liked her teacher and was somewhat rebellious. Emily learned German and to play the piano with natural brilliance and very quickly the two sisters were writing literary and philosophical essays in an advanced level of French. After six months of study, Mme Héger suggested they stay at
644-497: A bandit, as his raids, expansion and threats to destabilise British authority suddenly increased in 1800. The death of Tipu Sultan had created a power vacuum and Waugh was seeking to fill it. Given independent command of a combined East India Company and British Army force, Wellesley ventured north to confront Waugh in June 1800, with an army of 8,000 infantry and cavalry, having learnt that Waugh's forces numbered over 50,000, although
805-507: A breach was opened in the main walls of the fortress of Seringapatam. An attack led by Major-General Baird secured the fortress. Wellesley secured the rear of the advance, posting guards at the breach and then stationed his regiment at the main palace. After hearing news of the death of the Tipu Sultan, Wellesley was the first at the scene to confirm his death, checking his pulse. Over the coming day, Wellesley grew increasingly concerned over
966-458: A brief agony during which she was comforted by her beloved nephew Branwell. In her last will, Aunt Branwell left to her three nieces the considerable sum of £900 (about £95,700 in 2017 currency), which allowed them to resign from their low-paid jobs as governesses and teachers. In 1824, the four eldest girls (excluding Anne) entered the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge , which educated
1127-416: A challenge in arranging for the education of the girls of his family, which was barely middle class. They lacked significant connections and he could not afford the fees for them to attend an established school for young ladies. One solution was the schools where the fees were reduced to a minimum—so called "charity schools"—with a mission to assist families like those of the lower clergy. (Barker had read in
1288-426: A choice between the professions of school mistress or governess . The Brontë sisters found positions in families wherein they educated often rebellious young children, or found employment as school teachers. The possibility of becoming a paid companion to a rich and solitary woman might have been a fall-back role but one that would have probably bored any of the sisters intolerably. Janet Todd 's Mary Wollstonecraft,
1449-449: A collection of poems by Walter Scott . The children became interested in writing from an early age, initially as a game. They all displayed a talent for narrative, but for the younger ones it became a pastime to develop them. At the centre of the children's creativity were twelve wooden soldiers which Patrick Brontë gave to Branwell at the beginning of June 1826. These toy soldiers instantly fired their imaginations and they spoke of them as
1610-554: A considerable time, first with severe diarrhoea from the water and then with fever, followed by a serious skin infection caused by trichophyton . Wellesley was in charge of raising an Anglo-Indian expeditionary force in Trincomali in early 1801 for the capture of Batavia and Mauritius from the French. However, on the eve of its departure, orders arrived from England that it was to be sent to Egypt to co-operate with Sir Ralph Abercromby in
1771-448: A dozen times during the year. The first one was finally published by Smith, Elder & Co in London. The 23-year-old owner, George Smith, had specialised in publishing scientific revues, aided by his perspicacious reader William Smith Williams. Emily and Anne's manuscripts were confided to Thomas Cautley Newby , who intended to compile a three-decker ; more economical for sale and for loan in
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#17328512886911932-649: A farm or settlement. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of the 11th century, when it had been laid waste by William the Conqueror 's harrying of the North , punishment for an uprising against the Norman invaders of 1066. Thornton was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Bradford, becoming a civil parish in its own right in 1866. In 1865 Thornton was declared to be a Local Government District , administered by
2093-689: A few weeks later set sail for Calcutta with his regiment. Arriving in Calcutta in February 1797 he spent 5 months there, before being sent in August to a brief expedition to the Philippines , where he established a list of new hygiene precautions for his men to deal with the unfamiliar climate. Returning in November to India , he learnt that his elder brother Richard , now known as Lord Mornington, had been appointed as
2254-502: A futile attempt to stabilise him. The family's finances did not flourish, and Aunt Branwell spent the money with caution. Emily had a visceral need of her home and the countryside that surrounded it, and to leave it would cause her to languish and wither. Charlotte and Anne, being more realistic, did not hesitate in finding work and from April 1839 to December 1841 the two sisters had several posts as governesses. Not staying long with each family, their employment would last for some months or
2415-467: A good education and good care for his daughters. The school was not expensive and its patrons (supporters who allowed the school to use their names) were all respected people. Among these was the daughter of Hannah More , a religious author and philanthropist who took a particular interest in education. More was a close friend of the poet William Cowper , who, like her, advocated extensive, proper and well-rounded education for young girls. The pupils included
2576-663: A good reputation and he remembered the building, which he passed when strolling around the parishes of Kirklees , Dewsbury and Hartshead-cum-Clifton where he was vicar. Margaret Wooler showed fondness towards the sisters and she accompanied Charlotte to the altar at her marriage. Patrick's choice of school was excellent—Charlotte was happy there and studied well. She made many lifelong friends, in particular Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor who later went to New Zealand before returning to England. Charlotte returned from Roe Head in June 1832, missing her friends, but happy to rejoin her family. Three years later, Miss Wooler offered her former pupil
2737-462: A head over the imposition of the Church of England rates, a local tax levied on parishes where the majority of the population were dissenters. In the meantime, Miss Wooler moved to Heald's House, at Dewsbury Moor , where Charlotte complained about the humidity that made her unwell. Upon leaving the establishment in 1838 Miss Wooler presented her with a parting gift of The Vision of Don Roderick and Rokeby ,
2898-416: A joint publication by the three sisters. Anne was easily won over to the project, and the work was shared, compared and edited. Once the poems had been chosen, nineteen for Charlotte and twenty-one each for Anne and Emily, Charlotte went about searching for a publisher. She took advice from William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh, directors of one of their favourite magazines, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal . It
3059-623: A known figure after his victories at the Nile and Copenhagen, who was briefly in England after months pursuing the French Toulon fleet to the West Indies and back. Some 30 years later, Wellington recalled a conversation that Nelson began with him which Wellesley found "almost all on his side in a style so vain and silly as to surprise and almost disgust me". Nelson left the room to inquire who the young general
3220-669: A legacy from her father, that books should provide moral education. This sense of moral duty and the need to record it, are more evident in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall . The influence of the gothic novels of Ann Radcliffe , Horace Walpole , Gregory "Monk" Lewis and Charles Maturin is noticeable, and that of Walter Scott too, if only because the heroine, abandoned and left alone, resists importunities not only through her almost supernatural talents, but by her powerful temperament. Jane Eyre , Agnes Grey , The Tenant of Wildfell Hall , Shirley , Villette and even The Professor present
3381-669: A linear structure concerning characters who advance through life after several trials and tribulations, to find a kind of happiness in love and virtue, recalling works of religious inspiration of the 17th century such as John Bunyan 's The Pilgrim's Progress or his Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners . In a more profane manner, the hero or heroine follows a picaresque itinerary such as in Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), Henry Fielding (1707–1764) and Tobias Smollett (1721–1771). This lively tradition continued into
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#17328512886913542-464: A local board. Such local boards became urban district councils under the Local Government Act 1894 . Thornton Urban District existed for less than five years; in 1899 it was incorporated into the city of Bradford. The civil parish of Thornton continued to exist until 1974, but as an urban parish it had no parish council, being directly administered by the city council. In 1951 the parish had
3703-554: A maid, Tabitha Aykroyd (Tabby). Tabby helped relieve their possible boredom and loneliness especially by recounting local legends in her Yorkshire dialect as she tirelessly prepared the family's meals. Eventually, Patrick would survive his entire family. Six years after Charlotte's death, he died in 1861 at the age of 84. His son-in-law, the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls , would aid Mr Brontë at the end of his life as well. Patrick's wife Maria Brontë , née Branwell (15 April 1783 – 15 September 1821),
3864-551: A military career in earnest. He became a major by purchase in the 33rd Regiment in 1793. A few months later, in September, his brother lent him more money and with it he purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 33rd. In 1793, the Duke of York was sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of an allied force destined for the invasion of France. In June 1794, Wellesley with
4025-434: A novel that defied all conventions. It is a work of black Romanticism, covering three generations isolated in the cold spring of the countryside with two opposing elements: the dignified manor of Thrushcross Grange and the rambling dilapidated pile of Wuthering Heights. The main characters, swept by tumults of the earth, the skies and the hearts, are strange and often possessed of unheard-of violence and deprivations. The story
4186-544: A population of 6097. The parish was abolished in 1974 when the larger City of Bradford metropolitan borough was created, since when it has been an unparished area . Thornton comprises part of the Thornton and Allerton ward. It falls within the parliamentary constituency of Bradford West . Its elevation, poor soils, isolation from major transport routes, and rainfall of close to 1000mm per year has limited its farming productivity. Resources such as coal, iron and sandstone,
4347-532: A position as her assistant. The family decided that Emily would accompany her to pursue studies that would otherwise have been unaffordable. Emily's fees were partly covered by Charlotte's salary. Emily was 17 and it was the first time she had left Haworth since leaving Cowan Bridge. On 29 July 1835, the sisters left for Roe Head. The same day, Branwell wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Art in London, to present several of his drawings as part of his candidature as
4508-609: A probationary student. Charlotte taught, and wrote about her students without much sympathy. Emily did not settle: after three months her health seemed to decline and she had to be taken home to the parsonage. Anne took her place and stayed until Christmas 1837. Charlotte avoided boredom by following the developments of the imaginary Empire of Angria—invented by Charlotte and Branwell—that she received in letters from her brother. During holidays at Haworth, she wrote long narratives while being reproached by her father who wanted her to become more involved in parish affairs. These were coming to
4669-671: A religious family. The Brontë birthplace in Thornton is a place of pilgrimage and their later home, the parsonage at Haworth in Yorkshire, now the Brontë Parsonage Museum , has hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The Brontë family can be traced to the Irish clan Ó Pronntaigh , which literally means "descendant of Pronntach". They were a family of hereditary scribes and literary men in Fermanagh . The version Ó Proinntigh , which
4830-400: A resident of Cornmarket, Warwick, who in admiration, wrote to the publisher to request an autograph—the only extant single document carrying the three authors' signatures in their pseudonyms, and they continued creating their prose, each one producing a book a year later. Each worked in secret, unceasingly discussing their writing for hours at the dinner table, after which their father would open
4991-497: A retreat, so Wellesley decided to launch an attack immediately. On 23 September, Wellesley led his forces over a ford in the river Kaitna and the Battle of Assaye commenced. After crossing the ford the infantry was reorganised into several lines and advanced against the Maratha infantry. Wellesley ordered his cavalry to exploit the flank of the Maratha army just near the village. During
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5152-561: A revolutionary life mentions the predicament. Only Emily never became a governess. Her sole professional experience would be an experiment in teaching during six months of intolerable exile in Miss Patchett's school at Law Hill (between Haworth and Halifax ). In contrast, Charlotte had teaching positions at Miss Margaret Wooler's school and in Brussels with the Hégers. She became governess to
5313-597: A reward for his service in India he was made a Knight of the Bath in September. While in India, Wellesley had amassed a fortune of £42,000 (considerable at the time, equivalent to £4 million in 2023), consisting mainly of prize money from his campaign. When his brother's term as Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together to England on HMS Howe . Wellesley, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at
5474-530: A single season. However, Anne did stay with the Robinsons in Thorp Green where things went well, from May 1840 to June 1845. In the meantime, Charlotte had an idea that would place all the advantages on her side. On advice from her father and friends, she thought that she and her sisters had the intellectual capacity to create a school for young girls in the parsonage where their Sunday School classes took place. It
5635-568: A year to the day, enamoured for some time for Monsieur Héger, Charlotte resigned and returned to Haworth. Her life at the school had not been without suffering, and on one occasion she ventured into the cathedral and entered a confessional. She may have had intention of converting to Catholicism, but it would only have been for a short time. During her absence, life at Haworth had become more difficult. Mr. Brontë had lost his sight although his cataract had been operated on with success in Manchester, and it
5796-494: Is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career, and although not undefeated, he "never lost" a major engagement. Wellington is famous for his adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest commanders in the modern era , and many of his tactics and battle plans are still studied in military academies around
5957-493: Is inspired by Martin's illustration for John Milton 's Paradise Lost . Together with Byron, John Martin seems to have been one of the artistic influences essential to the Brontës' universe. The influence revealed by Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is much less clear. Anne's works are largely founded on her experience as a governess and on that of her brother's decline. Furthermore, they demonstrate her conviction,
6118-655: Is that he adapted his name to associate himself with Admiral Horatio Nelson , who was also Duke of Bronte . One might also find evidence for this theory in Patrick Brontë's desire to associate himself with the Duke of Wellington in his form of dress. Patrick Brontë (17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861), the Brontë sisters' father, was born in Loughbrickland , County Down , Ireland, of a family of farm workers of moderate means. His birth name
6279-454: Is thought, although no documents exist to support the claim, that they advised the sisters to contact Aylott & Jones, a small publishing house at 8, Paternoster Row, London, who accepted, but at the authors' own risk since they felt the commercial risk to the company was too great. The work thus appeared in 1846, published using the male pseudonyms of Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell. These were very uncommon forenames but
6440-514: Is told in a scholarly fashion, with two narrators, the traveller and tenant Lockwood, and the housekeeper/governess, Nelly Dean, with two sections in the first person, one direct, one cloaked, which overlap each other with digressions and sub-plots that form, from apparently scattered fragments, a coherently locked unit. One year before her death in May 1849, Anne published a second novel. Far more ambitious than her previous novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
6601-577: The British Museum , and they were shortly thereafter printed in The Times newspaper. The writing that had begun so early never left the family. Charlotte had ambition like her brother, and wrote to the poet laureate Robert Southey to submit several poems in his style (though Branwell was kept at a distance from her project). She received a hardly encouraging reply after several months. Southey, still illustrious today although his star has somewhat waned,
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6762-458: The Brontës . The preserved centre of the village retains the character of a typical Pennine village, with stone-built houses with stone flagged roofs. The surrounding areas consist of more modern housing, particularly towards the eastern and western edges of the village, still isolated from the rest of the city of Bradford by green fields. Thornton derives from Old English and means a thorn tree at
6923-448: The Duke of Rutland (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ) to consider Arthur for a commission in the Army. Soon afterward, on 7 March 1787, he was gazetted ensign in the 73rd Regiment of Foot . In October, with the assistance of his brother, he was assigned as aide-de-camp , on ten shillings a day (twice his pay as an ensign), to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Buckingham . He
7084-543: The East India Company having pursued and destroyed his forces once already, forcing him into retreat in August 1799, he raised a sizeable force composed of disbanded Mysore soldiers, captured small outposts and forts in Mysore, and was receiving the support of several Maratha killedars opposed to British occupation. This drew the attention of the British administration, who were beginning to recognise him as more than just
7245-661: The Leeds Intelligencer of 6 November 1823 reports of cases in the Court of Commons in Bowes: he later read of other cases, of 24 November 1824 near Richmond, in the county of Yorkshire, where pupils had been discovered gnawed by rats and suffering so badly from malnutrition that some of them had lost their sight.) Yet for Patrick, there was nothing to suggest that the Reverend Carus Wilson's Clergy Daughters' School would not provide
7406-478: The Merrion Hotel . His mother, Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street . His family's home at Dangan Castle , Dangan near Summerhill , County Meath has also been purported to have been his birthplace. In his obituary, published in The Times in 1852, it was reported that Dangan was unanimously believed to have been the place of his birth, though suggested it
7567-714: The Peninsular War . These included a strong sense of discipline through drill and order, the use of diplomacy to gain allies, and the vital necessity of a secure supply line. He also established high regard for the acquisition of intelligence through scouts and spies. His personal tastes also developed, including dressing himself in white trousers, a dark tunic, with Hessian boots and black cocked hat (that later became synonymous as his style). Wellesley had grown tired of his time in India, remarking "I have served as long in India as any man ought who can serve anywhere else". In June 1804 he applied for permission to return home and as
7728-717: The Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellesley was born into a Protestant Ascendancy family in Ireland . He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive lords lieutenant of Ireland . He was also elected as a member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons . Rising to the rank of colonel by 1796, Wellesley saw service in
7889-461: The rotten borough of Trim to speak against the granting of the title " Freeman " of Dublin to the parliamentary leader of the Irish Patriot Party , Henry Grattan . Succeeding, he was later nominated and duly elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Trim in the Irish House of Commons . Because of the limited suffrage at the time, he sat in a parliament where at least two-thirds of
8050-509: The "circulating libraries". The two first volumes included Wuthering Heights and the third one Agnes Grey . Both novels attracted critical acclaim, occasionally harsh about Wuthering Heights , praised for the originality of the subject and its narrative style, but viewed with suspicion because of its outrageous violence and immorality—surely, the critics wrote, a work of a man with a depraved mind. Critics were fairly neutral about Agnes Grey , but more flattering for Jane Eyre , which soon became
8211-399: The 19th century with the rags to riches genre to which almost all the great Victorian romancers have contributed. The protagonist is thrown by fate into poverty and after many difficulties achieves a golden happiness. Often an artifice is employed to effect the passage from one state to another such as an unexpected inheritance, a miraculous gift, grand reunions, etc, and in a sense it is
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#17328512886918372-547: The 33rd regiment set sail from Cork bound for Ostend as part of an expedition bringing reinforcements for the army in Flanders. They arrived too late to participate, and joined the Duke of York as he was pulling back towards the Netherlands. On 15 September 1794, at the Battle of Boxtel , east of Breda , Wellington, in temporary command of his brigade, had his first experience of battle. During General Abercromby's withdrawal in
8533-539: The 33rd sailed to join them in August. After extensive and careful logistic preparation (which would become one of Wellesley's main attributes) the 33rd left with the main force in December and travelled across 250 miles (402 km) of jungle from Madras to Mysore. On account of his brother, during the journey, Wellesley was given an additional command, that of chief advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad 's army (sent to accompany
8694-565: The Birstall area. Professional wrestler Les Kellett had a small holding and café called "The Terminus", where trolleybuses terminated before returning to Bradford , with his wife Margaret. On 2 acres (0.81 ha) behind the house Kellett sometimes bred pigs and once said he kept fifty head of cattle. Thornton Viaduct was a railway viaduct for the Great Northern Railway line running from Queensbury to Keighley via Thornton. It
8855-463: The British advance. On 10 September, at the Battle of Conaghul , Wellesley personally led a charge of 1,400 British dragoons and Indian cavalry, in single line with no reserve, against Dhoondiah and his remaining 5,000 cavalry. Dhoondiah was killed during the clash; his body was discovered and taken to the British camp tied to a cannon. With this victory, Wellesley's campaign was concluded, and British authority had been restored. Wellesley then paid for
9016-400: The British force). This position was to cause friction among many of the senior officers (some of whom were senior to Wellesley). Much of this friction was put to rest after the Battle of Mallavelly , some 20 miles (32 km) from Seringapatam, in which Harris' army attacked a large part of the sultan's army. During the battle, Wellesley led his men, in a line of battle of two ranks, against
9177-483: The Brontë sisters, was continued at home.) Nevertheless, Charlotte blamed Cowan Bridge for her sisters' deaths, especially its poor medical care—chiefly, repeated emetics and blood-lettings—and the negligence of the school's doctor, who was the director's brother-in-law. Charlotte's vivid memories of the privations at Cowan Bridge were poured into her depiction of Lowood School in Jane Eyre : the scanty and often spoiled food,
9338-522: The Forces until his death . Wellesley was born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy , beginning life as The Hon. Arthur Wesley. Wellesley was born the son of Anne, Countess of Mornington , and Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington . His father was himself the son of Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington , and had a short career in politics representing
9499-542: The French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers , where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, which later proved very useful. Upon returning to England later the same year, he astonished his mother with his improvement. Despite his new promise, Wellesley had yet to find a job and his family was still short of money, so upon the advice of his mother, his brother Richard asked his friend
9660-639: The Low Countries and India , where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Siege of Seringapatam . He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general , won a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy at the Battle of Assaye in 1803. Rising to prominence as a general officer during the Peninsular War , Wellesley was promoted to
9821-564: The Sidgwicks, the Stonegappes and the Lotherdales where she worked for several months in 1839, then with Mrs White, at Upperhouse House, Rawdon, from March to September 1841. Anne became a governess and worked for Mrs Ingham, at Blake Hall, Mirfield from April to December 1839, then for Mrs Robinson at Thorp Green Hall, Little Ouseburn, near York, where she also obtained employment for her brother in
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#17328512886919982-571: The Young Men , and gave them names. However, it was not until December 1827 that their ideas took written form, and the imaginary African kingdom of Glass Town came into existence, followed by the Empire of Angria. Emily and Anne created Gondal , an island continent in the North Pacific, ruled by a woman, after the departure of Charlotte in 1831. In the beginning, these stories were written in little books ,
10143-517: The affair affected Wellesley. He resolved "never to attack an enemy who is preparing and strongly posted, and whose posts have not been reconnoitred by daylight". Lewin Bentham Bowring gives this alternative account: One of these groves, called the Sultanpet Tope, was intersected by deep ditches, watered from a channel running in an easterly direction about a mile from the fort. General Baird
10304-457: The battle Wellesley himself came under fire; two of his horses were shot from under him and he had to mount a third. At a crucial moment, Wellesley regrouped his forces and ordered Colonel Maxwell (later killed in the attack) to attack the eastern end of the Maratha position while Wellesley himself directed a renewed infantry attack against the centre. An officer in the attack wrote of the importance of Wellesley's personal leadership: "The General
10465-485: The boarding school free of charge, in return for giving some lessons. After much hesitation, the girls accepted. Neither of them felt particularly attached to their students, and only one, Mademoiselle de Bassompierre, then aged 16, later expressed any affection for her teacher Emily, which appeared to be mutual, and made her a gift of a signed, detailed drawing of a storm ravaged pine tree. The death of their aunt in October of
10626-576: The boarding school, English for Charlotte and music for Emily. However, Charlotte returned alone to Belgium in January 1843. Emily remained critical of Monsieur Héger, in spite of the excellent opinion he held of her. He later stated that she 'had the spirit of a man', and would probably become a great traveller due to her being gifted with a superior faculty of reason that allowed her to deduce ancient knowledge from new spheres of knowledge, and her unbending willpower would have triumphed over all obstacles. Almost
10787-560: The books and toys the children desired. He also accorded them great freedom and unconditional love, although he may have alienated them from the world due to his eccentric personal habits and peculiar theories of education. After several failed attempts to remarry, Patrick accepted permanent widowerhood at the age of 47, and spent his time visiting the sick and the poor, giving sermons and administering communion. In so doing, he would often leave his children Maria, Elizabeth, Emily, Charlotte, Branwell and Anne alone with Elizabeth—Aunt Branwell and
10948-448: The buildings. Market Street therefore forms the backbone of the conservation area in the village, while Thornton Road remains the main artery for traffic to Bradford, Allerton, Halifax , Keighley and Denholme . Thornton's most famous residents were the Brontës . The Rev Patrick Brontë became the incumbent of Thornton Chapel in 1815, and Charlotte , Branwell , Emily and Anne Brontë were born at 74 Market Street, Thornton before
11109-691: The characters of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights , and Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre , who display the traits of a Byronic hero . Numerous other works left their mark on the Brontës—the Thousand and One Nights , for example, which inspired jinn in which they became themselves in the centre of their kingdoms, while adding a touch of exoticism. The children's imagination was also influenced by three prints of engravings in mezzotint by John Martin around 1820. Charlotte and Branwell made copies of
11270-475: The children of less prosperous members of the clergy, and had been recommended to Mr Brontë. The following year, Maria and Elizabeth fell gravely ill and were removed from the school, later dying on 6 May and 15 June 1825, respectively. Charlotte and Emily were also withdrawn from the school and returned to Haworth. Charlotte expressed the traumatic impact that her sisters' deaths had on her in her future works. In Jane Eyre , Cowan Bridge became Lowood, Maria inspired
11431-499: The children, to whom she was known as 'Aunt Branwell.' Elizabeth Branwell was a Methodist, though it seems that her denomination did not exert any influence on the children. It was Aunt Branwell who taught the children arithmetic, the alphabet, and how to sew, embroider and cross-stitch, skills appropriate for ladies. Aunt Branwell also gave them books and subscribed to Fraser's Magazine , less interesting than Blackwood's , but, nevertheless, providing plenty of material for discussion. She
11592-503: The children. Bradley was an artist of some local repute rather than a professional instructor, but he may well have fostered Branwell's enthusiasm for art and architecture. In 1831, fourteen-year-old Charlotte was enrolled at the school of Miss Wooler in Roe Head, Mirfield . Patrick could have sent his daughter to a less costly school in Keighley nearer home but Miss Wooler and her sisters had
11753-410: The constituency of Trim in the Irish House of Commons before succeeding his father as Baron Mornington in 1758. Garret Mornington was also an accomplished composer , and in recognition of his musical and philanthropic achievements was elevated to the rank of Earl of Mornington in 1760. Wellesley's mother was the eldest daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon , after whom Wellesley
11914-575: The cost of only 361 British casualties. A further successful attack at the fortress at Gawilghur , combined with the victory of General Lake at Delhi , forced the Maratha to sign a peace settlement at Anjangaon (not concluded until a year later) called the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon . Military historian Richard Holmes remarked that Wellesley's experiences in India had an important influence on his personality and military tactics, teaching him much about military matters that would prove vital to his success in
12075-509: The damp environment. Though the campaign was to end disastrously, with the British army driven out of the United Provinces into the German states, Wellesley became more aware of battle tactics, including the use of lines of infantry against advancing columns, and the merits of supporting sea-power. He understood that the failure of the campaign was due in part to the faults of the leaders and
12236-405: The daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford . She was described as being full of 'gaiety and charm'. In 1793, he proposed, but was turned down by her brother Thomas , 2nd Earl of Longford , who considered Wellesley to be a young man, in debt, with very poor prospects. An aspiring amateur musician, Wellesley, devastated by the rejection, burnt his violins in anger, and resolved to pursue
12397-505: The decline in manufacturing. Today, Thornton is often treated as a residential suburb of Bradford. The main thoroughfare through the village was Market Street, until this road was bypassed in 1826 by the new Thornton Road (B6145). In the two centuries after its construction, most building work has since taken place along Thornton Road, extending the village down the slope of the hill it sits upon. This has left Market Street largely untouched and it retains its original character and stonework on
12558-478: The development of turnpike roads, and the coming of the railways enabled Thornton to share in the prosperity generated by the 19th-century wool worsted trade. The increasing use of steam-powered mills (at the expense of the former cottage-industry production methods) concentrated production in the valleys of the city centre. Foreign imports, the Second World War , and closure of the railways, all contributed to
12719-542: The dignity their talent merited, and invited them to the opera for a performance of Rossini 's Barber of Seville . Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was published in 1847 under the masculine pseudonym Ellis Bell, by Thomas Cautley Newby, in two companion volumes to that of Anne's (Acton Bell), Agnes Grey . Controversial from the start of its release, its originality, its subject, narrative style and troubled action raised intrigue. Certain critics condemned it, but sales were nevertheless considerable for an unknown author of
12880-464: The dining room she noticed a small notebook lying open in the drawer of Emily's portable writing desk and "of my sister Emily's handwriting". She read it and was dazzled by the beauty of the poems that she did not know. The discovery of this treasure was what she recalled five years later, and according to Juliet Barker, she erased the excitement that she had felt "more than surprise ..., a deep conviction that these were not common effusions, nor at all like
13041-425: The door at 9 p.m. with "Don't stay up late, girls!", then rewinding the clock and taking the stairs up to his room. Charlotte's Jane Eyre , Emily's Wuthering Heights and Anne's Agnes Grey appeared in 1847 after many tribulations, again for reasons of finding a publisher. The packets containing the manuscripts were often returned to the parsonage and Charlotte simply added a new address; she did this at least
13202-419: The enemy to a gentle ridge and gave the order to fire. After an extensive repetition of volleys, followed by a bayonet charge, the 33rd, in conjunction with the rest of Harris's force, forced Tipu's infantry to retreat. Immediately after their arrival at Seringapatam on 5 April 1799, the Battle of Seringapatam began and Wellesley was ordered to lead a night attack on the village of Sultanpettah, adjacent to
13363-641: The exploration of central Africa . The map included with the article highlights geographical features the Brontës reference in their tales: the Jibbel Kumera (the Mountains of the Moon ), Ashantee , and the rivers Niger and Calabar . The author also advises the British to expand into Africa from Fernando Po, where, Christine Alexander notes, the Brontë children locate the Great Glass Town. Their knowledge of geography
13524-548: The expulsion of the French from Egypt . Wellesley had been appointed second in command to Baird, but owing to ill health did not accompany the expedition on 9 April 1801. This was fortunate for Wellesley, since the vessel on which he was to have sailed sank in the Red Sea. He was promoted to brigadier-general on 17 July 1801. He took residence within the Sultan's summer palace and reformed
13685-456: The face of superior French forces, the 33rd held off enemy cavalry, allowing neighbouring units to retreat safely. During the extremely harsh winter that followed, Wellesley and his regiment formed part of an allied force holding the defence line along the Waal River . The 33rd, along with the rest of the army, suffered heavy losses from attrition and illness. Wellesley's health was also affected by
13846-646: The family moved to Haworth . In November 2023 the house was purchased by a campaign group which aims to restore and preserve the house as the Brontë Birthplace . The remains of the church where the father preached, known as the Bell Chapel, can be seen in the restored old graveyard off Thornton Road opposite the current church. The 44 mi (71 km) long Brontë Way passes through Thornton on its way between Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire and Oakwell Hall in
14007-473: The first time. Héger had first shown them to Mrs. Gaskell when she visited him in 1856 while researching her biography The Life of Charlotte Brontë , but she concealed their true significance. These letters, referred to as the "Héger Letters", had been ripped up at some stage by Héger, but his wife had retrieved the pieces from the wastepaper bin and meticulously glued or sewn them back together. Paul Héger, Constantin's son, and his sisters gave these letters to
14168-408: The first time; he had died the previous year. From this moment, the name Byron became synonymous with all the prohibitions and audacities as if it had stirred up the very essence of the rise of those forbidden things. Branwell's Charlotte Zamorna, one of the heroes of Verdopolis , tends towards increasingly ambiguous behaviour, and the same influence and evolution recur with the Brontës, especially in
14329-463: The fortress to clear the way for the artillery. Because of a variety of factors including the Mysorean army's strong defensive preparations and the darkness the attack failed with 25 casualties due to confusion among the British. Wellesley suffered a minor injury to his knee from a spent musket-ball. Although they would re-attack successfully the next day, after time to scout ahead the enemy's positions,
14490-522: The future upkeep of Dhoondiah's orphaned son. In September 1802, Wellesley learnt that he had been promoted to the rank of major-general . He had been gazetted on 29 April 1802, but the news took several months to reach him by sea. He remained at Mysore until November when he was sent to command an army in the Second Anglo-Maratha War . When he determined that a long defensive war would ruin his army, Wellesley decided to act boldly to defeat
14651-411: The ground and bound along in a serpentine motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly: "So pestered were we with the rocket boys that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles ...". He continued: The rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every illumination of blue lights
14812-399: The initials of each of the sisters were preserved and the patronym could have been inspired by that of the vicar of the parish, Arthur Bell Nicholls. It was in fact on 18 May 1845 that he took up his duties at Haworth, at the moment when the publication project was well advanced. The book attracted hardly any attention. Only three copies were sold, of which one was purchased by Fredrick Enoch,
14973-544: The island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building in which Napoleon I would live during his later exile. In September 1805, Major-General Wellesley was newly returned from his campaigns in India and was not yet particularly well known to the public. He reported to the office of the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies to request a new assignment. In the waiting room, he met Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson , already
15134-400: The lack of discipline among his men, who drank and pillaged the fortress and city. To restore order, several soldiers were flogged and four hanged . After battle and the resulting end of the war, the main force under General Harris left Seringapatam and Wellesley, aged 30, stayed behind to command the area as the new Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore. While in India, Wellesley was ill for
15295-439: The lack of heating and adequate clothing, the periodic epidemics of illness such as "low fever" (probably typhus), the severity and arbitrariness of the punishments, and even the harshness of particular teachers (a Miss Andrews who taught at Cowan Bridge is thought to have been Charlotte's model for Miss Scatcherd in Jane Eyre ). Elizabeth Gaskell , a personal friend and the first biographer of Charlotte, confirmed that Cowan Bridge
15456-432: The main battle, rocketeers maneuvered to the rear of the British encampment, then 'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all ordered by Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Miran. The rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells . Others, called ground rockets, would rise again on striking
15617-464: The majority (around 30,000) were irregular light cavalry and unlikely to pose a serious threat to British infantry and artillery. Throughout June–August 1800, Wellesley advanced through Waugh's territory, his troops escalading forts in turn and capturing each one with "trifling loss". The forts generally offered little resistance due to their poor construction and design. Wellesley did not have sufficient troops to garrison each fort and had to clear
15778-552: The members owed their election to the landowners of fewer than a hundred boroughs. Wellesley continued to serve at Dublin Castle , voting with the government in the Irish parliament over the next two years. He became a captain on 30 January 1791, and was transferred to the 58th Regiment of Foot . On 31 October, he transferred to the 18th Light Dragoons and it was during this period that he grew increasingly attracted to Kitty Pakenham ,
15939-457: The negative influences that never left them and which were reflected in the works of their later, more mature years, the Brontë children absorbed them eagerly. The periodicals that Patrick Brontë read were a mine of information for his children. The Leeds Intelligencer and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine , conservative and well written, but better than the Quarterly Review that defended
16100-577: The new Governor-General of India . In 1798, he changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley"; up to this time he was still known as Wesley, which his eldest brother considered the ancient and proper spelling. As part of the campaign to extend the rule of the British East India Company , the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out in 1798 against the Sultan of Mysore , Tipu Sultan . Arthur's brother Richard ordered that an armed force be sent to capture Seringapatam and defeat Tipu. During
16261-466: The novel's republication and thus condemned her sister to temporary oblivion. The master theme is the alcoholism of a man who causes the downfall of his family. Helen Graham, the central character, gets married for love to Arthur Huntingdon, whom she soon discovers to be lecherous, violent and alcoholic. She is forced to break with the conventions that would keep her in the family home that has become hell, and to leave with her child to seek secret refuge in
16422-466: The numerically larger force of the Maratha Empire . With the logistic assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) he gave the order to break camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on 8 August 1803. The fort surrendered on 12 August after an infantry attack had exploited an artillery-made breach in the wall. With the fort now in British control Wellesley was able to extend control southwards to
16583-446: The offspring of different prelates and even certain acquaintances of Patrick Brontë including William Wilberforce , young women whose fathers had also been educated at St John's College, Cambridge. Thus Brontë believed Wilson's school to have many of the necessary guarantees needed for his daughters to receive proper schooling. In 1829–30, Patrick Brontë engaged John Bradley , an artist from neighbouring Keighley , as drawing-master for
16744-487: The old house of Wildfell Hall. When the alcohol causes her husband's ultimate decline, she returns to care for him in total abnegation until his death. Today, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered by most of the critics to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. In 1850, a little over a year after the deaths of Emily and Anne, Charlotte wrote a preface for the re-print of the combined edition of Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey , in which she publicly revealed
16905-440: The parsonage at Haworth, where he took up the post of perpetual curate . (Haworth was an ancient chapelry in the large parish of Bradford , so he could not be rector or vicar.) They had six children. On the death of his wife in 1821, his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Branwell , came from Penzance , Cornwall , to help him bring up the children. Open, intelligent, generous and dedicated to educating his children personally, he bought all
17066-409: The poetry women generally write. I thought them condensed and terse, vigorous and genuine. To my ear, they had a peculiar music—wild, melancholy, and elevating." In the following paragraph Charlotte describes her sister's indignant reaction at her having ventured into such an intimate realm with impunity. It took Emily hours to calm down and days to be convinced to publish the poems. Charlotte envisaged
17227-415: The poor organisation at headquarters. He remarked later of his time in the Netherlands that "At least I learned what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson". Returning to England in March 1795, he was reinstated as a member of parliament for Trim. He hoped to be given the position of secretary of war in the new Irish government but the new lord-lieutenant, Lord Camden , was only able to offer him
17388-519: The post of Surveyor-General of the Ordnance . Declining the post, he returned to his regiment, now at Southampton preparing to set sail for the West Indies . After seven weeks at sea, a storm forced the fleet back to Poole . The 33rd was given time to recuperate and a few months later, Whitehall decided to send the regiment to India. Wellesley was promoted full colonel by seniority on 3 May 1796 and
17549-584: The prints Belshazzar's Feast , Déluge , and Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon (1816), which hung on the walls of the parsonage. Martin's fantastic architecture is reflected in the Glass Town and Angrian writings, where he appears himself among Branwell's characters and under the name of Edward de Lisle, the greatest painter and portraitist of Verdopolis, the capital of Glass Town. One of Sir Edward de Lisle's major works, Les Quatre Genii en Conseil ,
17710-438: The publisher of Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey , had launched a rumour that the three novels were the work of one author, understood to be Ellis Bell (Emily). George Smith was extremely surprised to find two gawky, ill-dressed country girls paralysed with fear, who, to identify themselves, held out the letters addressed to Messrs. Acton, Currer and Ellis Bell . Taken by such surprise, he introduced them to his mother with all
17871-642: The rank of field marshal after leading British-led forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's first exile in 1814, he served as the British ambassador to France and was made Duke of Wellington . During the Hundred Days campaign in 1815, Wellington commanded another British-led army which, together with the Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher , defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellington's battle record
18032-477: The real identities of all three sisters. Conditions at the school at Cowan Bridge, where Maria and Elizabeth may have contracted the tuberculosis from which they died, were probably no worse than those at many other schools of the time. (For example, several decades before the Brontë sisters' experience at Cowan Bridge, Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra contracted typhus at a similar boarding school, and Jane nearly died. The Austen sisters' education, like that of
18193-461: The recommendation of a pastor based in Brussels, who wanted to be of help, Belgium was chosen, where they could also study German and music. Aunt Branwell provided the funds for the Brussels project. Emily and Charlotte arrived in Brussels in February 1842 accompanied by their father. Once there, they enrolled at Monsieur and Madame Héger's boarding school in the Rue d'Isabelle, for six months. Claire Héger
18354-482: The river Godavari . Splitting his army into two forces to pursue and locate the main Marathas army (the second force, commanded by Colonel Stevenson was far smaller), Wellesley was preparing to rejoin his forces on 24 September. His intelligence, however, reported the location of the Marathas' main army, between two rivers near Assaye . If he waited for the arrival of his second force, the Marathas would be able to mount
18515-537: The route followed by Charlotte's and Anne's protagonists, even if the riches they win are more those of the heart than of the wallet. Apart from its Gothic elements, Wuthering Heights moves like a Greek tragedy and possesses its music, the cosmic dimensions of the epics of John Milton , and the power of the Shakespearian theatre. One can hear the echoes of King Lear as well as the completely different characters of Romeo and Juliet . The Brontës were also seduced by
18676-717: The same contemporary newspaper evidence, which states that he was born on 1 May 1769, the day before he was baptised in St. Peter's Church on Aungier Street in Dublin. However, Ernest Lloyd states "registry of St. Peter's Church, Dublin, shows that he was christened there on 30 April 1769". His baptismal font was donated to St. Nahi's Church in Dundrum, Dublin , in 1914. Wellesley may have been born at his parents' townhouse, Mornington House at 6 Merrion Street (the address later became known as 24 Upper Merrion Street), Dublin, which now forms part of
18837-413: The same political ideas whilst addressing a less-refined readership (the reason Mr. Brontë did not read it), were exploited in every detail. Blackwood's Magazine , in particular, was not only the source of their knowledge of world affairs, but also provided material for the Brontës' early writing. For instance, an article in the June 1826 number of Blackwood's , provides commentary on new discoveries from
18998-508: The same year forced them to return once more to Haworth. Aunt Branwell had left all her worldly goods in equal shares to her nieces and to Eliza Kingston, a cousin in Penzance, which had the immediate effect of purging all their debts and providing a small reserve of funds. Nevertheless, they were asked to return to the Héger's boarding school in Brussels as they were regarded as being competent and were needed. They were each offered teaching posts in
19159-599: The school, a few weeks before the deaths of Maria and Elizabeth. Thornton, West Yorkshire Thornton is a village and former civil parish , within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford , in West Yorkshire , England. It lies 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west of the city centre of Bradford , and together with neighbouring Allerton , had a total resident population in 2001 of 15,004, increasing to 17,276 in 2011 and 18,520 in 2021. Its most famous residents were
19320-668: The second Dangan Castle , 3 miles (5 km) north of Summerhill in County Meath . In 1781, Arthur's father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his father's earldom. He went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whyte's Academy when in Dublin, and Brown's School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton College , where he studied from 1781 to 1784. His loneliness there caused him to hate it, and makes it highly unlikely that he actually said "The Battle of Waterloo
19481-545: The sisters' father, decided on the alternative spelling with the diaeresis over the terminal ⟨e⟩ to indicate that the name has two syllables. Multiple theories exist to account for the change, including that he may have wished to hide his humble origins. As a man of letters , he would have been familiar with classical Greek and may have chosen the name after the Greek βροντή ( transl. thunder ). One view, which biographer C. K. Shorter proposed in 1896,
19642-409: The size of a matchbox about 1.5 by 2.5 inches (38 mm × 64 mm) and cursorily bound with thread. The pages were filled with close, minute writing, often in capital letters without punctuation and embellished with illustrations, detailed maps, schemes, landscapes and plans of buildings, created by the children according to their specialisations. The idea was that the books were of a size for
19803-434: The soldiers to read. The complexity of the stories matured as the children's imaginations developed, fed by reading the three weekly or monthly magazines to which their father had subscribed, or the newspapers that were bought daily from John Greenwood's local news and stationery store. These fictional worlds were the product of fertile imagination fed by reading, discussion and a passion for literature. Far from suffering from
19964-457: The surrounding area of insurgents before advancing to the next fort. On 31 July, he had "taken and destroyed Dhoondiah's baggage and six guns, and driven into the Malpoorba (where they were drowned) about five thousand people". Dhoondiah continued to retreat, but his forces were rapidly deserting, he had no infantry and due to the monsoon weather flooding river crossings he could no longer outpace
20125-481: The tax and justice systems in his province to maintain order and prevent bribery. In 1800, whilst serving as Governor of Mysore, Wellesley was tasked with putting down an insurgency led by Dhoondiah Waugh , formerly a Patan trooper for Tipu Sultan . Having escaped after the fall of Seringapatam he became a powerful brigand, raiding villages along the Maratha–Mysore border region. Despite initial setbacks,
20286-499: The theory that he was born in Dublin is generally accepted but by no means proved". Other places that have been put forward as the location of his birth include a coach between Meath and Dublin, the Dublin packet boat and the Wellesley townhouse in Trim, County Meath. Wellesley spent most of his childhood at his family's two homes, the first a large house in Dublin, Mornington House , and
20447-456: The tope, was at once attacked in the darkness of night by a tremendous fire of musketry and rockets. The men, floundering about amidst the trees and the water-courses, at last broke, and fell back in disorder, some being killed and a few taken prisoners. In the confusion Colonel Wellesley was himself struck on the knee by a spent ball, and narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. A few weeks later, after extensive artillery bombardment,
20608-434: The war, rockets were used on several occasions. Wellesley was almost defeated by Tipu's Diwan, Purnaiah , at the Battle of Sultanpet Tope . Quoting Forrest, At this point (near the village of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be pressed closer to Srirangapattana island. The commander chosen for this operation
20769-446: The word pronntach or bronntach , which is related to the word bronnadh , meaning "giving" or "bestowal" ( pronn is given as an Ulster version of bronn in O'Reilly's Irish English Dictionary .) Patrick Woulfe suggested that it was derived from proinnteach (the refectory of a monastery ). Ó Pronntaigh was earlier anglicised as Prunty and sometimes Brunty . At some point, Patrick Brontë (born Brunty),
20930-669: The world. After the end of his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as a member of the Tory party from 1828 to 1830 and for a little less than a month in 1834. Wellington oversaw the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 , while he opposed the Reform Act 1832 . He continued to be one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of
21091-412: The writings of Walter Scott , and in 1834 Charlotte exclaimed, "For fiction, read Walter Scott and only him—all novels after his are without value." Through their father's influence and their own intellectual curiosity, they were able to benefit from an education that placed them among knowledgeable people, but Mr Brontë's emoluments were modest. The only options open to the girls were either marriage or
21252-399: The young Helen Burns, the cruel mistress Miss Andrews inspired the headmistress Miss Scatcherd, and the tyrannical headmaster Rev. Carus Wilson , Mr Brocklehurst. Tuberculosis, which afflicted Maria and Elizabeth in 1825, also caused the eventual deaths of three of the surviving Brontës: Branwell in September 1848, Emily in December 1848, and, finally, Anne in May 1849. Patrick Brontë faced
21413-505: Was Charlotte's model for Lowood and insisted that conditions there in Charlotte's day were egregious. More recent biographers have argued that the food, clothing, heating, medical care and discipline at Cowan Bridge were not considered sub-standard for religious schools of the time, testaments of the era's complacency about these intolerable conditions. One scholar has commended Patrick Brontë for his perspicacity in removing all his daughters from
21574-429: Was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on the 5th April 1799, he was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to "postpone the attack" until a more favourable opportunity should offer. The following day, Wellesley launched a fresh attack with a larger force, and took the whole position without any killed in action. On 22 April 1799, twelve days before
21735-489: Was Patrick Prunty or Brunty. His mother, Alice McClory, was of the Roman Catholic faith, whilst his father Hugh was a Protestant, and Patrick was brought up in his father's faith. He was a bright young man and, after studying under the Rev. Thomas Tighe, won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge . There, he studied divinity, ancient history and modern history. Attending Cambridge may have made him feel that his name
21896-627: Was a generous person who dedicated her life to her nieces and nephew, neither marrying nor returning to visit her relations in Cornwall. She probably told the children stories of events that had happened in Cornwall, such as raids by pirates in the eighteenth century, who carried off British residents to be enslaved in North Africa and Turkey; enslavement in Turkey is mentioned by Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre . She died of bowel obstruction in October 1842, after
22057-408: Was a great success and rapidly outsold Emily's Wuthering Heights . However, the critical reception was mixed—praise for the novel's "power" and "effect" and sharp criticism for being "coarse". Charlotte Brontë herself, Anne's sister, wrote to her publisher that it "hardly seems to me desirable to preserve ... the choice of subject in that work is a mistake." After Anne's death, Charlotte prevented
22218-411: Was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them. Under the command of General Harris , some 24,000 troops were dispatched to Madras (to join an equal force being sent from Bombay in the west). Arthur and
22379-534: Was agreed to offer the future pupils the opportunity of correctly learning modern languages and that preparation for this should be done abroad, which led to a further decision. Among the possibilities, Paris and Lille were considered, but were rejected due to aversion to the French. Indeed, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars had not been forgotten by the Tory -spirited and deeply conservative girls. On
22540-399: Was also transferred to the new 76th Regiment forming in Ireland and on Christmas Day, 1787, was promoted lieutenant . During his time in Dublin his duties were mainly social; attending balls, entertaining guests and providing advice to Buckingham. While in Ireland, he overextended himself in borrowing due to his occasional gambling, but in his defence stated that "I have often known what it
22701-632: Was an Anglo-Irish military officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, serving twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . He is among the commanders who ended the Anglo-Mysore Wars when Tipu Sultan was killed in the fourth war in 1799 and among those who ended the Napoleonic Wars in a victory when
22862-416: Was and, on his return, switched to a very different tone, discussing the war, the state of the colonies, and the geopolitical situation as between equals. On this second discussion, Wellington recalled, "I don't know that I ever had a conversation that interested me more". This was the only time that the two men met; Nelson was killed at his victory at Trafalgar seven weeks later. Wellesley then served in
23023-460: Was born after Charlotte and before Emily, were very close to each other. As children, they developed their imaginations first through oral storytelling and play, set in an intricate imaginary world, and then through the collaborative writing of increasingly complex stories set in their fictional world. The deaths of their mother and two older sisters marked them and influenced their writing profoundly, as did their isolated upbringing. They were raised in
23184-531: Was born in Penzance , Cornwall, and came from a comfortably well-off, middle-class family. Her father had a flourishing tea and grocery store and had accumulated considerable wealth. Maria died at the age of 38 of uterine cancer . She married the same day as her younger sister Charlotte in the church at Guiseley after her fiancé had celebrated the union of two other couples. She was a literate and pious woman, known for her lively spirit, joyfulness and tenderness, and it
23345-558: Was built in an S-shape to allow a smooth access to Thornton railway station . The viaduct is now a Grade II listed building . The viaduct was reopened as part of The Great Northern Railway Trail between Cullingworth and Queensbury along the track bed in 2009, with a final link up to Queensbury opening in 2012. [REDACTED] Media related to Thornton, West Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons Duke of Wellington Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , ( né Wesley ; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852)
23506-458: Was completed by Goldsmith's Grammar of General Geography , which the Brontës owned and annotated heavily. From 1833, Charlotte and Branwell's Angrian tales begin to feature Byronic heroes who have a strong sexual magnetism and passionate spirit, and demonstrate arrogance and even black-heartedness. Again, it is in an article in Blackwood's Magazine from August 1825 that they discover the poet for
23667-497: Was directed to scour this grove and dislodge the enemy, but on his advancing with this object on the night of the 5th, he found the tope unoccupied. The next day, however, the Mysore troops again took possession of the ground, and as it was absolutely necessary to expel them, two columns were detached at sunset for the purpose. The first of these, under Colonel Shawe, got possession of a ruined village, which it successfully held. The second column, under Colonel Wellesley, on advancing into
23828-509: Was first given by Patrick Woulfe in his Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall ( transl. Surnames of the Gael and the Foreigner ) and reproduced without question by Edward MacLysaght , cannot be accepted as correct, as there were a number of well-known scribes with this name writing in Irish in the 17th and 18th centuries and all of them used the spelling Ó Pronntaigh . The name is derived from
23989-535: Was in the thick of the action the whole time ... I never saw a man so cool and collected as he was ... though I can assure you, till our troops got the order to advance the fate of the day seemed doubtful ..." With some 6,000 Marathas killed or wounded, the enemy was routed, though Wellesley's force was in no condition to pursue. British casualties were heavy: the British losses amounted to 428 killed, 1,138 wounded and 18 missing (the British casualty figures were taken from Wellesley's own despatch). Wellesley
24150-454: Was named. Through Elizabeth of Rhuddlan , Wellesley was a descendant of Edward I . Wellesley was the sixth of nine children born to the Earl and Countess of Mornington. His siblings included Richard, Viscount Wellesley , later 1st Marquess Wellesley , 2nd Earl of Mornington , and Baron Maryborough . The exact date and location of Wellesley's birth is not known, but biographers mostly follow
24311-545: Was one of the great figures of English Romanticism , along with William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge , and he shared the prejudice of the times; literature, or more particularly poetry (for women had been publishing fiction and enjoying critical, popular and economic success for over a century by this time), was considered a man's business, and not an appropriate occupation for ladies. However, Charlotte did not allow herself to be discouraged. Furthermore, coincidence came to her aid. One day in autumn 1845 while alone in
24472-427: Was ordained on 10 August 1806. He is the author of Cottage Poems (1811), The Rural Minstrel (1814), numerous pamphlets, several newspaper articles and various rural poems. In 1811, Patrick was appointed minister at Hartshead-cum-Clifton. In 1812, he met and married 29 year old Maria Branwell at Guiseley. In 1813, they moved to Clough House Hightown, Liversedge, West Riding of Yorkshire and by 1820 they had moved into
24633-534: Was she who designed the samplers that are on display in the museum and had them embroidered by her children. She left memories with her husband and with Charlotte, the oldest surviving sibling, of a very vivacious woman. The younger ones, particularly Emily and Anne, admitted to retaining only vague images of their mother, especially of her suffering on her sickbed. Elizabeth Branwell (2 December 1776 – 29 October 1842) arrived from Penzance in 1821, aged 45, after her younger sister Maria's death, to help Patrick look after
24794-512: Was the first to know success, while Emily's Wuthering Heights , Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and other works were accepted as masterpieces of literature after their deaths. The first Brontë children to be born to rector Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria were Maria (1814–1825) and Elizabeth (1815–1825), who both died at young ages due to disease. Charlotte, Emily and Anne were then born within approximately four years. These three sisters and their brother, Branwell (1817–1848), who
24955-540: Was the second wife of Constantin, and it was she who founded and directed the school while Constantin had the responsibility for the higher French classes. According to Miss Wheelwright, a former pupil, he had the intellect of a genius. He was passionate about his auditorium, demanding many lectures, perspectives, and structured analyses. He was also a good-looking man with regular features, bushy hair, very black whiskers, and wore an excited expression while sounding forth on great authors about whom he invited his students to make
25116-545: Was there in August 1846, when Charlotte arrived at his bedside that she began to write Jane Eyre . Meanwhile, her brother Branwell fell into a rapid decline punctuated by dramas, drunkenness and delirium. Due partly to Branwell's poor reputation, the school project failed and was abandoned. Charlotte wrote four long, very personal, and sometimes vague letters to Monsieur Héger that never received replies. The extent of Charlotte Brontë's feelings for Héger were not fully realised until 1913, when her letters to him were published for
25277-400: Was to be in want of money, but I have never got helplessly into debt". On 23 January 1788, he transferred into the 41st Regiment of Foot , then again on 25 June 1789 he transferred to the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and, according to military historian Richard Holmes , he also reluctantly entered politics. Shortly before the general election of 1789, he went to
25438-400: Was too Irish and he changed its spelling to Brontë (and its pronunciation accordingly), perhaps in honour of Horatio Nelson , whom Patrick admired. It is more likely, however, that his brother William was 'on the run' from the authorities for his involvement with the radical United Irishmen , leading Patrick to distance himself from the name Brunty. Having obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, he
25599-501: Was troubled by the loss of men and remarked that he hoped "I should not like to see again such loss as I sustained on 23 September, even if attended by such gain". Years later, however, he remarked that Assaye and not Waterloo was the best battle he ever fought. Despite the damage done to the Maratha army, the battle did not end the war. A few months later in November, Wellesley attacked a larger force near Argaum , leading his army to victory again, with an astonishing 5,000 enemy dead at
25760-426: Was unlikely, but not impossible, that the family had travelled to Dublin for his baptism. A pillar was erected in his honour near Dangan in 1817. The place of his birth has been much disputed following his death, with Sir J.B. Burke writing the following in 1873: "Isn't it remarkable that until recently all the old memoirs of the Duke of Wellington seemed to infer that County Meath was the place of birth. Nowadays
25921-531: Was won on the playing fields of Eton", a quotation which is often attributed to him. Moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of family funds due to his father's death, forced the young Wellesley and his mother to move to Brussels . Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew increasingly concerned at his idleness, stating, "I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur." In 1786, Arthur enrolled in
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