In brief
At just 13 years old, Charlotte Brontë was already carving her path as a writer with a humble collection of poetry revealing her early talents, now available to readers.
Few teenagers would desire to expose their personal expressions to the world, but Charlotte Brontë took a courageous step at the age of 13 by compiling her poetic works in an anthology that subtly communicated her aspirations to be a writer. Created in the winter of 1829, Brontë’s “Book of Rhymes” consists of verses penned in tiny handwriting on scraps of paper, each no larger than a playing card. These were meticulously stitched together and accompanied by a handwritten table of contents, reflecting the writer’s early diligence.Brontë, famed for her novel “Jane Eyre,” seemingly didn't expect to publish her youthful works since she inscribed the inner cover with the phrase “Sold By Nobody and Printed By Herself.” Fast forward nearly two centuries, and this delightful collection of her poems is finally being unveiled to the public, coinciding with the 209th anniversary of her birth.This week, the Brontë Parsonage Museum in England released the anthology, comprising ten poems displayed alongside images of the original ink-smudged pages. Among the works are a lengthy poem celebrating the beauty of nature, an attempt at an epic narrative, and a creative take on a “sonnet.”The anthology vividly presents Brontë's creative process, illustrating her revisions marked by crossed-out lines and rearranged stanzas. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an emerging author who was already wrestling with themes of character and perspective. “They chart her development as a writer,” noted Ann Dinsdale, the museum's principal curator. Additionally, the original manuscript, which remained lost for over a century, will be exhibited at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, northern England, allowing visitors to engage with the early works of one of literature's most beloved figures. Brontë first began cataloging her poems and stories at the tender age of 10, culminating in a total of 22 titles by the time she reached 14.
