1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Helloly, welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: Sarah Dowdy and I'm deleted Chuck Reboarding and longtime listeners 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: know that sad royal childhoods are a frequent theme of ours, 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: But the truth is discussing the youth of a podcast 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: subject is usually pretty interesting, whether their royalty or not. 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: Whether it's eleot Chellaby showing off to the Sultan, or 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: as we discussed recently, paleontologist Mary Anning getting struck by 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: lightning as an infant, or even haunts Christian Anderson crashing 10 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: dinner parties in his ill fitting communion suit. I really 11 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: think that taking a closer look at the early years 12 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: often shows a different side of a subject, or sometimes 13 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: even most intriguingly, a sign of what's to come. You know, 14 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: some spark of genius in the early years. But it's 15 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: rare that we devote an entire episode to those early 16 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,279 Speaker 1: pre fame years, as we're going to do today with 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: the talented Bronte family. And while we we will follow 18 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: up with an episode on their remarkable breakthroughs and their successes, 19 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: which we all probably know a little bit more about. 20 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: There are a few good reasons for establishing a solid 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: footing before we go there. I mean, the first one 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: would be that most of the family didn't live much 23 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: beyond childhood, kind of the sad reason why the youngest 24 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: Bronte child to die was only at ten and the 25 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: oldest was thirty eight, so not very long lives at all. Secondly, 26 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: the Bronte children grew up under very strange circumstances. They 27 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: grew up in extreme isolation coupled with endless intellectual stimulation. Yeah, 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: there's a New Yorker article by Mary Hawthorne on their 29 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: fantastic drawings and watercolors. Something you might not be aware 30 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: of that the Brontes were actually, in some cases really 31 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: talented artists too. But this article suggested that the peculiarities 32 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: of their upbringing produced quote an extraordinary collective creative mania, 33 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: which I think is a great way to think about 34 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: what they were doing as kids. And there's one third 35 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: reason that we want to go into their childhood a 36 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: little bit first, and that's the Bronte mystique. It almost 37 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: hinges on those earlier years. So how did one remote 38 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: family produce three world class writers and one brilliant wastrel brother. 39 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: How did the isolated and experienced Bronte girls author books 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: filled with so much passion and terror? And what was 41 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: in the water at how worth besides death and disease? 42 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: And what made them also brilliant? So the Brontes are 43 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: such a staple of British literature classes that it probably 44 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: surprises some people to learn their origins were in Northern 45 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: Ireland and that their family name wasn't even Bronte. Their father, 46 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: Who's Patrick, was born in seventy seven on St Patrick's 47 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: Day in Northern Ireland, and he was the son of 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: Hugh Brunte, who was a ditch mender. And despite the 49 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: poor beginnings, Patrick was the eldest of ten really you know, 50 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: in a really poor family. Uh, they were very story oriented. 51 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: Hugh Brunte was known in his area as being an 52 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: incredible storyteller. Young Patrick grew up reading as much as 53 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: he possibly could. He even memorized Paradise Lost as a kid, 54 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: and that intellectual spark caught the attention of a local 55 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,959 Speaker 1: Presbyterian minister and from there Patrick made one good connection 56 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: after another with wealthy members of the Methodist movement and 57 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: ultimately earned himself a spot at Cambridge, and I read 58 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: a really great biography on Charlotte Bronte by Rebecca Frasier, 59 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: and she said that this jump from being the ditch 60 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: mender's son to attending Cambridge was really an almost unimaginable lee. Again, 61 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: it did remind me a little bit of Hans Christian 62 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: Anderson actually, who had just talked about. In eighteen o six, Patrick, 63 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: who had changed his name to Bronte at school, decided 64 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: to take orders as a clergyman. In eighteen twelve he 65 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: met Mariah Branwell, who was from a well off Cornish 66 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: merchant family with rumors of pirate ancestry. She lived in 67 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: Penzance after all, and Mariah was in a pretty great 68 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: place for an unmarried thirty year old in the nineteenth century. 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: She had some money, she had some independence, and she 70 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: was much loved and valued by her family. But only 71 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: months after meeting Patrick, Mariah packed it in, married him 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: and moved north and started having just baby after baby. 73 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: They had six kids and six years Mariah, Elizabeth, Charlotte, 74 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: Patrick Branwell, Emily and Anne. So most of the younger 75 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: Bronte children were born in Thornton, West Yorkshire, where the 76 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: Brontes could socialize. It was near enough to a town 77 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: that they could go visit with friends, They had a 78 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: they had a busy life there, and that was especially 79 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: important considering Mr and Mrs Bronte were already pretty isolated 80 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: from their extended families in Ireland and Cornwall. But of 81 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: course Bronte Buffs know that the kids didn't grow up 82 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 1: in this busy, sociable town of Thornton Heathcliff, Rome's Moors, 83 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: after all, not some cute little village. So not long 84 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: after Anne's birth in eighteen twenty, Mr Bronte accepted a 85 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: position as the curate of Hawarth and it wasn't really 86 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: too far off from Thornton, but the hills and the 87 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: moor surrounding it made the place inaccessible, plus cold and 88 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: windy and boggy. And today we know that Howard was 89 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: also very, very unhealthy. And I can actually remember this 90 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: from my eleventh grade literature class, my teacher drawing a 91 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: picture of the Bronte house and um the water supply 92 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: and where it came from, and it just very involved, definitely, 93 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: but it's something that unhealthy nous of the town was 94 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: something that Mr Bronte noticed right away and tried to 95 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: fix in his role as parson. I mean, just to 96 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: give you a few examples of how unhealthy this place 97 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: really was, because you might be thinking, you know, a 98 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: small village, how bad could it be? But the Babbage 99 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: Report on Sanitation from about thirty years after the Bronte's 100 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: arrival compared Howard's death rate to that of Whitechapel, London, 101 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: of course, one of the um worst most packed with 102 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,119 Speaker 1: people's slums in London. The average life expectancy with only 103 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: twenty five years. The problems that this place had where 104 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: that there weren't enough previews, no sewers, water was rarely clean, 105 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: and there were too many dead filling up the poorly 106 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: drained churchyard. And guess where the family lived, right by 107 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: the churchyard with a view of the cemetery on two sides. 108 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: Since the local families were mostly quite poor, they were 109 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 1: laborers and factory workers. There were only a few other, quote, 110 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: you know, respectable people that the Brontes could socialize with, 111 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: so they stuck to themselves. Mainly. There was a class 112 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: thing here. The Brontes were were also, but they were 113 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: middle class because of Mr Bronte's position. The girls grew 114 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: up learning to do things like put up linen, but 115 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: they had servants to do the cleaning and the cooking. Yeah. 116 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: I read one description of them learning lighthouse keeping, whatever 117 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: that means, because it means I just imagine people walking 118 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: around with a feather nut I don't know, like making 119 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: lace or something. But still, you know, you're probably wondering 120 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: at this point, why would you take this position if 121 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: this town was so unhealthy? But the job meant a 122 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: major raise for Mr Bronte, plus a house for his 123 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: family of eight and a job for life, which is 124 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: a pretty serious thing. But the tragedies started not too 125 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: long after they moved. Only nine months later. Mrs Bronte, 126 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: who hadn't really ever recovered after Anne's birth, started to 127 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: get very sick, and Mr Bronte nursed her himself for 128 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: seven months while she slowly died of what at the 129 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: time people thought was stomach cancer but now what historians 130 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: believe was blood poisoning. Mariah, the oldest daughter, you know, 131 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: still just a little kid, took care of her younger 132 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: sisters and her brother until all six of them also 133 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: got sick. They came down with scarlet fever, and at 134 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: that point Mr Bronte was just at his breaking point 135 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: and wrote to his sister in law, Elizabeth Brandwell, to 136 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: come up to Yorkshire and please help the family. So 137 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: she attended her sister's death and stayed to care for 138 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: the kids, but she really wanted to go home to 139 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: warmer Cornwall. Mr Bronte meanwhile tried to find a new 140 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: wife to help educate his kids and also to study 141 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: his temper and allow his sister in law to go home. 142 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: But he found no takers. I mean, he just wasn't 143 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: in that attractive a position at the time. He had 144 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: six kids and a really low salary, so it just 145 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: didn't help his cause. Yeah, new takers. So with six kids, though, 146 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: and five of them girls, how was he supposed to 147 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: educate them on a poor Parsons income? And the kids were, 148 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: of course precocious, a little Bronte's. They'd read newspapers and 149 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: talk politics. They'd argue about who they thought was Beth 150 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: the Duke of Wellington, or Napoleon or Hannibal or Caesar. 151 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: But they didn't have a formal education, which was especially 152 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: important for girls who might need to actually go work 153 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: later in life, you know, become teachers, become governesses. So 154 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: it seems like kind of a hopeless situation. But then 155 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 1: a miracle seemed to happen. In eighteen twenty four, a 156 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: new school for the daughters of the poor evangelical clergy 157 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: opened at cowan Bridge, only about fifty miles from Haworth. 158 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:42,199 Speaker 1: For only fourteen pounds a year, a girl could study history, geography, globes, grammar, writing, arithmetic, 159 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: needlework and fine housekeeping. And you could even choose a 160 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: vocation of sorts. You could choose to learn to be 161 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: a wife, a governess, or your own housekeeper. And for 162 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: added cachet, the school's director was a wealthy clergyman named 163 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: Carus Wilson, which was a really big name to someone 164 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: like Mr Bronte. Okay, though, if you've read Jane Eyre 165 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: you know where this story is going. The school was cold, 166 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: it was damp, the building was overcrowded, too many girls 167 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: in two cramped rooms, with too few provies and poor food. 168 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: And another problem was that Wilson thought deprivation was a 169 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: really good thing. He believed little children were particularly sinful, 170 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: so he probably wasn't the best person to be running 171 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: a school full of little children in an unhealthy spot. 172 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: But by November, the four eldest Bronte girls were at 173 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: Cowan Bridge, and Mariah went home first in February. She 174 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: was dead by May of tuberculosis. Elizabeth went home May 175 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: thirty one, prompting Mr. Bronte to leave the very next 176 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: day and rescue Charlotte and Emily. So I mean that 177 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: gives you a pretty good picture of what kind of 178 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: state Elizabeth must have been in for him to go 179 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: rushing back. She died just two weeks later, and according 180 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: to an article on Elizabeth Brown day Um by Jane 181 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: tripp It, she's actually called the Unknown Bronte because so 182 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: little is really known about her. Mariah also died young, 183 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: but she was sort of the inspiration for Helen Burns 184 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: and you know, really idolized by her family. But Elizabeth 185 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,679 Speaker 1: more of a blank slate. So anyway, this article by 186 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: Jeane Trippett and the Journal Bronte Studies, Elizabeth supposedly also 187 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: met with some unknown quote alarming accident while she was 188 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: at school, her head being quote severely cut according to 189 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: the school's headmistress. So it seems like there were, you know, 190 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: potentially more serious things going on, not that the accident 191 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: was necessarily something um, somebody had caused her harm, but 192 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: just that it wasn't covered in any more detail than that. Yeah, 193 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,839 Speaker 1: it sounds sketchy, you know. It makes you feel like 194 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: maybe Calvin Bridge was Lowwood from Jane Eyre Chrus Wilson 195 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,079 Speaker 1: could have been the evil Mr Brocklehurst. And I mean, 196 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: we'll talk more about Charlotte's legacy in the next episode, 197 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: but since she was the only sister to come really 198 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: famous during her lifetime, a lot of people took an 199 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: interest in that connection. Charlotte herself said that Lowood was true. 200 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: The Wilson camp claimed that Charlotte couldn't be relied on 201 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: for having been a child at the time, she wouldn't 202 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: have remembered things that they really were exactly. According to Fraser, 203 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,199 Speaker 1: their biggest piece of evidence came from a letter signed 204 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: a h which was believed to be the former headmistress 205 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: and inspiration for the kind Miss Temple in Charlotte's book, 206 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: she claimed everything had been Rosie in the nine though 207 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: someone finally bothered too to the math and realized that 208 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: the real Miss Temple had actually been dead when she 209 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,079 Speaker 1: wrote the vindicating letter, and the letter's author was probably 210 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: actually the inspiration for the evil Mrs Scatchard, which doesn't 211 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: sound so good for cowen Bridge all a sudden, but 212 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: with the death of Mariah and Elizabeth in such a 213 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: short span of time, and of course also so soon 214 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: after the death of their mother, uh, the kids were 215 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: really devastated. And remember their house looks out on a 216 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: cemetery too, so there was really no escaping this feeling 217 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: of death. A later guest, remember that Howard's high mortality 218 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: rate was really obvious to anybody who was stopping through, 219 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: because the church bell would constantly toll for the dead, 220 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: and then the tombstone chiseler would always be at work, 221 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 1: you know, chipping away at the granite blocks, which sounds 222 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: really horrifying in this context of a family who's just 223 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: lost so many people in such a short stand of time. 224 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: So Miss Branwell became the household educator for the girls, 225 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: while Mr Bronte would have given extra Greek and Latin 226 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: lessons to Branwell. They also had an inexhaustible supply of 227 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: reading materials day old newspapers, magazines, borrowed books, methodist tracks, 228 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: and literature. Of course, Charlotte and Branwell read almost all 229 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: of Byron at age thirteen and twelve. The only thing 230 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 1: that Patrick Bronte seemed to censor was Miss Branwell's Ladies magazine. 231 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: He thought it had silly little stories in it. He 232 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: didn't want his kids to read them. Um. So it's 233 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: probably no surprise that with the kids reading so much 234 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: romantic literature and then geography too and current events, that 235 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: they made up their own world eventually, you know, as 236 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: a way to kind of get away from all that 237 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: was going on in their real life, and filled it 238 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: with byronic heroes and their most famous creation, the Empire 239 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: of Angria, with its capital of glass Town, started when 240 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: Mr Bronte brought home a set of wooden soldiers for Brandwell, 241 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: and Charlotte later described it in a way that sounds 242 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: so genuine. You know, you can imagine kids just picking 243 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: up toys and starting this imaginary world. But she wrote, 244 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: Branwell came to our door with a box of soldiers. 245 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: Emily and I jumped out of bed, and I snatched 246 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: one up and exclaimed, this is the Duke of Wellington. 247 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: This shall be the Duke. Emily's became gravy and Anne's 248 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: waiting boy, and brand Well's Bonaparte. So with all their 249 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: soldiers named, I think the names went through a few variations. 250 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: In some cases the soldiers became what they called the 251 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: young men, and um they lived in Glasstown. The kids 252 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: became these all powerful genies. And then the Glasstown saga 253 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: morphed into something that wasn't just like playing with the 254 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: soldiers on rainy days and making up stories. It really 255 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: became a world for them. Yeah, Brandwell even created a 256 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: language and history and maps for this world. By January nine, 257 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: they started to produce miniature Glasstown magazines with science articles, 258 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: poems and jokes. Actually all the Glasstown writings were done 259 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: on a miniature scale. So the first magazine was two 260 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: and a quarter inch by one in a quarter inch, 261 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: done on scraps of sugar paper or wallpaper in Angria 262 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: and the Angrians, brand Well crammed two thousand, five hundred 263 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: words onto a five by seven inch page and they 264 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: called it Scribblemania, which I think is my new band name. 265 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: And you know, they had a reason though, behind all 266 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: of the tiny writing, which they also did to sort 267 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: of imitate print almost. It was a way to keep 268 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: the adults out of their business, you know, because it 269 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: was so impossible to read, probably especially if you were 270 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: a nineteenth century person with bad eyesight. So Emily and 271 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: Anne participated in the world of Angria, but they also 272 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: created their own world called Gondol. And we don't know 273 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: quite as much about Gondol as we do about Glasstown, 274 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: because Charlotte destroyed much of her sister's early writings after 275 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: their deaths. But there is one pretty intriguing fact, especially 276 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: if you've read any of those younger Bront's works. Gondol 277 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: was ruled by women, which certainly set it apart from 278 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: from the world of Angria, which had these really strong 279 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: male protagonists. But all the kids continued writing poems and 280 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: plays and romances about their worlds and these characters well 281 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: into adulthood, and Charlotte would at various times try to 282 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: ditch her imaginary world as she'd get older, but she'd 283 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: come back, you know sometimes. Deplena and I were discussing 284 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: before the podcast, actually that while so charming in their youth, 285 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: it does start to take on a disturbing tone when 286 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: they are still so obsessed with it as they get older. 287 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 1: But her indirect interest in it ultimately ended up coming 288 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,440 Speaker 1: out partly in some of her more famous work. Charlotte's 289 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: alter ego, The Morna, is very much like her later 290 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: anti hero Mr Rochester, So I mean, there you go. 291 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: But of course they couldn't play at home forever. In 292 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty and Mr Bronte got sick and nearly died. 293 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: When he recovered, he realized his kids had no safety net, 294 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: so he decided to keep branwell at home, but he 295 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: sent Charlotte to school again to learn to be a governess, 296 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: this time at Mrs Wooler School at roe Head, twenty 297 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: miles from Hollarth. It was different from colin Bridge and 298 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: it was in a charity school. Other students there were 299 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: rich manufacturing daughters, and Charlotte stood out with her Irish 300 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: accent and her funny clothes. To make things worse, she 301 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: was placed at the bottom of the class since her 302 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 1: entire education had been so haphazard, and she couldn't play 303 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: because she was so nearsighted, so she was really loved 304 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: instead of you know, joining in with ball games. Eventually, though, 305 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: according to the BBC documentary In Search of the Brontes, 306 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: she made friends through storytelling, which was really her strength. 307 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: As we know, she would rehash the ghost tales that 308 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,719 Speaker 1: she learned from the Brontes much loved cook Cabby, and 309 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: two of her roe Head friends, Ellen Nussy and Mary Taylor, 310 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: became lifelong correspondence of her. So she did manage to 311 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: make those bonds. Yeah, and as the side note to 312 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,919 Speaker 1: the correspondence with Ellen really is the source of a 313 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: lot of biographical information about not just Charlotte, but the 314 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,440 Speaker 1: Bronte family as a whole. Mary Taylor burned her correspondence, 315 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: so we don't know what all were missing there. So 316 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: Charlotte also worked her way to the top of the 317 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: class and after two years she came home. This is 318 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: maybe one of the happier times in the Brontes lives. 319 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: All the kids were back at the parsonage. Charlotte's friend Ellen, 320 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: who visited in eighteen thirty three, wrote that quote, they 321 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,200 Speaker 1: were beginning to feel conscious of their powers. They were 322 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: rich in each other's companionship. Their health was good, their 323 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: spirits were good. There was often joyousness and mirth. The 324 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,199 Speaker 1: perfection of unrestrained talk and intelligence brightened the close of 325 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: the days which were passing all too swiftly. So we 326 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: can kind of get a picture two of the Bronte's. 327 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: During this period, they would take long walks over the moors, 328 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: and in the evening, the four girls, or if Ellen 329 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: was visiting, would stroll around the sitting room arm in arm. 330 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: There were a lot of pets in the house. Later 331 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 1: on they had geese named Victoria and Adelaide, which I 332 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: just love. Um brand Will also still seemed like the 333 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: great hope of the family, and that's something that's always 334 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,400 Speaker 1: interesting when you learn about the Brontes, these three very 335 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 1: famous sisters. Yet the family expected the Sun to be 336 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: the great one. But at this point, you know, it 337 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: seemed likely. He was charming, he was smart, he was 338 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: good at everything he did. He had a well respected 339 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,200 Speaker 1: art teacher at this point, and while his most famous 340 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: work of his sisters is unfortunately pretty crude, not the 341 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 1: best representation that you'd want as your legacy, he was 342 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: considered an accomplished draftsman, so maybe he was a little 343 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: better at drawing than at oil painting. So Charlotte turned 344 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,919 Speaker 1: down a few governessing jobs to stay at home, but 345 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty five she eventually got an offer that 346 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: she couldn't refuse. It was a teaching position at roe 347 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: Head with free education offered for one sister, but going 348 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: back to roe Head turned out to be a really 349 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: serious mistake. Emily could barely make it three months before 350 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: she had to go home. She couldn't stand being away 351 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: from home. The more's her imaginary life, so fifteen year 352 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,159 Speaker 1: old and came up instead. Charlotte was also seriously depressed 353 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: and was going through kind of a religious crisis. In 354 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: August eighteen thirty six, she wrote, quote, the thought came 355 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: over me, am, I to spend all the best part 356 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 1: of my life in this wretched bondage forcibly suppressing my 357 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: ray age at the idleness, the apathy, and the hyperbolical 358 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: and most asinine stupidity of those fat headed oaths on 359 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 1: a compulsion assuming an air of kindness, patience and assiduity, 360 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 1: and to make matters worse, Brandwell partly the reason why 361 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: the girls were working in the first place was failing miserably. Yeah, 362 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: they had of course taken jobs to help their father out, 363 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: you know, help him support brand Well. And in the 364 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: fall of eight thirty five, Brandwell had gone to London 365 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: to apply to the Royal Academy of the Arts. You know, 366 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: this was going to be this big start. He either 367 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: never made it to London and was robbed on the way, 368 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: or he got to London that didn't end up applying 369 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: to school, or he applied but was turned down. It's 370 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: unclear of what exactly happened, but Brandwell later tried to 371 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: still make his living as an artist, specifically as a 372 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: portrait painter, but he couldn't really compete with a better 373 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: artists and the nude geara types, and he became addicted 374 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: to opium eventually, which was on top of a developing 375 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: drinking problem, and it wasn't long before he had to 376 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: start making his living as a tutor, which you know, 377 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: sounds like a good job for a lot of people, 378 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: but it was not something that Brandwell was suited for 379 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,400 Speaker 1: at all. When he was eventually fired from his first position, 380 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: his employers complained that their sons had basically done nothing 381 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: more than make sketches and think up stories to go 382 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: with their tutor strongs, which I don't know, it sounds 383 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: kind of fun for them, but their parents weren't too 384 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: happy they were spending money on that, and there was 385 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,199 Speaker 1: a rumor too, right, there was also a rumor that 386 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 1: Brandwell might have had an illegitimate child who died with 387 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: a servant um, so, you know, just kind of sketchy. 388 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: Things starting to pick up around his name in that charm, 389 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: that intense energy he had was starting to seem more manic, 390 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 1: a little more disturbing. After two years at school, Anne 391 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: got sick and had to go home. Charlotte, who was 392 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: depressed to the point of illness, also followed in eight 393 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: and over the next few years the Bronte girls all 394 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: took teaching jobs, even painfully shy Emily, who distinguished herself 395 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,840 Speaker 1: at law Hill by telling her students that she preferred 396 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: the school dog to them. That wouldn't win you many 397 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 1: most popular teacher points for it at all, and bad. 398 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: Experience with the Ingham family influenced her later novel, Agnes Gray, 399 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,199 Speaker 1: while Charlotte's experience with the Sedgewick family provided inspiration for 400 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: Jane Eyre, and one of Charlotte's charges even threw a 401 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: Bible at her head and was very likely the model 402 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: for John Reid, Jane Eyre's cruel cousin. Yeah, so Charlotte 403 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 1: wasn't enjoying governor thing to say the least, but she 404 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: also wasn't willing to trade it in for a hasty marriage. 405 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,960 Speaker 1: She turned on two proposals in just six months, the 406 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: first of which came from Ellen's brother, who was a 407 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: Calvinist preacher who really just needed a wife for his 408 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: big move to Sussex. You know, it was proper that 409 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,880 Speaker 1: he was married. Reminds you a little bit of Sint 410 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: John Rivers. I think the second proposal came from a 411 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,919 Speaker 1: clergyman who was just of Dublin University. They met in 412 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: a large group, Charlotte mistook his name as Price instead 413 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,439 Speaker 1: of Bryce, and really the next thing you know, she 414 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: was getting a letter of proposal from him, and that 415 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: wasn't her style. So it seems like all the brilliant 416 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,120 Speaker 1: Brontes were just stuck in a rut. You know that 417 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: they were going to have to the girls were gonna 418 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: have to just tutor forever or beat governess is rather 419 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: um something that they did not care for. Brandwell was 420 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: now working as a railway booking clerk and not taking 421 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: that work very seriously. He was doodling in the ledgers, 422 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: and so out of all this kind of um, I 423 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: don't know, stall dead end sort of life, it seems 424 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: a new idea emerged. Ms Brandwell proposed offering up some 425 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: of her savings. She had been squirreling away money over 426 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 1: the year from her father's inheritance to her um, even 427 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: though she was paying Mr Bronte rent the whole time 428 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,680 Speaker 1: she insisted on it um. She had managed to save 429 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: a bit, though, and so she offered a pretty good 430 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: um for the three girls to open their own school, 431 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: you know, which would be a lot different than being 432 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: a governess, where you're not really a servant, but you're 433 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: not really a member of the family either, so consequently 434 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,000 Speaker 1: you're just completely isolated. If you had your own school, 435 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: you'd be able to do your own thing. So Charlotte 436 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 1: really liked this idea. Emily and Anne were into it too, 437 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: But Charlotte cooked up an additional perk. She thought that 438 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,880 Speaker 1: for their school to succeed, the Bronte girls would really 439 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,560 Speaker 1: need to distinguish themselves in some way, have something that 440 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: made them different. So she proposed that she and Emily 441 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: would go off to Brussels for a few months. Mary 442 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: Taylor was studying there and so she had a connection, 443 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 1: and they had hone their French and their Italian. Maybe 444 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: they'd pick up some German um, you know, pick up 445 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: these accomplishments that would make their school one that people 446 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: in the area would actually want to attend, and Aunt 447 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: Brandwell and Mr Bronte were game, you know, a little skeptical, 448 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: but they were. They were fine with it. Sounded like 449 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: an okay idea. So the Bronte start looking for a school, 450 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: and with their connections and Brussels, you know, they had 451 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: somebody on the on the other side of the channel. 452 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: He could do the legwork for them, and they ultimately 453 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 1: found a school that was high quality but pretty inexpensive, 454 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: you know, within their budget, and in January forty two 455 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 1: they settled on the Paulson A A j. So that's 456 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: where we're going to leave off for this episode. I 457 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: can say at this point, you know, the Brontes are 458 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,959 Speaker 1: all grown up. We have exited the growing up Bronte phase. 459 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: And next time we're going to be talking about their 460 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,440 Speaker 1: time in Belgium, their education, and then the three breakout 461 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: novels of course that are published in just one year, 462 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,240 Speaker 1: and then as we know, all of the family tragedy 463 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,440 Speaker 1: that starts um piling up towards the to the end 464 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: of the Bronte saga. Plus we're gonna talk a little 465 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: bit about the reputation of the Brontes, which is something 466 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,400 Speaker 1: that I'm very interested in discussing in more detail. Yeah, 467 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: it's interesting how that reputation evolves, and um the part 468 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: that some of the Brontes themselves playing that. Today we 469 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: just think of them as great novelist, but during the 470 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: Victorian period they were also scandalous women. So I think 471 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: that's a good time for us to move on to 472 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:16,120 Speaker 1: listener mail and maybe discuss another recent literature related podcasts 473 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 1: we covered. So we have two emails here that we 474 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: want to read about our Elizabeth Barrett Browning slash Robert 475 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: Browning podcast. We talked about their relationship and how that 476 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: developed and blossomed over the years. We have one here 477 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: from Anna Lisa. She says, I just finished listening to 478 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,199 Speaker 1: the Elizabeth Barrett Brownie and Robert Brownie podcast and I 479 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 1: love it. But I can't believe you guys didn't talk 480 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,159 Speaker 1: more about Flush, Elizabeth's Dog. If you aren't aware of 481 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: Virginia Wolfs remarkable little book, Flush of Biography, I highly 482 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,920 Speaker 1: recommend it as both an imaginative look at the world 483 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 1: through the dog's eyes and a unique perspective on Elizabeth 484 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,919 Speaker 1: and Robert's romance and marriage. Incidentally, I would also love 485 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 1: if you did a podcast on Wolf someday, so she 486 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,920 Speaker 1: throws up a little suggestion there, But yeah, we did. 487 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: We mentioned that Elizabeth's dog was one of the few 488 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 1: possessions that she took with her when they away. Yes, 489 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: but we didn't go. We didn't have time to really 490 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 1: explore flush. Now I feel like I should stave off 491 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 1: any other listener emails by noting getting it out there 492 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: that Emily Bronte is really a famous dog lover. To 493 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: get a massive would do these pretty watercolors of it. 494 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,879 Speaker 1: So that's officially on the record now. We also got 495 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: a letter about Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning from Tasha, 496 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:45,560 Speaker 1: who is studying English and American literature in England, and 497 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: she said she was researching Browning from my Last Duchess, 498 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: which you mentioned in your podcast about Browning and Elizabeth Barrett. 499 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: Apparently the Duchess and the poem is based on one 500 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 1: of the Medici family. Like Queen Victoria, they just get everywhere. 501 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,560 Speaker 1: Lacrazia di Cosomo de Medici was the daughter of Cosomo 502 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: the first Medici and the sister of Francesco the first 503 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: e Medici, who was the unfortunate quote father in the 504 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: Medici Murders in a Basket Baby podcast. Aged fourteen, she 505 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: married Alonso the second death Day, the fifth Duke of Ferrara, 506 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: who went on to abandon her for two years before 507 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: she died aged just seventeen, of suspected poisoning. That was 508 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: the way a lot of people went back. Then. Ferrara 509 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: went on to marry Barbara of Austria, daughter of the 510 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: Holy Roman Emperor of Fernand the First. I thought this 511 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,760 Speaker 1: was an interesting link between the two subjects that you 512 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: guys might appreciate. I always like a Medici connection, so 513 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: thank you Tasha for sharing that. And I like my 514 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 1: last duchess to We talked about that that that episode 515 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 1: didn't we um, so thank you guys. It's always neat 516 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: to have some more literary insight or dog insight on subjects, 517 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: and I that's kind of while we're talking about the 518 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 1: I don't know insight and sources. It was cool to 519 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: research the Brontes because there is so much information on them, 520 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: which is honestly not something that usually happens for most 521 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,480 Speaker 1: of our podcast subject Usually we have to dig and 522 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: dig and dig, so it is kind of nice. Once 523 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: in a while when you have those topics where it's 524 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: just all kind of laid out for you. Well, it's 525 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 1: strange too, though, because there's so much information on them 526 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: that you get biographies that are countering other biographies. I mean, 527 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: I've mentioned the Rebecca Fraser biography, which I really like, 528 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: but the kind of well it is the original Charlotte 529 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: Bronte biography is the Mrs Gaskell one, and that's full 530 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: of spin in addition to actual biographical information, something again 531 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: we'll talk about in the second episode. There's even a 532 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 1: whole scholarly journal devoted to the Bronte that was really 533 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 1: kind of overwhelmed in this episode in a good way. Yeah, 534 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: I mean that's true. That makes it harder in a 535 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: way because you have to kind of find the commonality 536 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: us and figure out what's sort of in their aerie 537 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: and what's real. Yeah, vastly conflicting opinions about these women 538 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: in their lives. So, um, I don't know, it's it's 539 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: cool to talk about, and we definitely like to know 540 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: your opinions. We are at History Podcast at Discovery dot com, 541 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 1: and we're also on Twitter at mist in History, and 542 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: we are on Facebook and if you'd like to find 543 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: out a little bit more about some of the topics 544 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: we discussed on this podcast. You can find them by 545 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: visiting our homepage at www dot how stuff works dot com. 546 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 1: Be sure to check out our new video podcast, Stuff 547 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:39,480 Speaker 1: from the Future. Join how Stuff Work staff as we 548 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The 549 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 1: house Stuff Works iPhone app has a rise. Download it 550 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 1: today on iTunes.