Was integrity everything to the Brontës? It certainly appears so. Today, we’re standing near a place in London that whispers tales of Charlotte and Anne Brontë, two literary pioneers who ventured into this bustling city to defend their honor.
The story of the Brontë sisters’ visit to London in July 1848 is interesting. It was a pivotal moment that forever changed literary history. Imagine two small shy women arriving in London for the first time. This journey was prompted by a rumor. Thomas Cautley Newby, Anne and Emily’s publisher, was suggesting that Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell were all the same person. Charlotte Brontë, writing as Currer Bell, and her sisters published under these pseudonyms. The sisters wanted to prove their separate identities to their publisher, Smith, Elder & Co.
Charlotte and Anne Brontë traveled from Haworth to London. They arrived at Euston Station and found lodgings at the Chapter Coffee House on Paternoster Row. It was a familiar place for Charlotte. She had stayed there six years earlier on her way to Brussels. From there, they went to Smith, Elder & Co at Cornhill. They met Charlotte’s publisher, George Smith. He was a young wealthy man who had inherited the business from his father.
George Smith recounted his first meeting with the Brontë sisters. A clerk announced that two ladies wished to see him. They declined to give their names but insisted on a private matter. Smith hesitantly agreed to see them. Two quaintly dressed little ladies entered his room. One presented him with a letter addressed to “Currer Bell, Esq.” Smith noticed the letter had been opened. He asked sharply where they had gotten it. The reply was direct. “From the post-office. It was addressed to me. We have both come that you might have ocular proof that there are at least two of us.” Smith was immediately interested and excited.
The sisters’ visit was brief. After only three days in London, they returned to Haworth. Charlotte described the toll the trip took. She was a jaded wretch, thin and meager. Her face looked grey and old with strange deep lines. Her eyes stared unnaturally. She felt weak and restless.
Smith’s account offers insights into Anne and Charlotte’s personalities. He found Anne gentle, quiet, and subdued. She seemed to constantly seek protection and encouragement. Charlotte, on the other hand, lacked feminine charm. She was uneasily conscious of this fact. Smith noted she would have traded her genius for beauty.
Charlotte made many more visits to London. Smith became a great friend. Sadly, Anne never saw London again. This trip was her only journey outside of Yorkshire. The sisters finally enjoyed some recognition for their genius. However, it’s also believed that one of the sisters brought something else back from London. Tuberculosis, or consumption, was rife in London. Within a year, three of the four remaining Brontë siblings had died of tuberculosis.
The Brontë sisters’ visit to London was transformative. It solidified their names in literary history. Their courage and determination to protect their integrity resonates even today. As we stand here, let’s remember the spirit of Charlotte and Anne Brontë. Their visit to London changed the literary world forever.