At History Extra, Mel Sherwood takes a closer look at the first writing by the Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, whose literary talents were apparent from an early age. “In 1828, [their brother] Branwell began to record their adventures—filling miniature books with barely legible handwriting—the others followed suit,” Sherwood writes. “Soon, this phase of play documentation evolved, and they began to write stories solely for the page. Charlotte and Branwell created a land called Angria together, while Emily and Anne built Gondal. These paracosms were incredibly sophisticated, and exceptionally important to the Brontës—not only as subjects to hone their writing skills with, but also as places to escape to, which they did well into their adulthoods.”
Image credit: National Portrait Gallery
