PREFACE.
It has long seemed to me that the history of the Brontë family isincomplete, and, in some senses, not well understood. Those who havewritten upon it—as I shall have occasion to point out in thesepages—have had certain objects in view, which have, perhapsnecessarily, led them to give undue weight to special points and tooverlook others. Thus it happens that, though there are in the hands ofthe public several able works on the Brontës, there are manycircumstances relating to them that are yet in comparative obscurity.Especially has injustice been done to one member of the family—PatrickBranwell Brontë—whose life has several times been treated by those whohave had some other object in view; and, through a misunderstanding ofthe character of the brother, the sisters, Anne in particular, havebeen put, in some respects, in a false light also. This circumstance,coupled with the fact that I am in possession of much new information,and am able to print here a considerable quantity of unknown poetryfrom Branwell's hand, has induced me to write this work. Those of hispoems which are included in these volumes are placed in dealing withthe periods of his life in which they were written, for I felt that,however great might be the advantages of putting them together in acomplete form, much more would be lost both to the interest of thepoems and the life of their author in doing so. Branwell's poems, more,perhaps, than those of any other writer, are so clearly expressive ofhis feelings at the time of their writing, that a correct view of hischaracter is only to be obtained by looking upon them as parts of hislife-history, which indeed they are. And, moreover, when we considerthe circumstances under which any of these were written, ourunderstanding and appreciation of the subject must necessarily be muchfuller and truer. It has not escaped the attention of writers on theBrontë story that Branwell had an important influence on his sisters;and, though I maintain it to have been essentially different from whatothers allege, it would not be possible to do justice either to him orto them without saying a good deal about his character.
I have felt it right, in these pages, to some extent also, tore-consider the character of the Rev. Patrick Brontë, which has, alongwith that of his son, suffered unfair treatment in the biographies ofhis daughters. I have likewise entered upon some account of the localcircumstances of art and literature which surrounded the Brontës, anelement in their history which has hitherto been unknown, but isespecially necessary to a right understanding of the life and work ofBranwell Brontë and his sisters. These circumstances, and the alteredview I have taken of the tone of the lives of Mr. Brontë and his son,have obliged me to deal more fully than would otherwise have beennecessary with the early years of the Brontës, but I venture to hopethat this may be atoned for by the new light I have thus been enabledto throw on some important points. There are published here, for thefirst time, a series of letters which Branwell Brontë addressed to anintimate friend, J. B. Leyland, sculptor, who died in 1851, and it iswith these that a fresh insight is obtained into an interesting periodof Branwell's life.
I am largely indebted in some parts of my work, especially those whichdeal with th