Brontë's lost manuscript...

From excitement to bitterness and disappointment 

for the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

  
Charlotte Brontë, aged fourteen in 1830 wrote a miniature manuscript of 4,000 words. The museum has already a tremendous collection of her manuscripts and would have loved to get this one which has never been published.

In her set of manuscripts, Charlotte had begun to depict some of her characters, mentioned some incidents that would then been developed in her novels later. This one depicts a fantasy world created by the sisters and their brother as well. The scene is set in Glass Town. 



 




This miniature manuscript is part of a set of other manuscripts, as shown beside.  The Youngmen's magazine.

The manuscript is very important as it shows the literary development of Charlotte. 

"It's certainly the most significant Bronte manuscript to come to light in decades, but we should also see this as a national treasure with significance to our broader literary heritage," Mr McCarthy, the museum director said.

So, on November 15^th, he launched an appeal for funds to buy a "lost" Charlotte Bronte manuscript and put it on public show. The manuscript was then owned by a private European collector.

Unfortunately, at Sotheby’s auction in London on December 15th, the Museum raising a total amount of £650,000 thinking the auction would only reach £2000,000 or £300,000, saw the manuscript sold for £690,850 to a French museum, The Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits in Paris.

Parsonage Museum Museum Director Andrew McCarthy said: "This is an important part of our broader literary heritage. We are bitterly disappointed that scholars and the public may now not have the opportunity to study and enjoy it as part of our collection."

We can wonder what can be the use of taking away such a literary piece which has naturally its location in a dedicated museum where scholars or visitors can have access. What’s the point in scattering pieces of art all around the world for private collectors or other museums? I’m French and I am disgusted with this type of business…which in a certain way is disrespectful towards the artists concerned.