1703097052000 1703082207000 Standard Record object-110009991 1747159882660 1704299041000 1747159409017 adlib fitz-online adlib-object-110009991 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/110009991 53010f6d-72ac-3aa0-9bc5-8663457f296f 3 person reference agent-207470 adlib-agent-207470 37c80b2e-f20d-3016-ae7d-fe66630dfe1c Brontë, Patrick Length mm 180 Width mm 112 Leaf 2 Length mm 180 Width mm 113 Leaf 1 content description This is a letter written from Haworth, Yorkshire by Charlotte Brontë to Miss Margaret Wooler, dated August 30 1853. The letter is 2 leaves (both bifold) and mounted separately in the volume. Leaf 1 has been numbered 22 in the upper right-hand corner according to chronology and its order in the volume. Leaf 2 follows on from Leaf 1 and is numbered 22a in the bottom right corner Brontë apologises for the delay in responding to Miss Wooler. She would like to join Miss Wooler at the seaside but cannot leave her father who complains of 'weakness and depressed spirits', nonetheless she hopes to join Miss Wooler before the autumn finishes. (These 'depressed spirits' may have been the result of Arthur Bell Nicholls' proposal to Brontë in December 1852; Patrick Brontë was initially strongly opposed to the union). Brontë writes that she was late to respond to Miss Wooler as she went to Scotland for a week with Joe, Amelia Taylor and their baby ('that rather despotic member of modern households'). Their trip to Scotland was cut short due to the baby falling ill and her parents' reaction, which Brontë considers to have possibly been an overreaction. Her 'box' was lost upon her return. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the trip and was sorry to leave Scotland prematurely. She praises Joe Taylor as a good husband but criticises the Taylors' all-consuming focus on their baby. By contrast, she praises mothers such as Mrs. Allbutt who while 'most tender and thoughtful' do not permit their children to become tyrants. As detailed in the typescript note of contents enclosed with the volume (Brontë(C)/37), Sir Clifford Allbutt has noted on Leaf 1 that Mrs. Allbut was his mother. Brontë concludes the letter with an invitation for Miss Wooler to visit Haworth if she leaves Hornsea before winter. Due to mounting, leaf 2 must be read recto first verso second. A full edition of this letter can be found in Margaret Smith's 'The Letters of Charlotte Brontë', Vol. 3 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), pp. 188-190. Brontë(C)/22 1 accession number Brontë(C)/22 110009991 priref 110009991 uri https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/110009991 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/110009991 reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum 1853 1853 1853 1853-08-30 1853 1 1853 1853 1853-08-01 reference agent-18451 adlib-agent-18451 44ea0a4f-41b1-397c-9880-2ace1de3d0df Brontë, Charlotte geography reference term-109199 adlib-term-109199 2a761157-5266-399e-8576-a06da710bb9a Scotland literal Scotland Scotland MS Letter, Brontë to Margaret Wooler object OBJECT