The manuscript, which now resides in the British Library (Add MS 43477-79), includes numerous excisions to its 896 leaves. Its three volumes have been characterized by some as a confused “text of grief” written during the loss of Brontë’s siblings and by another more recent critic as proof of self-censorship and even “symptoms of a writing disorder or disease.” This talk revisits these claims by taking a close look at the manuscript’s material structure and by showing how skills taught at Rare Book School, such as the identification of paper and codicological format, provide new evidence for how Brontë strategically revised her manuscript after serving as the primary caregiver for Emily and Anne Brontë. On 8 September 1849, James Taylor traveled from London to Haworth, Yorkshire, to collect the manuscript of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Shirley, for publication. His firm, Smith, Elder and Co., had been anxiously awaiting the completion of the book for nearly a year. Readers both in England and abroad were eager to read the next work by “Currer Bell,” whose first published novel, Jane Eyre (1847), had proved surprisingly popular. 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Harrison-Small Special Collections auditorium. Charlotte Brontë’s Fair-Copy Manuscript “Shirley”įriday, May 26.
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