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The Diary Papers of Emily and Anne Brontë
The Diary Papers provide a rare insight into the early creativity, everyday affairs and anxieties about the future of two of the famous Brontë sisters. Written in miniscule script over a span of eleven years and illustrated by lively sketches, the fragments record details of Emily and Anne's imaginative Gondal world amongst references to sewing, cooking, pets, servants, family travels, and future plans that reveal their personal differences despite their intimacy.
- GenresBiography
71 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
15 people want to read
About the author
Emily Brontë
1,457 books13.5k followersEmily Brontë was an English novelist and poet whose singular contribution to literature, Wuthering Heights, is now celebrated as one of the most powerful and original novels in the English language. Born into the remarkable Brontë family on 30 July 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, she was the fifth of six children of Maria Branwell and Patrick Brontë, an Irish clergyman. Her early life was marked by both intellectual curiosity and profound loss. After the death of her mother in 1821 and the subsequent deaths of her two eldest sisters in 1825, Emily and her surviving siblings— Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell—were raised in relative seclusion in the moorland village of Haworth, where their imaginations flourished in a household shaped by books, storytelling, and emotional intensity.
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
The Brontë children created elaborate fictional worlds, notably Angria and later Gondal, which served as an outlet for their creative energies. Emily, in particular, gravitated toward Gondal, a mysterious, windswept imaginary land she developed with her sister Anne. Her early poetry, much of it steeped in the mythology and characters of Gondal, demonstrated a remarkable lyrical force and emotional depth. These poems remained private until discovered by Charlotte in 1845, after which Emily reluctantly agreed to publish them in the 1846 collection Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, using the pseudonym Ellis Bell to conceal her gender. Though the volume sold few copies, critics identified Emily’s poems as the strongest in the collection, lauding her for their music, power, and visionary quality.
Emily was intensely private and reclusive by nature. She briefly attended schools in Cowan Bridge and Roe Head but was plagued by homesickness and preferred the solitude of the Yorkshire moors, which inspired much of her work. She worked briefly as a teacher but found the demands of the profession exhausting. She also studied in Brussels with Charlotte in 1842, but again found herself alienated and yearning for home. Throughout her life, Emily remained closely bonded with her siblings, particularly Anne, and with the landscape of Haworth, where she drew on the raw, untamed beauty of the moors for both her poetry and her fiction.
Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847, a year after the poetry collection, under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Initially met with a mixture of admiration and shock, the novel’s structure, emotional intensity, and portrayal of violent passion and moral ambiguity stood in stark contrast to the conventions of Victorian fiction. Many readers, unable to reconcile its power with the expected gentility of a woman writer, assumed it had been written by a man. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two characters driven by obsessive love, cruelty, and vengeance—and explores themes of nature, the supernatural, and the destructive power of unresolved emotion. Though controversial at the time, Wuthering Heights is now considered a landmark in English literature, acclaimed for its originality, psychological insight, and poetic vision.
Emily's personality has been the subject of much speculation, shaped in part by her sister Charlotte’s later writings and by Victorian biographies that often sought to romanticize or domesticate her character. While some accounts depict her as intensely shy and austere, others highlight her fierce independence, deep empathy with animals, and profound inner life. She is remembered as a solitary figure, closely attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, with a quiet but formidable intellect and a passion for truth and freedom. Her dog, Keeper, was a constant companion and, according to many, a window into her capacity for fierce, loyal love.
Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 at the age of thirty, just a year after the publication of her novel. Her early death, following those of her brother Branwell and soon to
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 5, 2025
Inexplicably lovely to read these little time capsule letters written by Emily and Anne. The first quote I included down below makes it all very bittersweet, though, knowing none of them ever got to reach those ages :( Still, I enjoyed getting a glimpse into their everyday lives and seeing their personalities shine through in a way that they don’t quite get to in their novels.
🪶 Anne and I say I wonder what we shall be like and what we shall be and where we shall be if all goes on well in the year 1874 - in which year I shall be in my 57th year Anne will be going in her 55th year Branwell will be going in his 58th year And Charlotte in her 59th year hoping we shall all be well at that time we close our paper
Emily and Anne
November the
24 1834
🪶 But we ourselves have sustained very little alteration since that time I have the same faults that I had then only I have more wisdom and experience and a little more self possession
- Anne
🪶 For some time I have looked upon 25 as a sort of era in my existence it may prove a true presentiment or it may be only a superstitious fancy the latter seems - most likely but time will show
- Anne
🪶 Anne and I say I wonder what we shall be like and what we shall be and where we shall be if all goes on well in the year 1874 - in which year I shall be in my 57th year Anne will be going in her 55th year Branwell will be going in his 58th year And Charlotte in her 59th year hoping we shall all be well at that time we close our paper
Emily and Anne
November the
24 1834
🪶 But we ourselves have sustained very little alteration since that time I have the same faults that I had then only I have more wisdom and experience and a little more self possession
- Anne
🪶 For some time I have looked upon 25 as a sort of era in my existence it may prove a true presentiment or it may be only a superstitious fancy the latter seems - most likely but time will show
- Anne
May 20, 2024
A fairly plain little book, but indispensable for those wishing to have all the diary papers presented together, which includes those still in private collections.
Alexander and Swann give 'clear' versions of the papers with the originals at the back. While I find the originals typographically intrusive here (for example, 'Branwell went to Liverpool on <.Monday> \Tuesday/ ... altogether full of buis<->[ness]'), having the clear versions available renders my concern quite needless. I just thought I'd mention it for those interested. I also acknowledge the difficulty in reproducing idiosyncratic prose when there are only limited options for including photographs of originals.
NB Appendix C includes selected letters to Ellen Nussey, which I think is a lovely inclusion.
For reference, I purchased my copy from the publisher, Juvenilia Press, via UNSW. In my case the delivery took about two months.
*Full stop added in my example to prevent the angle brackets deleting the word 'Monday'.
Alexander and Swann give 'clear' versions of the papers with the originals at the back. While I find the originals typographically intrusive here (for example, 'Branwell went to Liverpool on <.Monday> \Tuesday/ ... altogether full of buis<->[ness]'), having the clear versions available renders my concern quite needless. I just thought I'd mention it for those interested. I also acknowledge the difficulty in reproducing idiosyncratic prose when there are only limited options for including photographs of originals.
NB Appendix C includes selected letters to Ellen Nussey, which I think is a lovely inclusion.
For reference, I purchased my copy from the publisher, Juvenilia Press, via UNSW. In my case the delivery took about two months.
*Full stop added in my example to prevent the angle brackets deleting the word 'Monday'.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews