Robbie continues her series on the Brontë family. Click the links to read about Patrick, the patriarch , Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë.
The Brontë family
Anne Brontë
Background
Anne Bronté was the youngest of the six Bronté siblings and she was only one year old when her mother died. Anne’s two novels, Agnes Grey, based on her experiences as a governess, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, are both classics along with the works of her two sisters, Charlotte and Emily.
Following the death of her sister, Emily, in December 1848, Anne, who was particularly close to Emily, was grief stricken. This is believed to have undermined her health to such an extent that when she caught influenza over Christmas, she just didn’t rally. In early January, a doctor diagnosed her condition as consumption or tuberculosis and gave her a poor prospect of recovery. Anne expressed frustration at her diagnosis to her friend Ellen Nussey by saying:
“I have no horror of death: if I thought it inevitable I think I could quietly resign myself to the prospect … But I wish it would please God to spare me not only for Papa’s and Charlotte’s sakes but because I long to do some good in the world before I leave it. I have many schemes in my head for future practice –humble and limited indeed – but still I should not like them all to come to nothing, and myself to have lived to so little purpose. But God’s will be done.”
It was during her last days that she wrote the poem, A dreadful darkness closes in, the first three stanzas of which are as follows:
A dreadful darkness closes in
On my bewildered mind;
O let me suffer and not sin,
Be tortured yet resigned.
Through all this world of whelming mist
Still let me look to Thee,
And give me courage to resist
The Tempter till he flee.
Weary I am — O give me strength
And leave me not to faint;
Say Thou wilt comfort me at length
And pity my complaint.
Anne was the only one of the siblings who did not die at the Parsonage and was not buried in Haworth. A few months before she died, she decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the sea air and change of location would benefit her health. Anne died on the 28th of May 1849 at the age of twenty-nine.
Memorial slab lying on the grave of Anne Brontë from Wikipedia
Hair jewellery
Hair jewellery, made, as the name implies, from human hair, was very popular during the Victorian era. This hair jewellery was sometimes fashioned from the hair as is the case with the amethyst bracelet made from the entwined hair of Emily and Anne which Charlotte had made.
Charlotte Brontë’s amethyst hair bracelet, Photo credit: Brontë Parsonage Museum, J14, © The Bronte Society
To find out more about the Brontë family, click HERE to read a review by Olga Nunez Miret of The Mother of the Brontës: When Maria Met Patrick by Sharon Wright (@penswordbooks) Highly recommended to Brontës fans and to early XIX century historians.
“They were from different lands, different classes, different worlds almost.
The chances of Cornish gentlewoman Maria Branwell even meeting the poor Irish curate Patrick Brontë in Regency England, let alone falling passionately in love, were remote.
Yet Maria and Patrick did meet, making a life together as devoted lovers and doting parents in the heartland of the industrial revolution.”
About the author
Robbie, short for Roberta, is an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with her son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with her mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton).
All of Robbie’s children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications. Robbie has recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differentiate her children’s books from her adult writing, these will be published under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Robbie has two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.
Find and follow Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Writes Blog Amazon Author Page Twitter Facebook
Books by Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Through the Nethergate
Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Margaret, a girl born with second sight, has the unique ability to bring ghosts trapped between Heaven and Hell back to life. When her parents die suddenly, she goes to live with her beloved grandfather, but the cellar of her grandfather’s ancient inn is haunted by an evil spirit of its own. In the town of Bungay, a black dog wanders the streets, enslaving the ghosts of those who have died unnatural deaths. When Margaret arrives, these phantoms congregate at the inn, hoping she can free them from the clutches of Hugh Bigod, the 12th century ghost who has drawn them away from Heaven’s White Light in his canine guise. With the help of her grandfather and the spirits she has befriended, Margaret sets out to defeat Hugh Bigod, only to discover he wants to use her for his own ends – to take over Hell itself.
Purchase links
It is available from Lulu.com here: Lulu.com
It is also available from TSL Publications as a soft copy book here: TSL Publications
While the Bombs Fell
What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?
Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.
Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.
Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.
Robbie also writes as Robbie Cheadle
Robbie’s Inspiration Blog Goodreads Facebook YouTube
Amazon author page Twitter: @bakeandwrite
Books by Robbie and Michael Cheadle
The Sir Chocolate books are a delightful marriage of story, verse and cookery
… a perfect recipe for sharing with children. Silly Willy goes to Cape Town tells the adventures of two very different brothers…and includes five party cake ideas.
You can purchase the Sir Chocolate books from:
or you can buy them in South Africa directly from the authors by emailing Robbie Cheadle at sirchoc@outlook.com.
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Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
How productive, the short lives of these talented people, the Bronte’s
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It is very tragic, Annette. I wonder what they could have written if they had lived longer.
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Pingback: Guest author: Robbie Cheadle ~Anne Brontë — Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo – Sarah's Attic Of Treasures
Thank you, Sue, for hosting me with this short series about the Bronte’s. The Bronte Museum is the entire reason we visited Yorkshire and I was delighted to discover how interesting York is and also to discover Haworth village.
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Yorkshire is such a big county… and there is so very much to see. I hope you will be able to visit my home county again 🙂 Thank you for sharing these posts, Robbie.
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Pingback: Guest author: Robbie Cheadle – Anne Brontë – Roberta Writes
Excellent post, Robbie. How sad that so many lives, talented lives, were taken early.
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It is sad and the hair jewelry indicates how familiar people were with death at the time. It was such an ordinary part of life in the Victorian era. At that time, the average life expectancy in Haworth was only 25 years old.
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My mother, who was born in 1920, often commented that she was lucky to give birth the six children and have them all live. Life expectancy of 25 is hard to imagine. As you say, death was common. I have a pin that my great great grandmother wore after the death of her husband. Inside is a lock of his hair- another common jewelry practice.
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How lovely that you have the memento of your great grandfather. We had a family gathering yesterday at my cousin’s house. Nerissa and I are the two in our family who are fascinated with our history. We were comparing our family heirlooms. I have a cookery book from the Second Anglo Boer War.
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Wonderful, Robbie! Our grandson has the family history ‘bug’. Thank goodness!
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That is great.
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🙂
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We have been to Scarborough on holiday several times and visited Anne’s grave. Heartbreaking that she died there and did not rally to enjoy the sea air and scenery that so many holidaymakers love. The churchyard is near the castle that stands on the headland between the two bays.
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It is sad, Janet. Her visit may have extended her life though, as she lived for over three month in Scarborough. I would like to visit this town sometime.
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Anne’s written expression of her impending death is particularly heartrending.
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It is sad, especially at such a young age. Her story reminds me of the death of Ruby from Anne of Green Gables, also from consumption.
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Robbie I’ve been enjoying these mini biopics on the Brontes. So sad how they died so young in those times. Truly a haunting poem by Anne. Thank you. ❤
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Thank you, Debby. They did have tragically short lives, but their lives were mostly happy which was fortunate for women born at that time. Many had terrible lives.
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So true Robbie!
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and commented:
Another post in the Bronte Sisters Series by Robbie Cheadle as a guest of Sue Vincent…Such a creative and talented family haunted by tragedy..
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Thank you for sharing, Sally.
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Very interesting Robbie xx
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Excellent as always Robbie and such a tragic family… so much talent and I hope on one level that they know that their books are still be read and talked about over 150 years later..x
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They did achieve so much in their short lives, Sally. It is really incredible. They did have an unusual father who really encouraged them which helped.
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Considering the time and the general attitude to daughters he was incredibly enlightened.
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So very interesting, Robbie. Thanks, Sue for having Robbie here today.
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It is always a pleasure to have Robbie as my guest, John. 🙂
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I am glad you enjoyed this post, John.
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Thank you for this very engaging and somewhat heart-rending post. I had heard or read about hair jewelry — but the bracelet Charlotte made from her two sisters’ hair is lovely. I am particularly touched by what Anne wrote regarding the prospect of dying: “I wish it would please God to spare me not only for Papa’s and Charlotte’s sakes but because I long to do some good in the world before I leave it. I have many schemes in my head for future practice –humble and limited indeed – but still I should not like them all to come to nothing, and myself to have lived to so little purpose. But God’s will be done.” Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
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Anne’s message was very heart rending and sad. She was only twenty eight years old. I am hugely interested in the Bronte family and reading about them is a bit of a hobby of mine.
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Wonderful post – happy 200 to Anne today 🙂
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