Letter from Branwell Brontë to Joseph Bentley Leyland

Original object type: Artefact
Title: Letter from Branwell Brontë to Joseph Bentley Leyland
Description:
Letter to Leyland containing a series of research questions in preparation for writing an epic poem on Morley Hall, Leigh, ancestral home of the Leyland family. Letter also refers to Leyland’s medallion of Brontë, a three-day visit to Halifax, his wish to go abroad, and comments on the difficulties associated with writing and publishing literature. Also contains a draft version of his sonnet ‘I implore for rest’ and a revision of the last stanza of his poem ‘Lydia Gisborne’, as well as a pen and ink sketch of a female figure in stone, titled 'Our Lady of Greif' [sic].
Letter addressed from 'Haworth, Bradford, Yorks', contains a tear where the seal was broken upon opening.
Date range: 28 April 1846
Date: 1846