Should Charlotte Bronte have been alive in 2016, she would have been an impressive 200 years of age. To commemorate the anniversary of the author’s birth, the National Portrait Gallery in London has put up what it calls a small exhibition.
Till August 14, visitors will be able to learn more about the life of the woman behind Jane Eyre. The exhibition is centred around the famous portrait by her brother Branwell Bronte that features the author, her sisters Emily and Anne as well as his own ghostly shadow in the middle. Other items on display, include manuscripts by the author and a pair of her cloth boots.
“We wanted to illustrate her literary career and success but also her home life which perhaps is lesser known to some of our public,” Lucy Wood, an assistant curator at the National Portrait Gallery, told AFP.
Through her private correspondence, her drawings and her journals, the exhibition invites visitors into Bronte’s tragic personal life, marred by the deaths of her two older sisters and her own poor health.
Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell developed rich imaginations since early childhood, helping each other’s spirits with poems, plays and novels.
“We wanted to bring her life to life because we are the museum of biographies, the museum of people and she is one of the most important people in British literature,” Wood said.
“We wanted to capture her life and celebrate that. It’s a celebration really.”
The exhibition runs till August 14 2016.
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