Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ;As given by Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature (Merriam-Webster, incorporated, Publishers: Springfield, Massachusetts, 1995), p. viii: "When our research shows that an author's pronunciation of his or her name differs from common usage, the author's pronunciation is listed first, and the descriptor commonly precedes the more familiar pronunciation." See also entries on Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, pp. 175–176. 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English poet and artist. He was the only son of the Brontë literary family, and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.
His parents were Patrick Brontë, an Anglican minister, and Maria Branwell Brontë, the daughter of a merchant from Penzance. Known as Branwell, he was born in Thornton, near Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1820 Branwell and his family moved to Haworth, where his father had been appointed perpetual curate. In 1821, Maria Branwell fell critically ill and died, and Maria's sister Elizabeth Branwell moved in with the family to care for the six young children.
Although Branwell's sisters were sent away to school, Branwell was educated at home, both by his father and later by a series of tutors. He was given a classical education, and earned praise for his poetry and translations from the classics. He showed a keen interest in literature, and along with his sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, took an active role in the creation of the fantasy worlds of Angria and the Glass Town Confederacy, helping create little books, plays and articles based on their fictional heroes.
As an adult, Branwell attempted a career in poetry, then worked as a portrait painter, then as a private tutor with two local families. However, he succumbed to drug and alcohol addiction, apparently worsened by a failed relationship with a married woman. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 31.
Childhood Branwell Brontë was born on June 26, 1817, in Thornton, near Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the fourth of six children and the only son of Patrick Brontë (1777–1861), an Anglican minister originally from a large, impoverished Irish family, and Maria Branwell Brontë (1783–1821), the daughter of a prosperous Methodist merchant from Penzance. Branwell and his siblings were all born in a house (now known as the Brontë Birthplace) on Market Street, in Thornton. In 1820, when Branwell was three, the family moved to Haworth, where Patrick had been appointed to the perpetual curacy.
Haworth Haworth was on the edge of the moors, and was considered one of the worst places in the country to live because of its poor sanitation. The Parsonage overlooked the cemetery, which at the time was so overcrowded that the village's water supply had been contaminated by seepage. In 1850, Benjamin Babbage's health report outlined serious problems, such as open sewers, offal from the slaughterhouse standing for months in the streets, poor waste disposal and damp and unhygienic living conditions. It is widely believed that these conditions contributed to the health problems encountered by the Brontë siblings.
As an Irish immigrant, Patrick faced prejudice in Haworth. The Irish were perceived at the time to be feckless, drunk and poor, and Patrick, with his large family and modest income, was the target of gossip and speculation. His children initially shared his Irish accent, as well as the feeling of "foreignness" that he retained till the end of his life, and they did not mix with local children, keeping very much to themselves.
Death of Maria Brontë In 1821, Maria Branwell Brontë fell ill, and in September she died after a long illness, believed to have been uterine cancer. Maria's sister Elizabeth Branwell had moved in with the family to help care for the children, the eldest of whom was seven years old, the youngest not yet two. After Maria's death, Elizabeth Branwell stayed on to help, and eventually agreed to live at the Parsonage permanently. The children were subsequently cared for by their aunt, and by the house servant, Tabby Ackroyd.
Education
Although four of his five sisters were sent to Cowan Bridge boarding school, Branwell was educated at home. Patrick Brontë provided his son with a classical education, tutoring the boy himself in Latin, Greek and mathematics. Elizabeth Gaskell, in her biography of Charlotte Brontë, says of Branwell's schooling:Gaskell, Elizabeth; "The Life of Charlotte Brontë", Penguin Books, 1998, .Mr. Brontë's friends advised him to send his son to school; but, remembering both the strength of will of his own youth and his mode of employing it, he believed that Branwell was better at home, and that he himself could teach him well, as he had told others before.In 1825, just before Branwell's eighth birthday, his two eldest sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, were sent home ill from Cowan Bridge School following an outbreak of typhus. Both girls died shortly afterwards of tuberculosis, possibly exacerbated by the poor conditions at the school. Their loss affected the whole family deeply, and Charlotte and Emily were sent home to continue their education at the Parsonage. Patrick, himself a poet, had an extensive library, which he made available to his children, and subscribed to several newspapers and publications. Even as a young boy Branwell read extensively, and was especially fond of the "Noctes Ambrosianae", literary dialogues published in Blackwood's Magazine. Other favourites included: Aesop's Fables, the Arabian Nights, Walter Scott's Tales of a Grandfather and Thomas Bewick's History of British Birds.
In 1829–30, Patrick Brontë engaged John Bradley, an artist from neighbouring Keighley, as drawing-master for the children. Bradley was an artist of some local repute, rather than a professional instructor, but he may have fostered Branwell's enthusiasm for art and architecture. Bradley emigrated to America in 1831, and Branwell continued his studies under the portrait painter William Robinson. In 1834, he painted a portrait of his three sisters which remains notable as the only existing portrait of Charlotte, Emily and Anne together. Branwell initially included his own image in the portrait, but later became dissatisfied with it and painted himself out, replacing his image with a pillar. This portrait is now one of the best known images of the sisters and hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Juvenilia From 1826, Branwell and his siblings began to create a series of increasingly complex fantasy role-playing games and plays featuring the "Young Men", or "the Twelves"; characters based on a set of wooden soldiers Branwell had received from his father. These plays evolved into an intricate saga set in a fictionalised version of West Africa called the Glass Town Confederacy.
Branwell both collaborated and competed with his sister Charlotte to expand this imaginary world, which they named Angria. Branwell's particular interest in these paracosms were their politics and wars, including the destructive rivalry between their heroes, Charlotte's Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Zamorna, and his own, Alexander Percy, Earl of Northangerland. These juvenile writings impress by their virtuosity and scope, but are also repetitive when compared to Charlotte's contributions. Branwell often wrote under several pseudonyms, such as Captain John Bud, Sergeant Bud, and Chief Genius Bany, who were also characters in their world. Christine Alexander, a Brontë juvenilia historian at the University of New South Wales, wrote:Both Charlotte and Branwell ensured the consistency of their imaginary world. When Branwell exuberantly kills off important characters in his manuscripts, Charlotte comes to the rescue and, in effect, resurrects them for the next stories [...]; and when Branwell becomes bored with his inventions, such as the Glass Town magazine he edits, Charlotte takes over his initiative and keeps the publication going for several more years. It was Branwell, however, who took a pride in systematizing their private world and maintaining a consistent political structure, features typical of paracosmic play. He documented in encyclopedic detail, in neat lists, footnotes, sketches, and maps, the geography, history, government, and social structure of the Glass Town Federation (and later, the new kingdom of Angria)—laying down the parameters of the imaginary world.Surrounded by his sisters and missing the company of other boys, Branwell's early works reflect his pleasure in the wider options he would have in later life and adulthood. In January 1829, aged 11, he began a magazine, later named Branwell's Blackwood's Magazine, which included his poems, plays, criticisms, histories, and dialogues. After six months, Branwell abandoned the project, and Charlotte took it over.
Aspirations
Unlike his sisters, who were expected to seek employment as governesses or teachers, Branwell was not prepared for a specific career, although he aspired from an early age to be either a poet or a painter. On the death of James Hogg, a Blackwood's writer, the 18-year-old Branwell boldly wrote to the magazine suggesting himself as a replacement: I have perhaps spoken too openly respecting the extent of my powers, But I did so because I determined to say what I ; I know that I am not one of the wretched writers of the day … He [Hogg] and others like him gave your Magazine the peculiar character which made it famous. As these men die it will decay unless places be supplied by others like them. Now Sir, to you I appear writing with conceited assurance, but I am not – for I know myself so far as to in my own originality; and on that ground I desire of you admittance into your ranks … Why, you have lost an able writer in James Hogg and God grant you may gain one in
Patrick Branwell BrontëBetween 1835 and 1842, Branwell wrote a total of six times to the magazine, sending poems and offering his services. His letters were left unanswered. He began enjoying masculine company in the pubs in Haworth, and in February 1836 joined Haworth's Masonic Lodge of the Three Graces at the youngest possible age.
In 1835, Branwell wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Arts seeking to be admitted. Earlier biographers report a move to London to study painting, which was quickly cut short following Branwell’s spending of his allowance on drink. Other biographers speculate that he was too intimidated to present himself at the Academy. More recent scholarship suggests that Branwell did not send the letter, or even make the trip to London. According to Francis Leyland, Branwell's friend and a future biographer of the family, his first job was as a junior master at a Halifax school. Branwell also worked as a portrait painter in Bradford in 1838 and 1839, where he met a clique of other artists who drank at the George Hotel, and he became a popular figure. Though some of his paintings show talent for comedic and serious styles, other portraits lack life, and he was unable to earn a living through his painting. Branwell returned to Haworth, in debt, in 1839.
Adulthood Returning to Haworth, Branwell began to envisage employment as a tutor. In January 1840, he took employment with the family of Robert Postlethwaite in Broughton-in-Furness. Unlike his sisters, who were live-in governesses, Branwell was not expected to live with the family, and was only committed to a couple of hours' tutoring a day.