Charlotte Brontë: Book of poems written by 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë published for the first time

Nearly 200 years later and the teenager who created that endearing miniature book has been proved wrong many times over.

She was Charlotte Bronte, and her novels, of course, have been sold and printed thousands of times since their publication, with Jane Eyre in particular giving Yorkshire arguably its most famous heroine.

Now, that tiny manuscript - A Book of Ryhmes [sic] – will join Charlotte’s other works on the shelves of Bronte lovers across the world after it has been published for the first time.

Rebecca Yorke, director of the Bronte Society, said: “Charlotte created these poems when she was 13.

“The indications are that she wanted to be a published author - she put contents in and advertisements and they’re stitched together like facsimile magazines.

“But I don’t think she could have imagined that they would have been published.”

The hardback anthology of ten poems has been carefully transcribed by volunteers.

Ms Yorke explained: “Charlotte wrote in such tiny writing, we needed magnifying glasses to try to make sense of it.

“It was transcribed by members of our team, and it’s great because now everyone can read it easily.

“The volunteers took a huge sense of responsibility and diligence, even honouring Charlotte’s crossings out.

“You’re looking at the work of somebody who was ambitious as a writer and who was constantly reviewing their work, and that's quite a privilege.”

“There’s always something new to discover [about the Brontes]. They continue to inspire through film and TV, and that’s the theme of our new exhibition at Haworth.

“They have a constant attraction for creatives working today who pass that on to others who experience the Brontes, if not through the books then through adaptations or even a walk on the moors.”

One of those creatives inspired by the Brontes is legendary singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author and photographer, Patti Smith.

She has written the foreword to the collection, which has been published by Yorkshire-based Tarturus Press.

Ms Smith said: “Though written nearly 200 years ago it has maintained the freshness of youth. It is not simply a handful of juvenile verses, but the manifestation of an ambitious dreamer."

The book is dated December 1829 complete with a cover made of brown paper, and until 2022 was the last of Charlotte Bronte’s miniature manuscripts to be in private hands.

It was bought in 2022 by the Friends of the National Libraries (FNL) in 2022 at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair and subsequently donated to the Brontë Society’s Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.

The book’s poems include “The Beauty of Nature” and “On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel” alongside images of Charlotte’s original manuscript and essays by Barbara Heritage, Associate Director of the Rare Book School, and bookseller Henry Wessells, who worked on the acquisition in 2022.