Charlotte Brontë letter put up for auction

A rare letter written by Charlotte Brontë between the deaths of her brother and a sister is expected to fetch up to $100,000 (£69,440) at an auction.

Dated October 18, 1848, the letter, which was addressed to her publisher William Smith Williams, of Smith, Elder & Co, will go under the hammer on June 17 at Sotheby's in New York, with a reserve of $70,000 (48,500).

The letter is one of two written by the Jane Eyre author which are up for auction from the James S Copley Library, based in California.

The second, which is dated April 3, 1850, and appears to give medical advice to her lifelong friend and correspondent Ellen Nussey, has a reserve of $30,000 (20,800).

Justin Caldwell, vice-president of department of books and manuscripts at Sotheby's, New York, said both letters had attracted interest on either side of the Atlantic .