‘Material Witnesses – Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes’
Speaker: Dr Eleanor Houghton
Date: Tuesday, 10 February, 2026 via Zoom at 18.30
One hundred and seventy years have passed since the novelist Charlotte Brontë took her last breath, but astonishingly, witnesses to her life still survive. They were present as she penned the last lines of Jane Eyre, walked the cobbled streets of Haworth with her sisters, and joined Arthur Bell Nicholls at the altar in the summer of 1854. Yet, until now, their testimonies have remained unheard.
Drawn from Dr Eleanor Houghton’s new book, Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes, this richly illustrated talk will give voice to the gowns, bonnets, corsets, parasols, boots, gloves and shawls that have outlived their famous owner. Through these garments, we will explore Charlotte’s life, her experiences and the fast-changing world that she inhabited. From clothing that speaks of grief, challenge, or the pressures of fame, to the tiniest baby garments worn in the house where she was born, these surviving pieces offer an intimate glimpse of the real, raw, thinking, breathing woman behind the myth.
Dr Eleanor Houghton is an author, dress historian and Brontë scholar. She works as a consultant for film and TV, including the BBC’s To Walk Invisible and Gentleman Jack and Frances O’Connor’s 2023 biopic, Emily. In 2022/3, in collaboration with the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Eleanor created a large-scale exhibition on the surviving wardrobe of Charlotte Brontë. Her self-illustrated book Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes (Bloomsbury) will be published on 6 February, 2026 and copies will be available for purchase at the Birthplace gift shop.
This talk will take place over Zoom, no in person option will be offered. A link will be sent out to ticket holders prior to the event with a link to join the zoom live, and a recording of the talk will be provided to all ticket holders a few days afterwards. If you are experiencing technical difficulties, or have not received a link within 24 hours of the event please email us at bookings@brontebirthplace.com.
Ticket price: £6