Miniature Charlotte Bronte book on show at Haworth museum

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The Young Men's MagazineImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

The book written by Charlotte Bronte when she was 14 has gone on show at the family's former home in Haworth

A "little book" written by Charlotte Bronte in 1830 when she was 14 has gone on show at the family's former home.

The miniature work, called the Young Men's Magazine, has gone on show at the Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

It was bought for £512,970 at auction after a fundraising campaign by the Bronte Society, which runs the museum.

The work is one of six "little books" written by Bronte.

The little book, dated 19 August 1830 which is about the size of a matchbox, is packed with spoof stories and advertisements in tiny handwriting.

The museum's principal curator Ann Dinsdale said: "Welcoming the little book home to Haworth and seeing it in place alongside the others in the series is the highlight of my career.

"It was always meant to be here in Haworth... back where it belongs, continuing to inspire generation upon generation and enriching lives far beyond the walls where it was originally created almost 200 years ago."

Image caption,

The "little book" measures just 35 x 61mm

The work is one of a series of six written by Charlotte, the eldest of the three sisters.

One of the books has been missing since the 1930s and the Bronte Parsonage Museum already held the other four.

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According to the museum, part of the Young Men's Magazine, which measures just 35mm by 61mm, also offers an insight into the mind of the young writer at the time.

It includes a scene describing a murderer driven to madness, "a clear precursor" of a famous scene between Bertha and Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre, which Charlotte would publish 17 years later.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Charlotte is best known for her 1847 classic novel Jane Eyre

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