Friday 5 to Monday 8 June
There is a downloadable booking form for Bronte Society members to use in the Members Area of the website. Tickets for most other events are available to the general public by emailing summerfestival@bronte.org.uk.
FRIDAY 5 JUNE
The Brontës and War - a talk by Emma Butcher
3pm, West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth
£6
To complement the current exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, co-curator Emma Butcher looks more closely at the military material the Brontës read, revealing how their interest in war extended far beyond the realms of the Napoleonic conflicts, and reached as far back as classical times.
Tea and coffee will be available.
Emily Brontë and Beethoven - a piano recital and talk, with supper
6pm to 9.30pm, Brontë Parsonage Museum and West Lane Baptist Centre
£25 Recital, Supper & Talk
£15 Supper & Talk only
Advance booking is essential
An evening beginning with selections from Emily Brontë’s work read by Alexandra Lesley, coupled with extracts from Beethoven's music played on the Parsonage piano in Mr Brontë’s study by Isabelle Oehmichen. A buffet supper in the Baptist Centre will be followed by a talk given by John Hennessy on the potential influence of Beethoven's music and personality on Emily's literary creativity.
Please note: places for the piano recital are strictly limited to 50 and will be issued on a first-come first-served basis. Once these have been sold, tickets will be available for the supper and talk only.
SATURDAY 6 JUNE
‘…almost preternatural in its power.’ Charlotte Brontë’s Villette and the Gothic
Talk by Patricia Duncker
10am, Hall Green Baptist Chapel
Free but advance booking required.
Novelist Patricia Duncker gives the annual lecture on Villette and the Gothic. George Eliot said of Villette: 'It is a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power.’ Patricia Duncker’s latest novel, Sophie and the Sibyl, set in 19th century Berlin, paints a vivid picture of the enigmatic, magnetic and widely celebrated author George Eliot – otherwise known as The Sibyl.
Church Service
11.30am, Hall Green Baptist Chapel, Haworth
A service of thanksgiving for the Brontë Family. All welcome.
Annual General Meeting
2pm, West Lane Baptist Centre
Society members only please, membership cards must be shown.
An Evening with Simon Armitage
8pm, West Lane Baptist Centre
£12
Advance booking essential
The popular poet returns to Haworth to present his new memoir Walking Away, the sequel to his hugely successful book Walking Home, and readings from his poetry.
SUNDAY 7 JUNE
Hidden Gems
10am to 11am, Brontë Parsonage Museum
£50
Advanced booking essential.
This fundraising event offers a unique opportunity to view gems of the Museum collection, and listen to a talk by the Collections Manager Ann Dinsdale. Places are strictly limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.
A light brunch of tea, coffee and pastries will be served.
‘A Grand Day Out’
Excursion to Manchester
Coach departs Haworth at 9am and leaves Manchester at 5pm, arriving in Haworth at approximately 6.30pm
Booking is essential
£25
This year’s excursion includes a visit to Elizabeth Gaskell House, where refreshments will be served prior to a private tour. Following this visit we will return to the coach and move on to the Whitworth Museum. Lunch will be followed by a tour of the museum, after which you will have a short period to explore the museum further or the local area, prior to returning to Haworth at 5pm.
Refreshments: Tea and cake at Elizabeth Gaskell House is included. All other refreshments must be purchased separately.