Crave the Rose: Anne Brontë at 200

Re-evaluating the legacy of the youngest Brontë sister, on the 200th anniversary of her birth.

“On all her breezes borne 
Earth yields no scents like those; 
But he, that dares not grasp the thorn 
Should never crave the rose.”

2020 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Anne Brontë, the youngest of the famed Brontë sisters. Only now is she gaining recognition as a great writer in her own right, with her novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall deservedly standing alongside those of Charlotte and Emily Brontë.

Crave the Rose takes a fresh look at Anne, revealing a woman whose work was more radical than that of her sisters, and which is therefore as relevant today as it has ever been. Alongside a biography of Anne’s remarkable, but tragically short, life, this book contains a comprehensive selection of first-person encounters with the Brontës from 19th-century newspapers and archives, giving a fresh insight into the real character of Anne and her family. Also contained exclusively within this landmark book is a newly-discovered essay by Anne Brontë – what may well be the last words that she ever wrote, in print here for the first time.