‘Back to the Beginning of this Century’

Abstract

You will recognize the source of the title in the opening paragraph of Shirley, and will realize, Ihope, that for us 'this century' is the twentieth. By 'the beginning' Imean some years on either side of 1900. Isee that as being, for the study of the Brontes, a period of great activity and interesting developments-one of which, the founding of the Society, is the source of our presence here. Also, it was a time when there were still survivors who had known the Brontes, even intimately. Iam concerned with the popular and critical responses of those years, but more especially with the discoveries made, and particularly, the persons engaged in them. Without exactly intending to, certain persons were laying the foundations of that modern Bronte scholarship which we recognize in our recently published authentic texts and authoritative surveys of the early writings. Foundations can be laid well or badly, and some have since shifted. The beginning of the century saw an immense extension of interest. a vast expansion of the sheer number of readers. This was accelerated by what is obvious but often overlooked the expiry of copyright in the published novels. Forty-two years from original publjcation was then its duration, and Smith, Elder held (or had acquired) exclusive rights for all the published Bronte novels and Mrs Gaskell's Life. But now, for the first time, in the ten years from 1889 to 1899, according to the original dates, anyone could print them without payment or permission. Dozens of publishers, and even small local printers, immediately did, often in very cheap form, and always with a preference for Jane Eyre. A price of sixpence was not uncommon (there was even a penny edition, but abridged) and no doubt, like other famous novels in the 18905, it could be obtained by collecting soap coupons. At the other end of the market were collected editions of all the novels-noticeably Dent's in 1893, twelve neat volumes with prefaces 2 and illustrations; Smith, Elder's own editions of course continued, but now faced far more competition -which they met, in 1896, by an astute choice of editor, the famous novelist Mrs Humphry Ward. Hers was then a great name-and her family had known Charlotte. Her introductions to their sumptuously produced Haworth edition,. completed in 1900, are still of value, outlasting most of her own novels. However, Ithink the mass readership is the more striking phenomenon. Hitherto this had been largest in the United States, where there had be~n no copyright, which partly accounts for the stream of American visitors to Haworth from the 1850son, sometimes to the discomfort of the inhabitants. The American consul at Bradford, an early member of the