Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar

Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar by Ann Dinsdale and Sharon Wright is a book that explores the buildings where the Brontës would have lived and visited, and which consequently influenced their writings. 

Sharon spoke to the Brussels Brontë Group on Saturday April 25 about the book and the places that were important to the literary sisters.  

Ann Dinsdale, principal curator at Haworth Parsonage Museum, was supposed to co-present the talk with Sharon Wright, but was unable to make the trip to Brussels. Happily, Sharon, a journalist and writer, agreed to give the talk on their co-authored book alone. 

The book, in the form of a series of essays, is about the domestic interior spaces the Brontës knew that were especially significant to them. Sharon calls these spaces domestic landscapes. She and Ann went on a historical treasure hunt to explore them. She said one of their goals was also to “find the women” who are often overlooked in the Brontë story, which frequently focuses on the men in the Brontë sisters' lives. 

Deviating slightly from the main theme of her talk, Sharon seemingly couldn’t resist commenting on the recent Wuthering Heights film directed by Emerald Fennell. Apparently not overly impressed, she called it “posh-washed.” In 2026, class is still an important part of how we read literature, Sharon noted. Joseph, who in Emily Brontë's novel is a bitter old man who represents all that is odious about ignorant Bible-thumping, is portrayed very differently in the film. In the book, Sharon said wryly, “the only thing that Joseph bangs is the Bible.” 

Sharon said that more than 40 places are featured in Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar, calling it a 3-D understanding of where the Brontë story unfolded. She and Ann wrote alternate chapters, so Sharon would only speak about hers in order to let Ann hopefully be able to talk to us about hers on another occasion. 

The book opens with a chapter on Maria Branwell’s house in Penzance in Cornwall. The structure at 25 Chapel Street, Penzance, has a classic red-brick frontage, very middle class, unlike the working-class background Patrick Brontë was from. Sharon and Ann were lucky enough to gain access to most Brontë-related places they wanted thanks in part to the help of Dr. Robert Logan, chair of the Brontë Society’s Irish section. The Chapel Street house is Georgian style, much like the parsonage in Haworth. There was a gun rack where rifles would be kept in case of a French invasion. 

Maria Branwell lived in Cornwall until she was 29 years old, then moved to Yorkshire, and died in Haworth aged 38. Aunt Branwell, whose name was Elizabeth, lived in the Penzance house until her 30s when she moved to Haworth to help look after her ailing sister’s children. 

Another place featured in the book is Kipping House in Thornton, built in 1699 and owned by the Firth family. Maria felt at home there and would often visit with her children. Educated women would meet up to discuss books and ideas in the drawing room. Elizabeth Firth, one of the family’s daughters who was a teenager in the 1810s, mentions the Brontës in her diary, and was also godmother to baby Anne. She was in touch with the family until her death in 1837. According to Sharon, “Kipping” comes from “keeping watch” – an allusion to the secret Puritan meetings held in the house in bygone years. 

In 1820, shortly after Anne’s birth, the Brontës moved from Thornton to Haworth. The young de Garrs sisters went with them. The book’s chapter on the Parsonage was written by Ann Dinsdale, and Sharon did not go into it in detail, but showed us a breathtaking photo of the Parsonage taken by Vesna Armstrong, one of the photographers for the book, the other being Sharon’s husband. 

Sharon then spoke about Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey and how the Brontë sisters’ plaque is in a shadow. She noted that they and Jane Austen are the only women to be commemorated there, and told the story of how she fought to get the dots on the Brontë name to be added to the plaque, which had exhibited their names incorrectly since being added to the monument in 1939, without anyone ever having bothered to change it. 

The Brontës sisters grew up fascinated by London, Sharon said. They saw it as a cultural place, full of wonders. In 1842, Charlotte and Emily stopped in London on their way to Brussels and stayed in Paternoster Row near St. Paul’s Cathedral. Charlotte wanted to see “every painting and sculpture” in London, and she and Emily would have discussions about culture. 

Another chapter in the book shows the Old Post Office in Haworth. The building still has the original counter, and its basement is said to be haunted by a ghostly washer-woman. 

As time was pressing, Sharon spoke briefly about Spring Head, home of the Greenwood family, who were friends of the Brontës – a place that gave rise to lots of ghost stories. And about Sexton house in Haworth – where Arthur Bell Nicholls lodged as Patrick’s curate, and from where he could look across at the Parsonage and Charlotte’s room. Nicholls was eventually successful in wooing Charlotte, and they were married in 1854. 

Unfortunately, time was up and we didn’t even have time for questions. But it had been, yet again, another wonderful morning immersed in everything Brontë. 

  Georgette Cutajar