I was expecting a pleasant day out with
like-minded people and the opportunity to behold this devoir written by
Charlotte Brontë in her own hand. What I was not expecting was the whirlwind
journey through time which unfolded through the written words of key figures in
history, literature, politics and science.
Wednesday 11 March 2020
Whirlwind Journey Through Time at the Mariemont Museum
Brussels Brontë Group activities are events
for which I willingly wake up early on a Saturday. Last Saturday was no
exception; I was excited to make the pilgrimage to the Musée Royal de Mariemont
with fellow Brontëphiles to see the BBG-famous “L’Ingratitude” essay with
my own eyes.
Tuesday 10 March 2020
Visit to Mariemont Museum to See Charlotte's 'L’Ingratitude'
Fourteen members of the Brussels Brontë
Group visited the Musée Royal de Mariemont on 7 March 2020 to view Charlotte
Brontë’s French essay L’Ingratitude and other items in the museum’s ‘Reserve
Précieuse’ (collection of rare books and manuscripts). We were given a lively
two-hour talk by Chief Librarian Bertrand Federinov.
The session included letters or manuscripts by Charles I, Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin and two special favorites of the Brontës -- the Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson.
The session included letters or manuscripts by Charles I, Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin and two special favorites of the Brontës -- the Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson.
M. Federinov shows Charlotte's `L'Ingratitude' essay. |
M. Federinov started by filling us in on
the history of the museum. It stands in the Mariemont domain, first founded as
a hunting estate by Mary of Hungary, sister of Charles V. In the early
nineteenth century the Warocqué family, who made their fortune from coalmining,
bought it and built themselves a neo-classical château on the estate.
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