'Remarkable' Brontë collection and other works saved for nation after £15m campaign

A “remarkable” collection of manuscripts and printed books by the Brontës and other writers has been saved for the nation following a successful £15m fundraising campaign.

The collection contains originals and first editions from some of Britain’s most notable and prestigious authors, including manuscripts from Jane Austen, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

There is a “remarkable” set of Brontë works, including first editions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s notebook of poetry with Charlotte’s annotations, six additional miniature manuscripts with Charlotte’s writing, illustrated diary papers written by Emily and Anne, and more. Many of these were believed by scholars to be lost.

The collection was previously part of the Honresfield Library, created by 19th-Century industrialist William Law. Honresfield Library has been predominantly inaccessible for the last 80 years, meaning scholars have been unable to examine the works.

When the sale of Honresfield Library in three tranches was announced in May 2021, Friends of the National Libraries (FNL) persuaded Sotheby’s, the agents of the vendors, to postpone the sale of the first tranche to give them the chance to purchase the entire collection outright. FNL successfully reached this aim, raising £15m in five months and ensuring that the collection will remain in the public domain and not be lost to private collections or overseas institutions.

The collection has now been entrusted to the British Library, the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth and the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds. This ensures that all readers, scholars and members of the public can access the works.

Included in the fundraising campaign were sizeable donations, including the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) which contributed a grant of £4m, the largest of its kind ever awarded, and a contribution of £1.2m from the British Library.

Individually, Sir Leonard Blavatnik made a donation matching the FNL’s £7.5m, making it the largest of its kind ever made. To recognise this, the collection will now be known as the Blavatnik Honresfield Library.

“The generosity of all the donors has been incredible in saving this unique library, especially Sir Leonard Blavatnik, who wonderfully matched the £7.5m that we had raised ensuring that our campaign to save the collection was successful,” said Geordie Grieg, chairman of FNL.

“Rescuing it has seemed a little like opening an Egyptian tomb to see for the first time ancient texts and treasures which are now saved in perpetuity for students, scholars and book-lovers. Thanks to FNL’s successful campaign the collection will be shared by libraries and writers’ houses all across our island, restoring a treasure trove of manuscripts to their birthplaces.”

“Our literary heritage is our cultural DNA and this preserves it for students, teachers, academics and ordinary readers in perpetuity,” said the Prince of Wales, patron of FNL. “I can only congratulate the chairman Geordie Greig and his team for saving the Blavatnik Honresfield Library for the nation, with its treasures now to be owned by some of our greatest national libraries across the UK.”