Eleanor Houghton | Charlotte Bronte’s Life Through Clothes
Sat 18 Apr 2026 | 9:00am - 10:00am
Meet the real, thinking, feeling woman behind the literary legend of Charlotte Brontë, told through the clothes she wore. Present as she wrote Jane Eyre, walked the cobbled streets of Haworth, and stood at the altar in 1854, these garments have witnessed the most important moments of her life.
In her innovative and richly illustrated biography Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes, renowned Brontë scholar and dress historian Eleanor Houghton gives voice to Brontë’s wardrobe—revealing how gowns, corsets, shawls and bonnets expose hidden stories of ambition, love, loss and fame.
In this talk, Eleanor will be in conversation with Dr Gillian Dow, uncovering secrets revealed in the very fibres of Brontë’s clothing. From a steel-busked corset linked to forbidden love, to a silk dress reflecting the pressures of celebrity, and a mourning veil worn after family tragedy, these intimate objects offer extraordinary insights.
Read alongside letters, portraits and novels, Brontë’s clothes challenge long-held myths and reveal a woman more courageous, emotionally complex and fashion-conscious than we ever imagined.