NON-FICTION | CLASSIC LITERATURE | THE BRONTËS

Queens of Literature: Anne Brontë and the Sea

Watery Wednesdays, #33: 11-17 January 2024

Image by author, edited with Canva

In April 2023, Alec Zarenkiewicz threw down a creative gauntlet: to pick any topic and write about it every day for a year.

My choice? Water — to be collected and shared in weekly posts.

We’re all caught up!

Yes, ‘Watery Wednesdays’ returns to its original weekly schedule. As promised, post #33 considers my favourite Brontë sister, the sea-loving Anne, leading up to her 204th birthday.

11/1/2024

Anne with an ë

Anne (1820-1849) was the sixth and youngest child of the Rev Patrick and Maria (née Branwell) Brontë. Her father was Irish; her mother, Cornish. The couple settled in Yorkshire to start their family.

Sadly, she never knew her mother. Maria died in 1821 when Anne was nearly 21 months old — still a baby, basically. Four years later, Anne’s two eldest sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, also died.

Now, for a fact that’s more fun: at this point in history, ‘Maria’ was pronounced ‘Mariah’ (as in Carey, the US singer of Christmas fame) in Britain.