All Program Dates
April 29, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm ET
May 6, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm ET
May 13, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm ET
May 20, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm ET
May 27, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm ET
Registration
Tuition for this course is $275. Members receive exclusive discounts on our programs and courses. Not a member? Learn more.
Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.
This program is for those 18 and older.
Registration opens for Delancey Society members on Friday, November 14, for Rosenbach members on Friday, November 21, and for the general public on Wednesday, November 26.
Description
This five-week course offers an in-depth exploration of Anne Brontë’s life and works. The youngest of the Brontës, Anne is sometimes overshadowed by her elder sisters, whose works have achieved greater prominence in literature and culture. Yet Anne’s writing is no less powerful or profound, offering a unique voice unafraid to confront and represent the darker, more uncomfortable aspects of 19th-century culture. Through close reading, discussion, and consideration of the historical context of her two published novels, Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), this course will explore what Anne had to say about morality, gender, class, religion and the struggle for independence. We will give particular attention to how and why Anne wanted to interrogate and challenge Victorian social conventions with clarity and courage.
Beginning with a contextualisation of Anne’s biography, we will explore her place within the Brontë family, her relationship with her sisters, and her faith. We will then examine her first novel, Agnes Grey, a semi-autobiographical exploration of the role of the Victorian governess and the complexity of women’s roles in the early-19th century. From there, we will turn to Anne’s second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, her groundbreaking work that interrogates marriage, alcoholism, and female agency at a moment when such issues had yet to be meaningfully addressed within 19th-century culture. That book is now widely recognised as one of the earliest proto-feminist novels in English literature. Across the weeks, we will consider Anne’s reception in her own time and how it has evolved, while also considering Charlotte Brontë’s influence in shaping Anne’s posthumous legacy. By the end of the course, students will have gained a deeper appreciation for Anne’s artistic talent(s) and vision, as well as her significant place within one of the most remarkable literary families in history.
No prior knowledge of the Brontës is required. Participants are encouraged to read Agnes Grey before week two and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall before week four.
Sponsors
Reading Anne Brontë with Claire O’Callaghan at the Rosenbach is sponsored by Kathy and Chuck Harper.
Instructor
Dr. Claire O’Callaghan is Senior Lecturer in English at Loughborough University, U.K. She has published widely on the lives and works of the Brontës, including Anne, and is the current Editor-in-Chief of Brontë Studies, the Official Journal of the Brontë Society, which dates to the 1890s. Claire is currently producing a new edition of Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey for Oxford University Press (2027). You can follow Claire on Instagram, BlueSky, or TikTok at @drclaireocall. Email: C.OCallaghan@lboro.ac.uk