WHEN: Sunday 28th September 2025, 7pm – 8.30pm
WHERE: Sefton Park Palm House, Sefton Park L17 1AP
Discover the untold secrets of the buildings that inspired the Brontë sisters and their novels.
A unique opportunity to hear a conversation about the special places that inspired the Brontës.
Between wild walks, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë spent most of their lives indoors, their imaginations firing behind firmly-closed doors. Join two expert writers on a very personal journey around Britain and Ireland, enjoying privileged access to private houses that shaped and inspired the Brontë sisters and their writing. Echoing Cathy’s ghost in Wuthering Heights, Ann and Sharon ask to be let in – and invite you on an eye-opening odyssey that combines the surprising Brontë history of key houses with their sometimes glorious, sometimes heartbreaking, always fascinating afterlives. Join Ann Dinsdale and Sharon Wright as they explore historic buildings where the extraordinary Brontë story unfolded.
Discover the untold secrets of the world-famous Brontë Parsonage, Bradford’s literary shrine where they wrote their novels, and the nearby birthplace of their early childhoods. Learn of the ghosts and legends of the real Wuthering Heights, the legacy of Ulster and Cornwall in the sisters’ DNA, the restoration of the real Lowood School in Jane Eyre – and follow a Brontë pub crawl around the inns and taverns of Victorian England frequented by wayward brother Branwell.
Ann Dinsdale, Principal Curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, is an expert on the world-class Brontë collection, appearing on numerous TV and radio programmes, including The One Show, Jonathan Ross’ Myths and Legends and Britain’s Novel Landscapes with Mariella Frostrup. Ann worked with Sally Wainwright and the production team on BBC drama To Walk Invisible. She has written several books and articles on the Brontës.
Sharon Wright is an award-winning journalist and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling biography of Maria Branwell Brontë. She has written for The Guardian, Daily Express, BBC, Disney, Glamour, Woman & Home, The Lady, Red and New York Post and appeared on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and women’s history podcasts. Research for this book resulted in her winning a correction to the Brontë memorial in Westminster Abbey, which made headlines around the world. She was interviewed by Mishal Husain on BBC Radio 4 Today, plus The Times, The Guardian, The Observer and The New York Times.
This event is supported by RILCH, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool City Coucil. Ticket profits will be donated to Smithdown in Bloom.
The venue is fully accessible for wheelchair users, including toilet facilities.
For all enquiries about this event please contact the Smithdown Litfest, and not the venue directly.
