Charlotte Brontë, early story

Hugh Walpole was at the King’s School from 1896 to 1898. In the 1920s and 1930s he made a collection of English literary manuscripts for the School. This was presented in 1938.

Most of the major writers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are represented. Highlights include Walter Scott’s The Fortunes of Nigel and Count Robert of Paris; early writings by Charlotte and Emily Brontë; No Name by Wilkie Collins; Christina Rossetti’s Verses; M.R. James, Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad; a collection of letters from First World War poets; and Somerset Maugham’s Liza of Lambeth and Catalina. Other writers include Arnold Bennett, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, Thackeray and W.B. Yeats.

There are also several books from fine presses including the Kelmscott Chaucer and Eric Gill’s Four Gospels, Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde from the Golden Cockerel Press.

The main details of the collection are recorded in the Location Register of English Literary Manuscripts and Letters. A summary listing can be seen here: Walpole Catalogue.