Masterpieces (Bicknell)
by Arthur Bicknell

THE STORY: Is an imaginative reconstruction of the lives of Branwell Bronte and his sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.

An unconventional historic drama, it utilizes humor and fantasy sequences to illuminate the tragic fate of the lesser-known Bronte heir, Patrick Branwell—the one for whom the family held the greatest expectations.

Its theme touches upon a subject common to many—the fear of anonymity.

While other children their age occupied themselves outdoors, the four Brontes were sequestered in their father's parsonage, scribbling away in tiny notebooks, creating the imaginary world of “Angria.”

It was Branwell that presided over this world, inspiring the others to create characters that would one day reappear as the protagonists of his sisters' novels, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Jane Eyre .

All of the Brontes' short lives were shrouded in anonymity.

Emily was the least bothered by this fact; Charlotte and Anne were distressed but not thwarted and continued their literary output.

Only Branwell, the painter, was unable to reconcile himself to a life without focus or commitment.

In desperation he turned to erotic fantasies involving his patron, the beautiful Lady Lydia Robinson.

The mysterious circumstances connected with Branwell's involvement with this woman, including his sudden dismissal from her estate, shed light on the sad facts of his untimely death and the descent into drugs and drink that preceded it.