Emily Brontë, English Author, Poet, Artist, Teacher & Musician: Madeline’s Monthly Musical Tips Blog & Radio Show for May 2026
Our Blog and Radio shares the life and work of Emily Brontë, English author, poet, artist, teacher, and musician.
Many of the world’s authors, poets, teachers, artist, medical doctors, professors, scientists, researchers, mathematicians, engineers, chemists, physicists, inventors, statesmen, diplomats, printers, architects, and others have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain.
Learning a musical instrument teaches discipline, cooperation, teamwork, motivation, concentration and self-esteem. Having trouble getting your child to do their homework? Play classical music in the background while your child is doing their homework! Try a Mozart Symphony in the background while they are studying.
Included is the article “Why Music Education Matters More Than Ever in Our Schools” by EdCircuit Staff
Our article of the month is “Common Threads Hold Societies Together” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Feature Question for May 2026: How did Classical music play a part of Emily Brontë’s life as an English author, poet, artist, teacher & musician and what musical instrument did she play?
https://madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-musical-radio-show/
Early Years:
Emily Jane Brontë was born on July 30, 1818 to Maria Branwell Brontë, a wealthy merchant’s daughter and Patrick Brontë, a Reverend in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Emily was the fifth of six children. Her mother, Maria Branwell Brontë was one of 12 children born to Thomas Branwell and Anne Carne Branwell in Penzance, Cornwall.
Shortly after Emily’s younger sister Anne was born, the Brontë family moved 12 miles to the village of Haworth. (Wikipedia Emily Brontë)
Aunt Elizabeth Branwell: Elizabeth Branwell came to nurse her beloved younger sister, Maria Branwell Brontë when she was ill and take care of her 6 children. When Maria passed away Emily was 3 and Anne was a year old.
Aunt Elizabeth became a second mother to her sister’s children. She loved them, disciplined them, read to them, encouraged them, motivated them, inspired them, funded their education, and helped publish the books they wrote. (Emily was 3 years old when her Mother passes away.)
“After the death of her sister Maria, Elizabeth assumed the role of second mother to her nephew and five nieces. She would never see Cornwall again. She dedicated her life to her new family: the Brontës of Haworth, to whom she was known as Aunt Branwell. In this first ever biography of Elizabeth Branwell, we see at last the huge impact she had on Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, as well as on her nephew Branwell Brontë who spiraled out of control away from her calming influence. It was a legacy in Aunt Branwell’s will that led directly to the Brontë books we love today, but her influence on their lives and characters was equally important. We find a kind-hearted woman who sacrificed everything for the children she came to love.” Nick Holland states in his biography of her that she had an affectionate and supportive side.” “Aunt Branwell and the Brontë Legacy by Nick Holland” .”(Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles 14,15)
High mortality rate in Haworth where Brontë family lived:
“Haworth was a small community with an unusually high early mortality rate. In 1850, Babbage reported deeply insanitary conditions, including contamination to the village water supply from the overcrowded graveyard nearby. This is believed to have had a serious impact on the health of Emily and her siblings.” ( Wikipedia Emily Bronte,, books/articles 9,10,11,12, 124 )
First School: Cowan Bridge School”
Emily and her three older sisters in 1824, “ were sent to the newly opened Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge.” Emily was six years of age and “was the youngest student. The school register said, “reads very prettily, and works a little” and the superintendent “described her as quite the pet nursling of the school.” At Cowan Bridge “ the children suffered severe privations including poor and insufficient food, unsanitary conditions, harsh discipline and frequent outbreaks of infectious disease such as typhoid and tuberculosis. In 1825, following an outbreak of typhoid fever, Maria and Elizabeth both fell ill, and were sent home, where they died of tuberculosis within three months of one other.” Their father, then brought, Charlotte and Emily back to Haworth. “The children were subsequently educated at home, and were cared for by their aunt Elizabeth Branwell.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles 5, 16,17,18)library.”
Their Father, Patrick and Aunt Elizabeth encouraged and developed the Brontë children’s literary talent:
“The Brontë children were encouraged by their father and aunt to develop their literary talents and to take an interest in politics and current affairs. Girls were not allowed access to the public brother, “Branwell borrowed books which he shared with his sisters, and their father, Patrick Brontë had a large personal library, to which he allowed his children access. Emily and her siblings read a wide range of published material, including books, periodicals and magazines. Favorites included:Aesop’s Fables, the Arabian Nights, Walter Scott’s Tales of a Grandfather and Blackwood’s Magazine, as well as Oliver Goldsmith’s A History of England and J. Goldsmith’s A Grammar of General Geography.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles 10 19,20)
Creating Imaginary World:
Branwell and his siblings in 1826 “began to create a series of increasingly complex fantasy role-playing games and plays featuring the “Young Men”, or “the Twelves”;characters based on a set of wooden soldiers Branwell had received from his father. These plays evolved into an intricate saga set in a fictionalized version of West Africa called the Glass Town Confederacy.” ( Wickipedia Branwell Brontë: Notes: Books/ Articles, 2, 21, 22)
Music: Patrick Brontë purchased a used piano for his children to enjoy in 1833 or 1834. The purchase of the used piano “was a significant purchase for .. Patrick Brontë’s strained” budget. (The Brontes and Hayworth Music Scene, June 11, 2017)
Piano and Organ Lessons: Patrick set “up a fund to buy a grand organ for his church. On 23rd March 1834 it was unveiled alongside a spectacular production of Handel’s ‘Messiah’. The children must have been spellbound at this performance.”
“The Keighley organist Sunderland was hired to teach Branwell the organ and piano. Emily and Anne were soon added to the lessons. Extra lessons were provided by local teacher, William Summerscale.” Branwell was already a talented flutist. He “proved to be proficient at the keyboard, and fulfilled the role of church organist” for many years. “Charlotte’s poor eyesight meant that she was not allowed to take music lessons for fear that reading the music would strain her eyes.” (The Brontës and the Haworth Music Scene: June 11, 2017)
Concerts:
“Emily may have met her musical hero, Franz Liszt at his concert in Halifax, eight miles from Haworth. He also conducted a concert in Brussels during the time she was there. The Brontës didn’t always have to travel far to hear beautiful music, as Haworth itself was a hotbed of musical perfomance. Their father’s church sometimes held musical concerts….. The Haworth Philharmonic Society was formed in the 18th century and it gave a spectacular concert every year, as well as smaller events on occasion. These concerts were held in the function room of the Black Bull Inn, and it is a time when the girls would have been allowed into the public house chaperoned by their Aunt Branwell.”(Anne Bronte and the Haworth music scene, June 11, 2017)
Drawing and Painting: “The Brontë children were also tutored in drawing and painting, as well as in Latin and Classics. They were familiar with the work of Thomas Bewick and John Martin, the engravings of William Linden, and illustrations from The Literary Souvenir.”
“Twenty-nine drawings and paintings by Emily are known to have survived, including a water color painting of her dog, Keeper. Emily preferred to draw and paint from life, as here, and favored nature and animals as subjects (she felt more akin to the latter, than to humans). She developed acute observation skills, and her delicate, tiny brushstrokes capture Keeper’s coat beautifully. Her confident use of light and shade in all her works somehow helps to evoke a sense of character, too.” (A DOG’S LIFE – EMILY BRONTË’S FURRY FRIEND: DEC. 23, 2018)
Teachers Career: “At seventeen, Emily joined the Roe Head Girls’ School, where Charlotte was a teacher. This was the first time Emily had attended school since her few months at Cowan Bridge” when she was 6 years old. “ (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles 40,41)
Emily teaching at Law Hill School 17 hours a day:
“In September 1838, when she was twenty, Emily became a teacher at Law Hill School, in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Her health suffered under the stress of the seventeen-hour workday, and she did not warm to her pupils, stating that she preferred the company of the house dog. She did, however, continue writing, and produced several poems during this time. She returned home to Haworth in April 1839, helping the family’s servant with the cooking, ironing, and cleaning. She taught herself German from books and played the piano, becoming an accomplished pianist, as well as continuing to expand her Gondal stories. These survive as a series of poems, many of which reflect her interest in the tragic, Byronic figures that precede the creation of Heathcliff.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles ,42,43,44,45,46,47, 48)
Studying in Brussels:
Emily was a “very shy woman”. At twenty four years of age, in 1842, “Emily accompanied Charlotte to study at the Heger Pensionnat, a girls’ boarding school in Brussels, where Charlotte hoped to spend six months improving her French, Italian and German. Their tuition and travel expenses had been paid by their Aunt Branwell, and some friends of the family, the Jenkinses, had promised to look out for their well-being. The Jenkins family were initially welcoming but soon ceased to invite the sisters, finding Charlotte to be socially awkward and Emily monosyllabic.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 49,50,51,52)
“Nor did Charlotte and Emily fit in easily at the school: they were considerably older than their peers, they struggled with lessons that were held in French, and they were in a very small minority of Protestants in the Pensionnat. Unlike Charlotte, who made an effort to be accepted, and changed her style of dress to fit in better with her peers, Emily was not happy in Brussels and was mocked by the other students for her refusal to adopt Belgian fashions.”
(. Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles 53,54,55,56, 57)
“Constantin Heger, who was in charge of the academy, thought highly of Emily, later telling Mrs. Gaskell that he rated her intellect as “something even higher” than Charlotte’s, saying”: “She should have been a man – a great navigator. Her powerful reason would have deduced new spheres of discovery from the knowledge of the old; and her strong imperious will would never have been daunted by opposition or difficulty, never have given way but with life. She had a head for logic, and a capability of argument unusual in a man and rarer indeed in a woman… impairing this gift was her stubborn tenacity of will which rendered her obtuse to all reasoning where her own wishes, or her own sense of right, was concerned.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 58,59)
“The two sisters were committed to their studies and by the end of the term had become so competent in French that Madame Heger, the wife of Constantin Heger, proposed that they both stay another half-year. According to Charlotte, she even offered to dismiss the English master so that Charlotte could take his place. By this time, Emily had become a competent pianist and teacher, and it was suggested that she might stay on to teach music. In this way, the sisters would be able to continue their education at the Pensionnat without paying for their board or tuition. Emily’s first students in Brussels were the three young daughters of a local family, the Wheelwrights. The family liked Charlotte, but disliked Emily intensely. Laetitia Wheelwright later said that this was because Emily refused to teach the small children during her own school hours, thereby monopolizing their play time. In spite of this, Emily seems to have been happier during this period, and even made a friend; a sixteen-year-old Belgian student, Louise de Bassompierre, to whom Emily gifted a signed drawing.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 60,61,62, 63, 64, 65)
Illness and Death of Aunt Elizabeth Branwell:
On October 25, 1842, their Aunt Elizabeth Branwell died. The sisters returned to Haworth. “A letter from Constantin Heger to Patrick Brontë, appealing for the girls to remain, reveals that Emily was about to receive music lessons from a celebrated teacher, and was finally overcoming her social awkwardness. In spite of this, she remained in Haworth to take over the running of the household, while Charlotte returned to Brussels without her. In 1844, on Charlotte’s return, the sisters attempted to open a school at the Parsonage, but the venture failed when they proved unable to attract students to the remote area.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 66,67,68)
Emily became a virtuoso pianist. The remainder of her life was spent “at Hayworth House where she became skilled in many disciplines and found serious acclaim as a brilliant pianist. She was known to play Beethoven sonatas with precision, and the Romantic themes of the German composer’s music inspired Brontë to explore similar ideas in her gothic romance.” (ClassicalFM Wuthering Heights musical history Bronte and Bush to Brat,Feb. 10, 2026 updated )
Ellen Nussey, a good friend of the Brontë family said, ‘Emily, after some application, played with precision and brilliancy. Anne played also, but she preferred soft harmonies and vocal music. She sang a little; her voice was weak, but very sweet in tone.’ (AnneBronte and the Haworth music scene, June 11, 2017)
Publication of Poetry:
“In February 1844, Emily began going through all the poems she had written, recopying them into two notebooks. One notebook was labelled “Gondal Poems”; the other was unlabeled. In the autumn of 1845, Charlotte discovered the notebooks and insisted that the poems be published. Emily, furious at the invasion of her privacy, at first refused but, according to Charlotte, relented when Anne brought out her own manuscripts and revealed that she too had been writing poems in secret. Around this time, Emily wrote one of her most famous poems, “No coward soul is mine”. Some literary critics have speculated that it is a poem about Anne Brontë, while others see it as a response to the violation of her privacy. It was the last poem to be transcribed into Emily’s fair copy notebook. She continued to write poetry, but channeled most of her creative energy into prose.”
The sisters’ published their poems in 1846 by a London publisher, Aylott & Jones. “The poems appeared together in one volume, entitled Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. The Brontë sisters adopted pseudonyms for publication, preserving their initials: Charlotte was “Currer Bell”, Emily was “Ellis Bell” and Anne was “Acton Bell”. Charlotte contributed nineteen poems, and Emily and Anne each contributed twenty-one, with Emily adjusting some of her contributions to conceal their Gondal origins” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 69,70,71,72,73,74,75 ,76,77,78,79)
“A reviewer in The Athenaeum praised Ellis Bell’s work for its music and power, singling out those poems as the best in the book: “Ellis possesses a fine, quaint spirit and an evident power of wing that may reach heights not here attempted”, and The Critic reviewer recognized “the presence of more genius than it was supposed this utilitarian age had devoted to the loftier exercises of the intellect.” Following Charlotte’s unsuccessful attempts to generate further interest in the poems, she sent copies of the book to celebrated poets such as William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson, Hartley Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey and Ebenezer Elliott. She then announced to Aylott & Jones that “C, E & A Bell are now preparing for the Press a work of fiction – consisting of three distinct and unconnected tales which may be published either together as work of 3 volumes of the ordinary novel-size, or separately as single vols.” The three novels to which she referred were “The Professor, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey.” (Wikipedia Emily Brontë, books/articles, Books/articles, 80,81,82,83,84)
Emily Brontë published her book Wuthering Heights in 1847 under her pen name Ellis Bell. Charlotte Brontë published her book “Jane Eyre” in 1847 using her pen name Currer Bell. She also wrote “The Professor”, “Villette”, and “Shirley”. Charlotte was the third Brontë child. Anne Brontë wrote “Agnes Gray” (1847) and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” (1848) under her pen name Acton Bell. Anne was the 6th child. Branwell Brontë, 4th child of the Brontë’s wrote poetry, was an artist, and talented musician. (His poems were published in local newspapers Halifax Guardian and The Yorkshire Gazette under the pen name “Northangerland”.
Emily Jane Brontë died on December 19, 1848 at the age of 30, in Haworth, England, a year after publishing “Wuthering Heights”. She was an author, poet, artist, teacher and musician.
Common Threads Hold Societies Together by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
All of us have endured confrontations in our lives. Some cleared the air, others left us shaking our heads in disbelief. While we will never be able to persuade someone to conform to our belief systems 100%, here are a few examples of great negotiators who understood that coming together and finding common ground was an essential first step toward creating a better path forward.
Think…… Before You Speak.
Dale Carnegie said in his book “How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job”,
“If your temper is aroused and you tell ’em a thing or two, you will have a fine time unloading your feelings. But what about the other fellow? Will he share your pleasure? Will your belligerent tones, your hostile attitude, make it easy for him to agree with you?” (p.136, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job”: Chapter 14, “The High Road To Reason”)
Woodrow Wilson said, “If you come at me with your fists doubled I think I can promise you that mine will double as fast as yours; but if you come to me and say, ‘Let us sit down and take counsel together, and, if we differ from one another, understand why it is that we differ from one another, just what the points at issue are,’ we will presently find that we are not so far apart after all, that the points on which we differ are few and the points on which we agree are many, and that if we only have the patience and the candor and the desire to get together, we will get together.”
Wilson understood that finding common ground, would open up the pathway to dialog, instead of merely planting his feet in the ground and fighting.
Dale Carnegie said, “Nobody appreciated the truth of Woodrow Wilson’s statement more than John D, Rockefeller, Jr. Back in 1915, Rockefeller was the most fiercely despised man in Colorado. One of the bloodiest strikes in the history of American industry had been shocking the state for two terrible years. Irate, belligerent miners were demanding higher wages from the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company; and Rockefeller controlled that company. Property had been destroyed, troops had been called out. Blood had been shed. Strikers had been shot, their bodies riddled with bullets.”
Initially, Rockefeller refused to budge on negotiating with Mining representatives who wanted safer working conditions, reasonable work days, and shelter. It wasn’t odd for a 10-year-old boy to be working in the mines for 12-16 hours per day. During the Ludlow Massacre, representatives of the management, destroyed many of the tents the miners and their families were living in, after they were kicked out of their cabins during the harsh Colorado winters. This resulted in the deaths of many women and children.
After he tried to send a professional negotiator out to resolve the situation, he realized that he needed to go personally.
Carnegie continues, “At a time like that, with the air seething with hatred, Rockefeller wanted to win the strikers to his way of thinking. And he did it. How? Here’s the story. After weeks spent in making friends, Rockefeller addressed the representatives of the strikers. This speech, in its entirety, is a masterpiece. It produced astonishing results. It calmed the tempestuous waves of hate that threatened to engulf Rockefeller. It won him a host of admirers. It presented facts in such a friendly manner that the strikers went back to work without saying another word about the increase in wages for which they had fought so violently.”
“Here is the opening of that remarkable speech. Note how it fairly glows with friendliness.”
“Remember Rockefeller is talking to men who, a short time ago, wanted to hang him by the neck to a sour-apple tree; yet he couldn’t have been more gracious, more friendly if he had addressed a group of medical missionaries. His speech is radiant with such phrases as “I am proud to be here, having visited in your homes, met many of your wives and children, we meet here not as strangers, but as friends, spirit of mutual friendship, our common interests, it is only by your courtesy that I am here.” (P.137-P.138, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job”)
Rockefeller began, “This is a red-letter day in my life. It is the first time I have ever had the good fortune to meet the representatives of the employees of this great company, its officers and superintendents, together, and I can assure you that I am proud to be here, and that I shall remember this gathering as long as I live. Had this meeting been held two weeks ago, I should have stood here a stranger to most of you, recognizing a few faces. Having had the opportunity last week of visiting all the camps in the southern coalfields and of talking individually with practically all of the representatives, except those who were away; having visited in your homes, met many of your wives and children, we meet here not as strangers, but as friends, and it is in that spirit of mutual friendship that I am glad to have this opportunity to discuss with you our common interests.”
“Since this is a meeting of the officers of the company and the representatives of the employees, it is only by your courtesy that I am here, for I am not so fortunate as to be either one or the other; and yet I feel that I am intimately associated with you men, for, in a sense, I represent both the stockholders and the directors.”
This move by Rockefeller is one of the first examples of crisis management that we’ve seen in the modern world.
Dale Carnegie, “Isn’t that a superb example of the fine art of making friends out of enemies?” (p.138)
“Suppose Rockefeller had taken a different tack. Suppose he had argued with those miners and hurled devastating facts in their faces. Suppose he had told them by his tones and insinuations that they were wrong. Suppose that, by all the rules of logic, he had proved that they were wrong? What would have happened? More anger would have been stirred up, more hatred, more revolt.”
Carnegie continues, “If a man’s heart is rankling with discord and ill feeling toward you, you can’t win him to your way of thinking with all the logic in Christendom. Scolding parents and domineering bosses and husbands and nagging wives ought to realize that people don’t want to change their minds. They can’t be forced or driven to agree with you or me. But they may possibly be led to, if we are gentle and friendly, ever so gentle and ever so friendly”.
“Lincoln said that, in effect, almost a hundred years ago. Here are his words”:
“It is an old and true maxim ‘that a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall. So, with men, if you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart; which, say what you will, is the great high road to his reason.”. (P.138)
Dale Carnegie said, “Businessmen are learning that it pays to be friendly to strikers.”
“For example, when 2,500 employees in the White Motor Company’s plant struck for higher wages and a union shop, Robert F. Black, the president, didn’t wax wroth and condemn, and threaten and talk of tyranny and Communists. He actually praised the strikers. He published an advertisement in the Cleveland papers, complimenting them on “the peaceful way in which they laid down their tools’. Finding the strike pickets idle, he bought them a couple of dozen baseball bats and gloves, and invited them to play ball on vacant lots. For those who preferred bowling, he rented a bowling alley.”
“This friendliness on President’s Black’s part did what friendliness always does: it begot friendliness. So, the strikers borrowed brooms, shovels and rubbish carts, and began picking up matches, papers, cigarette stubs, and cigar butts around the factory. Imagine it! Imagine strikers tidying up the factory grounds while battling for higher wages and recognition of the union. Such an event had never been heard of before in the long, tempestuous history of American labor wars. That strike ended with a compromise settlement within a week—ended without any ill feeling or rancor.” (PP.138-139)
Before hurling vitriol – Stop and Think – what do you want to say? How can you make the situation better? What would you like the outcome to be?
When you have a crisis and you need guidance, who do you ask for help?
President Theodore Roosevelt had a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln in his office at the White House and would look at the portrait when he needed guidance and say, “What would Lincoln do?” © 2026 Madeline Frank
If you need a speaker or video speaker contact Madeline at: [email protected]
“Why Music Education Matters More Than Ever in Our Schools” (March 2, 2026) Ed Circuit Staff.
“Why Music Belongs at the Heart of Education”.
“Music education does far more than teach students how to read notes or play instruments. It helps shape how students think, collaborate, and express themselves. Students who participate in music programs often develop”:
- “Discipline and perseverance”. * “Strong listening and teamwork skills”
- “Confidence in performance and communication”. * “Creative problem-solving abilities”.
“For many students, the music room is where they feel most at home. It’s where they learn how to practice patience, work through challenges, and experience the reward of steady improvement.
Music also supports academic growth. Research continues to show connections between music education and improved outcomes in literacy, math, and social-emotional learning. But beyond the data, music teaches students something just as important: how to contribute to something bigger than themselves.”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” shares scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click below:
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“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.:
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“Madeline’s Midnight Melodies- Music From around the World”. This CD complements her books with a blend of dance music, gigues, tangos, ballet and favorites including “Danny Boy”, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” and others. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” CD is now available for purchase by downloading a song, downloading the album click below:
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Wishing you and your family a happy Mother’s Day from Your Non-Invasive Medicine Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an award-winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has discovered a scientific link between studying a musical instrument and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2026 Madeline Frank