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Author Emily Bronte is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, about the doomed romance between brooding anti-hero Heathcliff and his childhood friend, Catherine Earnshaw. However, as well as writing this timeless classic of English literature, Emily was also regarded as a poetic genius.

Born in the Yorkshire village of Thornton, in July 1818, she was one of six talented siblings, four of whom became writers. Emily's life was scarred by tragedy, as her mother died when she was only three years old. Then, older sisters Maria and Elizabeth died after a typhoid epidemic swept through their school.

Talented siblings

The remaining children were educated at home by their curate father, Patrick. They had a vivid imagination and began writing stories, set in an imaginary world called Angria. Emily began writing poetry at this time. She also wrote more fantasy stories in a new kingdom called Gondal.

She became a teacher in 1838 but carried on writing in her spare time. Never in robust health, she became ill from working 17 hours a day at Law Hill School in Halifax.

Emily left the teaching profession and instead attended a young women's academy in Belgium with her sister, Charlotte. They continued their education, learned to speak French and German and both became proficient at writing fiction.

The three surviving sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) all wrote poetry, while their brother, Branwell, was an artist and writer. Emily was known as a poet, rather than an author, during her lifetime.

The three sisters published a book of their work - entitled Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. They used male names because writing was frowned upon in those days as a career for women.

Emotive poem

Emily wrote one of her most moving poems, To a Wreath of Snow, in December 1837. This was the year her youngest sister, Anne, had fallen seriously ill with the stomach inflammation, gastritis. Emily was only 19 at the time and her sister's illness hit her hard.

A minister visited Anne several times during her illness and she spent a long time recuperating at home. Emily wrote the poem as if it was being spoken by a character in one of the books she and Anne had written together as children.

Historians suggested the context of the poem meant Emily was trying to escape the reality of her sister's serious illness by disappearing into the fantasy world they had created together. The poem initially captures Emily's melancholy mood, but then the narrator speaks to the snow as if it has saved her and given her new hope.

She describes the snow as a "transient voyager of heaven", suggesting she believes it has come directly from God, and talks of her melancholy mood, saying, "For many a week, and many a day, my heart was weighed with sinking gloom, when morning rose in mourning grey and faintly lit my prison room."

Beauty of snow

Then, the snow comes and lifts the narrator's spirits, as she says, "But angel like, when I awoke, thy silvery form, so soft and fair, shining through darkness, sweetly spoke of cloudy skies and mountains bare, the dearest to a mountaineer, who all life-long has loved the snow."

Queen Almeda is capturing the passing beauty of the snow, a "transient voyager of heaven", because it will soon melt. It reminds her of the natural beauty of the snow-capped mountains she has always loved. She finds the "wreath of snow" more comforting and heartening than any other weather, even the sun.

The snow is personified as something that brings hope and light into the dark world. It was said to represent the way Anne brought joy into Emily's life.

Famous novels

Anne was to recover from her illness eventually, although her health remained fragile. She went on to write The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (considered to be one of the first feminist novels) in 1848. It was shocking subject matter at the time, as the heroine was a mysterious young widow - a single parent who worked as an artist to bring up her young son.

Emily went on to write Wuthering Heights, which was published in 1847. Both sisters' novels were very successful. Sadly, neither of them lived long enough to see how much their work was adored. Emily died at the age of 30 in December 1848, after catching a severe cold, which led to an inflammation of the lungs and later tuberculosis.

Only a few months later, in May 1849, her beloved Anne died at the age of only 29, also as a result of influenza and tuberculosis. Her health had been poor since her childhood illness and she had been using a wheelchair in the last weeks of her life.

Emily's beautiful poem, To a Wreath of Snow, wasn't published in her lifetime. It became a much-loved poem only after her death. Both sisters' works are recognised as classics today and they have left the legacy of their wonderful novels and poetry.

Joyful Christmas

A Wreath of Snow is more relevant today than ever before, as we have all faced a tough year, due to the coronavirus. Perhaps snow could bring a little joy to us all, should we be lucky enough to have a white Christmas. Nothing beats getting well wrapped up and going out for a snowball fight!

According to the Met Office, the last true white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, when snow settled on the ground across 83% of the country. We also had a white Christmas in 2009, when snow was lying on the ground across 57% of Britain.

The last time snow fell on Christmas Day in the UK was in 2017, although it didn't settle. This year, the forecast suggests some of us might have some snow, as a result of cold weather fronts from the north Atlantic hitting British shores. However, the forecast is for only 6cm of snow in central Scotland on 25th December, with the chill lasting until 31st December. For the rest of the UK, it's more likely to snow in January or February.

It's worth getting your warm clothing out, just in case it does snow and you have the chance to go for a walk in the winter wonderland.

The team at Griggs would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy, peaceful New Year.