Weaponised Imagination: Sibling Collaborations and Rivalries in the Brontë and Rossetti Families

For the Brontë and Rossetti siblings, familial collaboration shaped their working methods from their earliest juvenilia to the end of their careers. Both sibling sets would continually compare their works and seek advice on how to develop their early writings – a sense of co-dependence they never fully outgrew. This thesis examines the dynamic of these sibling sets from the early need of parental approval; their ambitious juvenilia – and the need to maintain the familial connection such early works provided upon entering the adult world of work – and finally the autobiographical narratives of the surviving siblings. This analysis will explore how these siblings’ literary collaborations altered under the cultural expectations of class and gender, as well as familial aspirations. Nevertheless, the support network of childhood writings could be “restored” by recreating the motifs and methodologies of their early juvenilia. Weaponised Imagination applies close, comparative readings to works completed by the Brontës’ and Rossettis’ throughout their careers, which can be applied to literary families throughout history