Dinsdale, Ann 1960–

views updated

Dinsdale, Ann 1960–

PERSONAL:

Born October 2, 1960, in Colne, England; daughter of Raymond and Jean Ingham; married William Dinsdale, August 13, 1980 (separated, 1995); children: Emily, Joseph.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England. Office—The Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD22 8DR, England.

CAREER:

Writer; Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, England, librarian, collections manager, 1996—.

WRITINGS:

Old Haworth, Hendon Publishing (Nelson, England), 1999.

The Brontes at Haworth, Frances Lincoln (London, England), 2006.

The Bronte Collection, Hendon Publishing (Nelson, England), 2007.

(With Mark Ward and Robert Swindells) A Guide to Historic Haworth and the Brontes, Hendon Publishing (Nelson, England), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ann Dinsdale was born October 2, 1960, in Colne, England. A fan of all things having to do with the Bronte family, she took a position as the librarian and collections manager at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, in Haworth, England. Her duties include lecturing to visitors regarding the lives of the Bronte family members and also providing a measure of context by describing the daily routine and lives of people who lived during the nineteenth century, as the Brontes did. Dinsdale's interest in history extends in particular to the history of Haworth and the surrounding area, and she is the author of several books about the region, and about the Bronte family and their place in the town. Old Haworth, her first book, provides readers with an overview of the town and its history, not just as it pertains to the famous literary family, but as an entity unto itself. Her later work, A Guide to Historic Haworth and the Brontes, which she cowrote, delves more deeply into the relationship between the Bronte family members and the town.

Dinsdale has also written books about the Brontes, including The Brontes at Haworth and The Bronte Collection. The Brontes at Haworth is an illustrated volume that focuses on the ways in which the region affected the Brontes, particularly as it might pertain to their writing. While some Bronte books focus on the daughters who wrote and the father, Dinsdale does the family the service of addressing each member, including Maria Branwell, the mother who gave birth to six children before she passed away, and the lesser-known Bronte children who died young. She goes on to link the regional landmarks to the various books, including Anne Bronte's Tenant of Wildfell Hall and various pieces of poetry. Kristine Huntley, in a review for Booklist, found Dinsdale's work to be ‘a remarkable book that will without a doubt draw literature lovers."

The Bronte Collection is a heavily illustrated book that seeks to link the family not just to Haworth, but to other nearby villages and counties. The book includes forty-three photographs taken across the region, and a map to allow readers to put the towns into context. Emma Clayton, writing for the Telegraph & Argus Web site, remarked: ‘Ann's thorough research and love of all things Bronte shines through, taking the reader beyond Haworth to other places associated with this remarkable family.’ She concluded that it is ‘an interesting read, shedding new light on Bronte mythology."