Patrick Brontë spent his first quarter-century in Northern Ireland, his native land, living through the violence and chaos of the years leading to the Rebellion of the Society of United Irishmen in 1798 in which his brother fought for the rebels, and the succeeding fallout. In this paper I explore the consequences that this experience may have had on Patrick Brontë, the effects of ‘circumstance’ and the reasons for and importance of his voluntary exile from his home. I also discuss how this early exposure to turbulence and rebellion may have rippled down into the writings of his children. © The Brontë Society 2018.

Exile Rebellion 1798 Patrick Brontë Society of United Irishmen County down

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