Bronte novella surfaces in London

Charlotte Bronte, author of 19th century romance “Jane Eyre,” has just published a new book.

“Stancliffe’s Hotel,” a 34-page novella written by Bronte in 1838 and until now read only by a handful of scholars, was printed in full in the London Times newspaper Friday.

“ ‘Stancliffe’s Hotel’ is very sardonic, very racy, very witty, not at all like ‘Jane Eyre’ -- it’s not a passionate story about lovelorn heroines,” Heather Glen, editor of the new edition of the novella, told BBC radio.

The story is set in Angria, a mythical world created by the Bronte siblings when they were children.

“A mystique has built up around these writings that you can only understand them if you know all the convolutions of the childhood sagas,” said Glen, explaining why the novella -- and several others -- has never been published.