Devotion 1946

In the early 1800s, the Brontë family begins a journey away from a tightly knit home life. The Brontë sisters—Charlotte Brontë Olivia de Havilland and Emily Brontë Ida Lupino, along with Branwell Brontë Arthur Kennedy—decide to seek positions as governesses in other households, hoping the outside world will offer new experiences and fuel their budding ambitions as writers. They also plan to send part of Branwell’s money to him so he can travel to London and study art, chasing the dream of becoming a great, temperamental painter. Their resolve is shared with their aunt and their father, a vicar, and the household is anchored by Aunt Elizabeth Branwell Ethel Griffies and the Brontës’ stern father Montagu Love.

One night, Branwell’s drink-fueled bravado leads him to invite a local new curate, Arthur Nicholls Paul Henreid, into a plan to escort him home. Arthur arrives at the vicarage, where Branwell’s behavior is chaotic, and he helps ensure Branwell reaches his door safely. Emily answers the door and, mistaking Arthur for one of Branwell’s intoxicated friends, treats him with cool skepticism. The next day, Branwell departs for London again, and Arthur returns to the house, where he is greeted by the formidable Mr. Brontë Montagu Love. Despite a tense start, Emily and Arthur soon strike up a genuine friendship. They walk the countryside together, and Emily shows him a secluded hilltop house—the very place that would later inspire her writing of a certain dark and stormy romance.

As time passes, Branwell’s hopes waver, and he returns home disillusioned, blaming his sisters for his own perceived failures as a painter. Charlotte and Anne come back as well, and a ball at the Thornton residence introduces Arthur to Charlotte, where a spark quickly turns into love for both of them. Yet Charlotte notices Emily’s growing interest in Arthur, and a quiet tension unfolds as the sisters contend for his attention. Branwell, ever volatile, disrupts the dance, and Arthur steps away to take Branwell home.

Arthur’s affection for Charlotte evolves into a broader commitment: he secretly buys a painting from Branwell to fund the sisters’ European education. The prospect of study in Europe fills the sisters with excitement, though Emily fears she might be left behind. The journey takes them to Brussels, where they enroll at the school run by the Hegers. In Brussels, Charlotte confesses to Emily that she faced unwanted attentions while working as a governess, and she recounts that Arthur had kissed her after she returned home. Emily, meanwhile, is unsettled by the emotional stakes of their new life, and she dreams of the moors as her own imagination stirs.

The sisters’ Brussels sojourn deepens their longing for literary success, but it also strains their relationship with Arthur. He reveals to Charlotte that he loves her, yet he cannot stay because Emily’s feelings for him would complicate everything. The sisters return to England when Bran becomes ill, and both begin writing their novels, with Bran reading their drafts and acknowledging the closeness of the sisters’ affections for the same man. The dynamic of their relationship shifts as the truth about Arthur’s support comes to light: he financed their journey by purchasing Branwell’s painting.

Back home, Bran’s health deteriorates, and he dies, leaving a heavy weight on Emily and Charlotte as they publish their work. Their novels—Wuthering Heights for Emily and Jane Eyre for Charlotte—appear under male pseudonyms, a reflection of the era’s literary gatekeeping and gender biases. Though Charlotte’s Jane Eyre sells more widely, the critic William Makepeace Thackeray (as portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet) recognizes Emily’s raw power and seriousness, sparking a broader conversation about female authorship in a male-dominated world.

Thackeray eventually introduces Charlotte to London society, guiding her toward the poverty-stricken East End where Arthur once walked and where he now works with others. Arthur finally confesses to Charlotte that he loves her, but he feels he cannot stay because Emily’s passion drew him away from Yorkshire. The strain of illness shadows the Brontë siblings, and Charlotte rushes back to be with Emily as she grows gravely ill. Emily’s final hours are marked by a sense of longing for the moors and a haunting presence—the black horseman that has haunted her visions.

When Emily passes away, the remaining truth of their intertwined loves and ambitions lingers in the air. Arthur returns to court Charlotte, but the sisters’ legacy—both in life and in their enduring novels—continues to resonate. The moors, the arts, and the enduring bond of sisterhood shape a story that travels from provincial rooms to London salons and beyond, leaving a lasting imprint on literary history.