THE GREAT and good have been given a sneak preview of the latest exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

The Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire and author Michael Stewart were among invited guests for the launch of Charlotte Great And Small at the Haworth visitor attraction.

Playing host last Friday evening was bestselling novelist and Brontë enthusiast Tracy Chevalier, who curated the exhibition to begin her year-long partnership with the Brontë Society.

She has devised the exhibition as a flagship attraction for a year of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.

The Brontë Society and the Haworth museum will over the next five years also commemorate the bicentennials of Charlotte’s siblings, Emily, Anne and Branwell, during the Brontë200 festival.

In the exhibition Tracy, writer of novels including Girl With A Pearl Earring, set out to tell the story of Charlotte Brontë by contrasting minute details from her life in Haworth with the huge effect she had on the world.

She said: "I have always loved Charlotte’s work, and it has been a wonderful luxury while planning this show to get to know her life better.

"The place where she lived and worked, the clothes she wore, the objects surrounding her, all have a special magic that makes me feel as if Charlotte is just in the next room, nodding."

Charlotte Great And Small features tiny details of Charlotte's life, such as miniatures she drew and painted, tiny books she created and the child-size clothing she wore.

Contemporary art installations are also on display throughout the parsonage, with UK and international artists responding to the idea of the miniature.

This includes a small bed embroidered with words by and about the Brontës, as well as a knitted Jane Eyre.

The exhibition, which marks the beginning of the official bicentenary celebrations, began last weekend with talks by Tracy Chevalier.

Rebecca Yorke, of the Brontë Society, said: "After a short introductory talk by Tracy, guests were invited to explore the house and discover the contemporary artworks on display alongside the Brontë exhibits.

"Many were intrigued by the minute detail adorning Serena Partridge’s textiles and very much enjoyed making and unmaking Tamar Stone’s Brontë bed.

"The knitted Jane Eyre by Denise Salway, a.k.a. The Knitting Witch, was also a firm favourite."