A public appeal has been launched to bring a recently-discovered Charlotte Bronte manuscript to the literary family’s Haworth home.

The Bronte Society is seeking help in raising funds to buy a homework essay written by Charlotte for the man she loved.

The society was told in December of the previously unknown piece, which is in private ownership.

A single-page document written in French on both sides, it was assigned as homework by Charlotte’s teacher Monsieur Constantin Heger at the Pensionnat Heger school he and his wife ran in Brussels. Heger has added his corrections to the work.

“This exciting discovery sheds light on a formative time in Charlotte’s life and contributes substantially to our understanding of her character,” said Professor Ann Sumner, the Bronte Society’s executive director.

To donate to the appeal, visit bronte.org.uk.