Four stories written by Charlotte Bront more than 150 years ago are to be published for the first time.

The short novels have been transcribed from Charlotte's tiny handwriting in notebooks at the Bront Parsonage Museum.

One of the stories, Stancliffe's Hotel, was published in full in the Times newspaper last Friday.

The original manuscripts are currently on display at the museum, in Haworth, but can only be read with a magnifying glass.

They are among hundreds of pages of novels, poems and journals written by Charlotte and her brother Branwell during their youth.

The stories relate the saga of the fictional lands of Glass Town and Angria, and their rich cast of characters.

Following the Bronts' deaths the miniature books were dispersed around the world following their sale to fans.

Similar tales of the Land of Gondal, written by Charlotte's sisters Emily and Anne, were almost entirely destroyed.

Ann Dinsdale, librarian at the museum, said some of the Angria stories have been published previously after being transcribed by scholars.

She said the latest four -- due to be published by Penguin Classics next Thursday -- had been edited by Bront scholar Heather Glen.

Ann said: "Bront manuscripts are scattered all over the world. Sometimes a story has been split up. It's not an easy task to put them back together.

"The stories are not without merit, but their main interest is that they chart Charlotte's progress as a writer.

"I don't think Stancliffe's Hotel bears a great resemblance to her published novels. It's much more fanciful."