Literature fans have raised £15,000 in just four weeks to help buy a 150-year-old letter written by Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte.

Dealers in London have agreed to drop the asking price from an initial £75,000 to a more affordable £50,000 after negotiations with Mike Hill, director of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, in Haworth.

The letter, written on March 15 1849, has been in the ownership of an American collector for many years.

Now the family is offering it for sale.

It is said to be one of the most moving letters written by the author, expressing her feelings at the deaths of her brother Branwell and sister Emily.

It also deals with the onset of sister Anne's fatal illness.

The Bronte Society has until June to raise the money and Mr Hill is optimistic the sum will be reached.

"I'm very pleased with the response so far," he said.

"We have received a lot of letters saying it must come back to Haworth because this is its home," he said.

"We've had about 250 letters from people and some people have sent money anonymously.

"Visitors and local people have also been putting money in the donation box at the museum."

He believed the price was a bargain when compared to two letters by Charlotte which fetched between £60,000 and £70,000 at an auction recently.

He said between £3,000 and £4,000 had already been raised by the people of Keighley, museum visitors and Bronte Society members.

And the Society has pledged to donate £10,000 to the fund.

The museum is also seeking grants from such organisations as the National Heritage Lottery and the Museums and Galleries Commission.

Mr Hill said he was delighted there was so much support from local people who wanted the letter to return to Haworth.

The Bronte Parsonage Museum holds the largest single collection of Bronte manuscripts in the world.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.