Editing Anne Brontë (section)

==London visit==
[[File:Smith Elder Cornhill.jpg|thumb|upright|The offices of Smith, Elder & Co. at No. 65 [[Cornhill, London|Cornhill]]]]
In July 1848 Anne and Charlotte went to Charlotte's publisher [[George Smith (publisher, born 1824)|George Smith]] in London to dispel the rumour that the "Bell brothers" were one person. Emily refused to go. Anne and Charlotte spent several days with Smith. Many years after Anne's death, he wrote in ''[[The Cornhill Magazine]]'' his impressions of her:
{{Blockquote|a gentle, quiet, rather subdued person, by no means pretty, yet of a pleasing appearance. Her manner was curiously expressive of a wish for protection and encouragement, a kind of constant appeal which invited sympathy.<ref name="Barker 559">Barker, ''The Brontës'', p. 559</ref>}}

The increasing popularity of the Bells' works led to renewed interest in ''Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell'', originally published by Aylott and Jones. The remaining print run was bought by Smith and Elder, and reissued under new covers in November 1848. It still sold poorly.