Anne Bronte was not only a talented writer but also a skilled rock collector interested in geology, researchers have revealed.
The youngest Bronte sister built up a collection of specimens before her death aged 29 in 1849.
It was thought she collected them for their aesthetic value, but research shared by Sally Jaspars has shown she was an informed geology fan.
Ms Jaspers is studying Bronte as part of a PhD at the University of Aberdeen.
She said: "Her interest in geology is mentioned in her literary works – indeed in The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall she references the science and a book by Sir Humphry Davy directly."
Ms Jaspers was helped by Stephen Bowden, from the university's School of Geosciences, who helped to analyse the collection housed at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire.
Experts from the University of Leeds and a specialist spectroscopy company were also involved, and they found she had carnelians and agates which she collected in Scarborough, where she worked as a governess.
She also had flowstone and a rare kind of red obsidian, which originated outside of the UK.
Ms Jaspars said: "This is the first time that Anne's collection has been systematically described and fully identified, and in doing so we add to the body of knowledge on Anne and show her to be scientifically minded and engaging with geology.
"She was an intelligent and progressive individual who was in tune with the scientific inquiry of the time."
The research has now been published in the journal Bronte Studies.
Dr Bowden added: "Our Raman spectroscopy analysis which we undertook at the Bronte Parsonage Museum shows that Anne Bronte did not just collect pretty stones at random but skilfully accumulated a meaningful collection of semi-precious stones and geological curiosities.
"Anne's collection comprises stones that are sufficiently unusual and scarce to show that they were collected deliberately for their geological value, and it's clear that her collection took skill to recognise and collect."
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Author Anne Bronte was keen rock collector, research shows – BBC
