Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell was a volume of poetry published jointly by the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne in 1846 (see 1846 in poetry), and their first work to ever go in print. To evade contemporary prejudice against female writers, the Brontë sisters adopted masculine first names. All three retained the first letter of their first names: Charlotte became "Currer Bell", Anne became "Acton Bell", and Emily became "Ellis Bell". The book was printed by Aylott and Jones, from London. The first edition failed to attract interest, with
Una Ellis-Fermor Hampstead High School, Ellis-Fermor gained an exhibition award to read English at Somerville College, Oxford. Here she met and developed a friendly scholarly rivalry with fellow exhibitioner Vera Brittain. In 1918 Ellis-Fermor became a Lecturer in English Literature at Bedford College, and in 1930 was awarded the Rose Mary Crawshay prize for English Literature by the British Academy for her work on Christopher Marlowe and her edition of "Tamburlaine". In 1938 Ellis-Fermor published "Twenty Two Poems" under the pseudonym Christopher Turnley, derived from Marlowe's first name and the middle name of her father, Joseph Turnley Ellis-Fermor. Appointed the first General