If you’d like to learn more about the Heger family and the Pensionnat, here’s a list of books and articles which you may find interesting.
Abbé Richardson, ‘Extracts from a lecture thitherto unpublished,’ in Wroot’s Persons and places, pp. 175-7.
Reminiscences of M. and Mme. Heger. “There was a legend, still repeated, that, when a professor at the Athénée, he kept a class of over eighty boys so quiet and attentive that mice ventured out of their holes to play in the class-rooms.” Abbé Richardson was a brother of Frederika Macdonald.
Anon, “Échos de la Ville,” in L’Indépendance (9 May 1896).
Reprinted in Mrs. Chadwick’s In the Footsteps of the Brontës, pp. 220-1.
An obituary of M. Heger.
Anon, Paul Heger (unpublished manuscript in the Royal Library in Brussels, undated).
Only the latter of these three books does mention Charlotte. It is written by someone who must have known Heger well. This book, and especially the first two chapters about his youth at the Pensionnat, provide interesting information about the family. On the inside cover is a stamp with the name of A. Gyles, and the place of Charleroi, but this does not prove A. Gyles was the author.
Anon., “The Hegers. A Brontë Luncheon in Brussels for Dr. Phyllis Bentley,” in: Transactions (Vol. 12, nr. 1, 1957) pp. 27-9.
Some recollections of the Hegers, on the occasion of Ph. Bentley lecturing in 1950 in Brussels on the Brontës. The luncheon “to which were were invited all the descendants of M. and Mme. Heger” was organized by the Society.
Anon, “Charlotte Brontë,” in: Athénée Royal Mixte Jules Bordet 1977. Bicentenaire du Collège Thérésien de Bruxelles, 1777-1977 (Brussels 1977) pp. 48-51, ill..
On Charlotte, M. Heger and the Athénée Royal.
Bartier, John, “Un siècle d’enseignement féminin. Le lycée Royal Gatti de Gamond et sa fondatrice,” in: Laïcité et Francmaçonnerie (Brussels 1981) pp. 161-202.
It was at one of the meetings at Mrs. Gatti de Gamond’s that M. and Mme. Heger first met.
Bentley, Phyllis, “M. Heger’s Grand-daughter visits Haworth,” in: Transactions (Vol. 12, nr. 3, 1953) pp. 211-2.
“Wednesday, August 26th, 1953, will, henceforth, be a memorable date in the history of the Brontë Society, for on that day for the first time a member of the Heger family visited Haworth.” 100 Years after the publication of Villette.
Colin, Albert, ‘M. Constantin Héger [sic] has just died …,’ in: The Sketch (London, 3 June 1896) p. 234. First published in L’Etoile Belge. Reprinted in Mr. Wroot’s Persons and places. Sources of Charlotte Brontë’s novels (New York 1966) pp. 172-4.
An obituary.
See also F. Macdonald.
Demoor, J., Paul Heger (Brussels 1935).
Depage, Henri, “Les origines du Pensionnat Héger,” in: La vie d’Anthoine Depage, 1862-1925 (Brussels 1956) pp. 31-41, ill.. Also published in June 1956 in the Revue Edelweiss.
‘M. et Mme. Heger ont célébré hier leurs noces d’or,’ in: L’Indépendance (4 September 1886). Reprinted in Mrs. Chadwick’s In the Footsteps of the Brontës, pp. 218-9.
Written at the occasion of their golden wedding.
Heger, Paul, “Souvenirs de famille,” dated 23 February 1913, published as “An unpublished memoir by Paul Heger,” with an afterword and edited and translated (“Family Memories”) by Sue Lonoff, in: Transactions (Vol. 20, nr.6, 1992) pp. 334-8. “We lived at 32, rue d’Isabelle. In Charlotte Brontë’s novels, you can find a description of the big house where we grew up and of the garden.”
Héger, Paul, Héger 1700-2000. De Charlotte Brontë à l´ULB et à la Communauté européenne (Racine, Brussels 2004).
A family history, in which for us pp. 36-7, 42-3 and 48- 9 are interesting. The writer´s surname shows that it has now changed from Heger to Héger.
Slosse, A., Paul Heger (Brussels 1928).
Spielmann, M.H., “Mlle. Louise Heger. Last link with the Brontës,” in The Times (19 August 1933).
An obituary.
Stockmans, François, “Heger (Constantin-Georges)” in: Biographie Nationale (Vol. 43, suppl. xv, Brussels 1983-4) pp. 456-63.
Contains extensive quotations from lectures given to the Athénée Royal by M. Heger.
(See also: Mrs. Chadwick, “A Gift from M. le Professeur Constantin Heger to Charlotte Brontë,”…”.
Verhaeren, Emile, “Un Saule. À Louise Héger,” in La Guirlande des Dunes (1909).
“Vésale. À Paul Héger,” in Toute la Flandre
Two poems. Verhaeren (1855-1916) is one of the most important Belgian poets. As an art critic he also wrote several times about paintings of Louise.
http://www.chez.com/araneiorbis/Poesie/MonDico/MonDico.htm
Weir, Edith M., “New Brontë Material comes to Light. A picture attributed to Emily. Letters from the Hegers,” in: Transactions (Vol. XI, no. 4, pt. lix, 1949) pp. 249-61.
Letters from M. Heger, Mme. Heger (who “cannot have been the hard, scheming creature of the novel” (p. 251)), the both of them and Louise Heger to friends. Also a letter to Louise. The friends’ names are only indicated by their initials, ‘K’, ‘D’ and ‘L’.
Weir, Edith M., “The Hegers and a Yorkshire Family,” in: Transactions (Vol. 14, no. 3, pt. 73, 1963) p. 32.
In which it is revealed that ‘K’, ‘D’ and ‘L’ are members of a Yorkshire family with a Brontë connection of their own.