nor control the custody of her children. Helen's husband had a right to reclaim her and charge her with kidnapping. By subsisting on her own income she was stealing her husband's property since this income was legally his. Anne stated her intentions in the second edition, published in August 1848. She presented a forceful rebuttal to critics (among them Charlotte) who considered her portrayal of Huntingdon overly graphic and disturbing. Anne "wished to tell the truth". She explained further that Anne also castigated reviewers who speculated on the sex of authors and the perceived appropriateness of their writing. She was London visit In July 1848 Anne and Charlotte went to Charlotte's publisher 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: 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. Family tragedies Branwell's persistent drunkenness disguised the decline of his health and he died on 24 September 1848. His sudden death shocked the family. He was 31. The cause was recorded as chronic bronchitismarasmus, but was probably tuberculosis. The family suffered from coughs and colds during the winter of 1848, and Emily became very ill. She worsened over two months and rejected medical aid until the morning of 19 December. She was very weak and said that "if you will send for a doctor, I will see him now". But Emily died at about two o'clock that afternoon, aged 30. Emily's death deeply affected Anne. Her grief undermined her physical health. Over Christmas Anne had influenza. Her symptoms intensified and in early January her father sent for a Leeds physician. The doctor diagnosed advanced consumption with little hope of recovery. Anne met the news with characteristic determination and self-control. However, in her letter to Ellen Nussey she expressed her frustrated ambitions: Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines and followed the advice she was given. That same month she wrote her last poem, A dreadful darkness closes in, in which she deals with being terminally ill. Her health