 At school Taylor, while quiet, was defiant, standing by her opinions and practising what she preached.Brontë, a visitor to the Taylor's home, Red House, described the family's company as 'one of the most rousing pleasures I have ever known'.Taylor's father died in December 1840 and Mary embarked on a European tour before joining her sister at the Château de Koekelberg, a finishing school in Brussels.