Variety reports a tiny tidbit on Ellen Page's Jane Eyre in an article discussing the state of BBC Films and their presence in Cannes.

With Mel Gibson set to star in “Edge of Darkness” and Ellen Page attached to “Jane Eyre,” BBC Films has arrived at Cannes in much healthier shape than many feared this time last year, when news broke of a major restructuring at the movie arm of the U.K. pubcaster. [...]
“The powers that be see BBC Films as very distinct,” Langan insists, rejecting the suggestion that its editorial agenda has become “more televisual than filmic.” She cites the “Jane Eyre” project with Page and Ruby Films as evidence. The BBC made a fresh TV version of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel last year, and Langan said, “If we were TV-minded, we wouldn’t be doing ‘Jane Eyre’ again so quickly.” (Adam Dawtrey)

We don't really see where Langan is getting at, but - uh - okay.

Something altogether different but currently in the news like mad are many Brontë horses. Today both RTÉ Sport and Sporting Life tell the exploits of Charlotte Brontë the horse (that will always sound weird), and The Dominion Post talks about a mare called Wuthering Heights.

Some of those recurring but never less weird mentions are the ones mixing politics and the Brontës. Gordon Brown's 'Heathcliff-ness' is old news, though. From The Times:

During Gordon's past few months of misery and failure it has been hard to remember that, just a few short years ago, many women had a Heathcliff-esque crush on him. They dreamt of making that rogue lock of hair hang across his sweating forehead as he became their Chancellor of the Sexchequer. (Caitlin Moran)

We expect those women are now locked up in some attic, just to continue speaking in Brontë terms.

The Brighouse Echo brings us back to something a little more along the lines we are used to.

Pupils from Bradley Junior School near Huddersfield have been unearthing buried secrets at an historic country house in West Yorkshire.
They were given the opportunity to take part in a three-day archaeological investigation, organised by West Yorkshire Archae-ology Advisory Service and Kirklees Museums and Galleries, at Oakwell Hall near Birstall. The present house, which features in Charlotte Bronte's 'Shirley' as 'Fieldhead', was built in 1583 but the site has a history dating back to medieval times.
Graham Hebblethwaite, chief officer of West Yorkshire Joint Services, said: "Practical activities provide the best way of getting children interested in history. Working on archaeological projects gives them a feel for the past that cannot be provided in any other way – they are literally being put in touch with the past."

According to The Telegraph, Kate Bush is the second best British songwriter.

2 Kate Bush
There may be a stampede of young talented female singer songwriters rushing into the charts, but none has quite created the sensation that the 19-year-old Bush did when she burst onto the pop scene in 1978 with her wild mane and interpretive dancing. She turned the most passionate English novel, Wuthering Heights, into an ardent song, and it made her the first woman to have a UK number one with a self-written number. Bush continued to explore new frontiers, building a lasting body of work. (Chris Harvey)

Give Emily Brontë some credit too, won't you? :P

And fresh from the blogosphere: Little House on the Culdesac, Wild Mountain and Effacé Mémoire all have discovered good things in Jane Eyre. Much Madness is Divinest Sense briefly discusses Emily Brontë and her novel. And the brand-new blog A Chainless Soul pauses to think what might be the cause of Anne's lack of popularity among the masses.

Daphne by Justine Picardie is still alive and well on the blogosphere, as this review on The Dewey Divas and the Dudes shows.

Categories: Anne Brontë, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Anne Brontë, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights

Posted by Cristina at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

A very interesting new exhibition opens today, May 19, at the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

Elmet

Monday 19 May until Friday 25 July, Brontë Parsonage Museum

A special exhibition of photographs by Fay Godwin from her collaboration with Ted Hughes, Elmet, will go on show at the Brontë Parsonage Museum on Monday 19th May 2008 until 25 July 2008.

The photographs are on loan from the British Library, which has recently acquired the Fay Godwin archive. This special exhibition will be a rare opportunity to view the original exhibition prints of the Elmet photographs, displayed within the period rooms of the museum.

The Elmet exhibition forms part of the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s Contemporary Arts Programme 2008.

“We are very grateful to the British Library for loaning us these incredibly evocative photographs. Elmet is inspired by the local landscape, which also inspired the Brontës, and the exhibition will include photographs of the Parsonage and Brontë landmarks such as Top Withens. The exhibition also enables us to build on the reputation of the museum as a vibrant centre for the arts, which is one of the central aims of our arts programme here.” Jenna Holmes, Arts Officer.

One of the country’s best loved landscape photographers, Fay Godwin captured the drama of the Yorkshire landscape in her work, including the moors around Haworth.

Ted Hughes was inspired to write prose in response to Godwin’s photographs of the part of Yorkshire that he was born and grew up in. Their first collaboration, The Remains of Elmet, was published in 1979.

Both Fay Godwin and Ted Hughes went on to add to the sequence, republishing their collaboration as Elmet in 1994. The result is often regarded as one of Ted Hughes’ most personal texts.

In the Middle Ages “Elmet” was the name given to the last independent Celtic kingdom in England, spread across an area roughly encircling Halifax and Keighley, through to Colne and down to Burnley.

For further information about the exhibition or arts events contact jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk/ 01535 640188.

Check these previous posts and the Brontë Parsonage Blog for more information.

Picture: Top Withens, Calder Valley, 1977 by Fay Godwin

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Labels: Art-Exhibitions, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Posted by M. at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Washington Times reviews Ruth Brandon's Governess: The Life and Times of the Real Jane Eyres. This is its first paragraph:

Jane Eyre, who not surprisingly finds herself in the subtitle of this informative book, is in the minds of many people the archetypal governess, yet there could have been few less typical either as to character or destiny. Her creator, Charlotte Bronte, though, knew her stuff on the subject from personal experience: She had herself been a governess at the beggarly salary of 20 pounds per annum. (Martin Rubin)

The mention is quite accurate:

(...) I am fairly stablished in my new place. It is the family of Mr. White of Upperwood House, Rawdon. The house is not very large but exceedingly comfortable and well regulated; the grounds are fine and extensive. In taking the place I have made a large sacrifice in the way of salary, in the hope of securing comfort by which word I do not mean to express good eating and drinking, or warm fire, or soft bed, but the society of cheerful faces, and minds and hearts not dug out of a lead of mine, or cut from a marble quarry. My salary is not really more than £16 p.a., though it is nominally £20, but the expense of washing will be deducted therefrom. My pupils are two in number, a girl of eight and a boy of six. (Charlotte Brontë to Ellen Nussey, 3 March 1841)

Not to the first time that Hillary Clinton gets compared with the Brontës, but certainly the first time the reference goes deep into Brontë criticism:

In their landmark book of literary criticism "The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination" (1979), Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar were among the first to spotlight this noxious theme, this isolation and ridicule of powerful women by labeling them crazy, hysterical, perverse, monstrous. To challenge male domination—of the world, or just of oneself—was to be risk being marginalized, ostracized, locked away like Rochester's wife in "Jane Eyre" (1847), the fate that gave the book its title. In real life, behavior that strayed from the polite, demure norm expected of women in the 19th Century was rewarded with psychiatric evaluations and often, imprisonment and death. (Julia Keller in The Chicago Tribune)

AudioBookTreasury.com has published an audiobook version of Jane Eyre. Read by several free contributors, you can listen to all the chapters here.


And My London Your London writes a long post on the exhibition Blood on Paper.

Finally, more horse slang with our equine Charlotte Brontë as guest star:

The fillies outnumber the colts in the Gowran Park Rooftop Restaurant Race, in which Summit Surge is highest-rated but must give considerable weight to all his rivals. However, Ger Lyons' charge ran a nice race in better company last Sunday at Leopardstown and should go very close. Charlotte Bronte is hard to assess and her strength in the market will be helpful in determining her prospects. (Johnny Ward in The Independent (Ireland))

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Audio-Radio, Books, Jane Eyre, References, Weirdo

Labels: Art-Exhibitions, Audio-Radio, Books, Jane Eyre, References, Weirdo

Posted by M. at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just published this month:

Dictionary of Literary Biography:
Brontës Documentary
Volume 340
Published by Gale Cengage Learning
(Matthew J. Bruccoli (Director), Richard Layman (Director))

This award-winning multi-volume series is dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers, while satisfying the standards of librarians, teachers and scholars. Dictionary of Literary Biography provides reliable information in an easily comprehensible format, while placing writers in the larger perspective of literary history.

Dictionary of Literary Biography systematically presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.

* Published/Released: May 2008
* ISBN 13: 9780787681586
* ISBN 10: 078768158X
* $254.00

The complete table of contents and sample pages can be found here. The volume is structured like this:

Works by the Brontës.
Chronology of the Brontë Family.
Overview of the Brontë Family
A Family of Writers
Childhood and Cowan Bridge School
Juvenilia
The Brontës at Home and the Plan for a School
Impressions of the Brontës - Ellen Nussey
A First Publication
The Bells Make Themselves Known
Early Deaths and Lasting Fame
Branwell Brontë
Early Promise
Branwell and Lydia Robinson
"The Sudden Early Obscure Close"
Anne Brontë
Anne on her own
Agnes Grey
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
"A Slow Dark March"
Emily Brontë
At Home in Haworth
Wuthering Heights
"A Hard, Short Conflict"
A New Edition of Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Brontë
At Miss Wooler's School
"For the Sake of Imaginative Pleasures": The Desire to be a Writer
"Trials and Crosses": Working as a Governess
Brussels and the Pensionnat Héger
Jane Eyre
Shirley
Villette
A Marriage of 276 Days
The Professor
The Cultural Legacy of the Brontës
Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë
Nineteenth-Century Assessments
The Brontës' Enduring Reputation

Categories: Books, Brontëana

Labels: Books, Brontëana

Posted by M. at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

A review of the new musical based on Jane Eyre recently premiered in Redlands, California has been published in the Redlands Daily Facts:

LifeHouse's new musical "Jane Eyre" accomplished what I think is most important in the adaptation of a book: It captured the essence of the story.
"Jane Eyre," the 46th new musical in the theater's 14 years, is based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte. Of all the books I had to read in high school, it was one of the few I liked. I have read it a few times since then.
Jane (Jennifer DeWitt) has a Dickensian childhood and becomes a governess at an estate in England. She and the master of the house, Edward Rochester (Tedd Smith), fall in love and plan to be married before the revelation of a mystery and Jane's morals force her to leave.
LifeHouse is, of course, a Christian theater, and works Christian themes into all its productions. In the case of "Jane Eyre," it was in line with the book. Producer Wayne Scott in his message in the program cited Jane's reliance on God in the novel.
Blending Christian themes into "Jane Eyre" enhanced the show and stayed true to the source material (why change a good story?). I could tell that some of the dialogue came straight from the book, which I thought was cool.
The production depicted some of the key scenes very well, such as Rochester's and St. John Rivers' proposals to Jane. The scene in which Rochester disguises himself as a fortune teller to discover Jane's true feelings was funny - I could tell Smith particularly got a kick out of that scene.
LifeHouse made good use of the theme of God caring for orphans and the lonely. This was particularly embodied in the character of Helen Burns, Jane's school friend.
The action moved quickly and hit all the main points of the story. The one deviation was that Rochester stays at the ruins of Thornfield instead of living in a smaller house after the fire. The scene when Jane comes back is one of the best and most satisfying in the book, and LifeHouse handled the second half of that better than the first. Rochester's physical condition in the last scene was also a departure from the novel - but I won't give anything away.
DeWitt did well as Jane - reserved yet outspoken at times, intelligent, compassionate. Her character made the most of her circumstances, an important trait Jane has in the novel.
Smith as Rochester was robust and lively, not quite as stormy as Bronte paints him. Both of them have good singing voices.
Shannon Michel as the servant Hannah was funny and Jeremy Yeo as St. John played the straight arrow well. Michelle Nelson as young Jane was very good, both acting and singing. Kayla Curtis was endearing as Adele, Rochester's ward.
Garbiel Arroyo as Mr. Brocklehurst, Nicole Prusa as Grace Poole and JulieAnn Thomazin as Blanche Ingram gave good character performances.
Because I've read the book a few times, I focused more on the story than the songs. A few of the songs were memorable - "Work Song" and "Could He Love Me?" played in my head after I left. Unlike some musicals, which seem to have songs wedged into the story, the songs complemented the story. The script, music and lyrics were by Jana Smith and additional music and lyrics were by Scott and Brad Roseborough. "Jane Eyre" was directed by Deborah Race.
The choreography by Dustin Ceithamer was appropriate for the scene - the orphan girls were more solemn than in "Annie," for example. "Perfection," an ensemble number, was fun and lent comic relief.
The show started 10 minutes late and the spotlight seemed slow in following the action. But it was opening night, so I will leave a little wiggle room for jitters and glitches.
One last point: I know LifeHouse is in the business of musicals, but I think it would have been interesting if "Jane Eyre" hadn't been done as a musical. It is a good enough story to stand on its own without songs. But as I said before, the songs didn't detract anything, either. (Joy Juedes)

Categories: Jane Eyre, Music, Theatre

Labels: Jane Eyre, Music, Theatre

Posted by M. at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

First, some reviews of books with Brontë references more or less relevant: Stevie Davies (author of Emily Brontë: Heretic or Four Dreamers and Emily) reviews Anne Donovan's Being Emily for The Guardian:

Like the world of Wuthering Heights, Being Emily is built on the grave of a mother: "with her gone, things had got intae a guddle". In Emily Brontë's novel, the guddle takes the form of a romantic maelstrom of volcanic proportions in which God and man are called into question by the needy protagonists, Catherine and Heathcliff; who, seeking one another, fly asunder.
What sane person would actually want to be Emily Brontë? Even Emily Brontë did not always seem to savour it. But generations of Brontë readers have entertained the same fantasy, roaming Haworth Moor in quest of their alter ego, to encounter foul weather and return with a head cold. Sociopathic, riven, angrily shy, Emily acknowledged as her sole law the desire to go "where my own nature would be leading". Homeward.
In Being Emily, Anne Donovan leaves behind (but never very far behind) the quirky conceit of Buddha Da, which featured both on the Whitbread First Novel and Orange Prize shortlists. The new novel is a tender, lyrical coming-of-age narrative, its people drawn with love in that singing Glasgow voice that is Donovan's signature and which threads and unites all her characters' voices. Fiona O'Connell grows up the bookish and dreamy daughter of a Catholic family in which she has always played a maternal role, nurturing her almost supernaturally irritating identical twin sisters, Rona and Mona, and encouraging her sweet but helpless father. All the O'Connells are marked by mourning, as they suffer the death of the mother in childbirth.
Thinking herself into the mindspace of Emily Brontë is a way for the child Fiona to cultivate artistic identity and to call her soul her own in the midst of heaving domestic tumult. "Ah'd read that she baked the family's bread and learned German at the same time, book in fronty her." Emily, who probably spoke with an Irish-inflected Yorkshire brogue and could write a feisty, peaty Yorkshire vernacular, had created a subversive fastness for creative identity at the heart of family life. Fiona is mad on Emily. She goes to Haworth. Later, visiting the National Portrait Gallery, she sees that Branwell's portrait of Emily is a lie - a romanticisation. This is one step on the path to releasing her from Emily's ghost.
Being Emily commits itself, in the end, to a forgiving and rational vision of the world as it is: that is, to not being Emily (a more exact title, perhaps). Mother-loss pitches the O'Connells into the guddle of homelessness: "Mammy'd made it hame, and since she'd gone it wasnae hame any mair." Bitterly Fiona blames her grieving, alcoholic father when the flat burns down. Echoes of Wuthering Heights suffuse the narrative, but in the wistful minor key. As Heathcliff is to Cathy Earnshaw, so Jaswinder is to Fiona. Jas is a free-thinking Sikh who has also experienced loss. As they bend above a book, one sees "two heids, his hair dark and shiny and straight, mines tangled curls the colour of tea". Like Cathy, Fiona betrays her own heart - with Jas's brother, the flighty, sitar-playing Amrik. Mythic elements recur. Amrik, like a captured silkie, a fallen angel, cannot be expected to behave like a human being. His arrival in Fiona's life is that of "a force of nature, a great unstoppable wave destroying everything" - and results in her worst nightmare, an aborted foetus.
Not very Edgar Linton. A desolate girl's love-choice is described as a matter of life and death, heaven and hell, but Donovan calms the heroic Brontë tempest by infusing it with a saving humour, tolerance and good sense. Fiona grows up, as Catherine Earnshaw never will. At root, the novel is a portrait of the artist as a young woman. Out of the struggle and mess of her loss, Fiona produces an angry visual art with its own integrity: the broken heads of Barbie dolls superimposed on idyllic landscapes; a burning doll's house. Movingly, Fiona grows out of being Emily to become simply Fiona, her mother's daughter: "I had to rely on the spirit inside me, the one she'd helped to shape and form."

The Aberdeen Press & Journal reviews John Harwood's The Seance:

Written in a typical Victorian style, this novel is a must-read for fans of classic Victorian novels such as Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. As John Harwood is a university English professor in Australia, it is not so surprising that he has taken inspiration from such great authors as Mary Shelley and Emily Bronte. (Jenny Thompson)

Jeannette Winterson suggests in The Times readings to shed some light on grief:

I went home and read Tennyson's In Memoriam, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rosetti, certain passages from Wuthering Heights. We all have our own list, I guess.

Stephenie Meyer's Brontëiteness appears once again in The Age. This time is the author herself saying:

Talking from her home in Phoenix, Arizona, Meyer, 34, says Twilight took her three months to write. She's the first to agree that her rapid transformation was surprising and says her love of literature had a lot to do with it. "I've read thousands of books, especially Austen, Shakespeare and the Brontes. It was as if I'd stored up all these words and now I had a story of my own." (Frances Atkinson)

Author Mark Blagrave is interviewed in The Telegraph-Journal (Canada). Jane Eyre is among his top-ten of books:

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte...
for its captivating characters and nearly unrelenting darkness; and for that very late-breaking moment when someone we thought was telling the story from outside suddenly becomes the main character with these simple words: "Reader, I married him."

Brief blogosphere mentions: Literaturblog von Nomadenseele posts about Agnes Grey, in German; Contemporary Traditions does the same with Jane Eyre; Hime-Sema No Heya discusses Wuthering Heights 1939.

And finally some news from our periodic section devoted to the fascinating world of the Brontë horses. The Independent (Ireland) publishes this enigmatic comment:

Fourth to Prima Luce on her recent Curragh comeback, Sharleez might have more scope for improvement than narrow Naas scorer Charlotte Bronte which was unable to make an impact in better company at Leopardstown last Sunday. (Damien McElroy)

Categories: Agnes Grey, Books, " ites="">, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Agnes Grey, Books, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

An alert from the Australian Brontë Association for today, May 17:

Sat 17th MAY Sarah Burns – BRANWELL BRONTË – A GIFTED BROTHER

2008 marks the 160th anniversary of the death of Patrick Branwell Brontë, the only son and fourth of Patrick and Maria Brontë’s six children. Branwell was a promising writer and artist with a rich imagination. Although he was the first of the Brontë siblings to appear in print, he would never gain money or success and was destined to live in the shadow of his three sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne. After attempts at careers as a painter, railway clerk and tutor, Branwell ended his days depressed, ill and addicted to alcohol and opium. His death on 24 September 1848 at the age of 31, from chronic bronchitis and marasmus (wasting of the body), greatly affected his family. In a letter to WS Williams of Smith & Elder on 6 October 1948, Charlotte said: “I … asked myself what had made him go ever wrong, tend ever downwards, when he had so many gifts to induce to, and aid in, an upward course … He is at rest, and that comforts us all. Long before he quitted this world Life had no happiness for him…”

Categories: Alert, Branwell Brontë, Talks

Labels: Alert, Branwell Brontë, Talks

Posted by M. at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

The news about Sienna Miller replacing Natalie Portman as Cathy have only left room in the press for weird stuff today. Such as this article from The Greeley Tribune on 'snoose' where the following is said:

One of the brighter (relative term) guys figured out that if he went into the library and pretended to be reading a book, the teacher who was in charge of the library was so pleased that we were actually reading, she would leave you alone. That was when you could get your hit of snoose. The problem of where to spit was easily solved. [...] The solution was to simply take a book off the shelf, open it, spit into the book, and then put it back on the shelf where it would likely rest undisturbed for at least the next three months. During this time, everything would dry out and the only evidence would be an ugly brown stain that would be heaviest on pages 104 and 105 but would fade out by pages 100 and 109. [...]
There developed a protocol for this procedure. Some books were sacrosanct. Nothing by Zane Grey, McKinley Cantor, Jack London or Robert Ruark could be touched. Other books were fair game. Such titles as "Jane Eyre," "Little Women," "A Tale of Two Cities" and anything by Laura Ingalls-Wilder were common depositories. (Bruce Florquist)

Ever wondered what that stain in that old library copy of Jane Eyre was? Ugh.

And the following comes from a naïve review of a place called Edna's Beach Café that appears on a reader's blog in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Say hi to Heaven on the south side of the Island: Romance Alert! This original moody and mystical turn-of-the-century mansion is over the top luverly. You'll feel like you're walking into, uhm Wuthering Heights or maybe a Merchant/Ivory screenplay. (Kathe Fraga)

As if the mention of a Wuthering Heights by the sea wasn't strange enough - really, can you picture Lockwood saying that Wuthering Heights was 'over the top luverly'?

The Washington Blade presents an upcoming concert of the band Los Campesinos! in Washington like this:

Los Campesinos! at The Black Cat: This Welsh septet is known for playing a mix of punk/ pop that uses co-ed, half sang/half shouted vocals to create ridiculously energetic music. Their English-nerd lyrics reference Jane Eyre and list stationary as a means of arousal. All this, taken together, virtually guarantees a fun show. (The band plays at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St., NW. Doors open at 9, May 16) (Zack Rosen)

More information about the Jane Eyre reference in these previous posts.

Talking about music. Hampton Roads has chosen their 75 best original soundtracks. Wuthering Heights 1939 makes it to numer 74 thanks to Alfred Newman.

On the blogosphere today: Wuthering Expectations continues analyzing Jane Eyre: first there's a post entitled Jane Eyre and Helen Burns - the impalpable principle of light and thought and then another post called Jane Eyre - creativity, revenge and the art of the novel. The first draft of anything is shit... (sic) posts also about Jane Eyre. Littérature audio.com posts an audio version of Jane Eyre in French.

Also in French is this post on Wuthering Heights from Nature et Culture. The A.C.S. Lewis and Inklings Resource blog finds Wuthering Heights similarities in the forthcoming movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Katie has got in touch with us to introduce her blog A Chainless Soul. These two early posts are certainly promising: Disproving "Emily's Journal" and The dodginess of adapting Jane Eyre.

And finally Intempol interviews author Kim Newman, who confesses he's 'a great admirer of Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea (a spin on Jane Eyre)'.

Categories: Audio-Radio, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Weirdo, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Audio-Radio, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Weirdo, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

According to the Daily Mail:

Sienna Miller is in early talks to play Cathy, the heroine of Wuthering Heights, while Michael Fassbender the fast-rising London-based actor has now signed (as this column was first to predict) to play the brooding figure of Heathcliff.
Sienna entered negotiations following the dramatic withdrawal from the production of actress Natalie Portman.
Ms Portman, by the way, may have a hard time avoiding those involved in Wuthering Heights at the Cannes Film Festival, since she happens to be on the main jury.
This column broke the news that Portman entranced director John Maybury after actively pursuing the role of Cathy Earnshaw.
Maybury and producers from Ecosse and Hanway Films were so taken by Portman's enthusiasm that they handed her the role - plus casting approval over who would play Heathcliff, and she accepted.
Then, with little warning, she quit.
Maybury had already screen-tested Fassbender and was knocked out by the power of his acting. The actor's portrayal of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was being shown last night at the Cannes Film Festival.
Robert Bernstein, from Ecosse, told me: "Michael's our Heathcliff. He has the raw quality we were looking for. He's the right actor for the role, and he has a sense of star quality about him."
Understandably, the film-makers were being cautious about Sienna because they are only informal talks at present.
But the actress has worked with Maybury before so he knows the score and should be able to keep her fully engaged on the project at hand, and persuade her that, for three months, she can miss out on going to fashionable restaurants so he can extract a top performance from her.
For whatever reason, Sienna has become more famous for her celebrity than her acting. But in Maybury's forthcoming film The Edge Of Love, Sienna does her best screen work (as does Keira Knightley) as Caitlin Mac-Namara, wife of Dylan Thomas. (Baz Bamigboye)

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

A newly published scholar book with Brontë content:

Private Sphere to World Stage from Austen to Eliot
by Elizabeth Sabiston, York University, Canada

* Imprint: Ashgate
* Illustrations: Includes 1 b&w illustration and 1 line drawing
* Published: May 2008
* Format: 234 x 156 mm
* Extent: 224 pages
* Binding: Hardback
* ISBN: 978-0-7546-6174-0
* Price : £50.00 » Online: £45.00

Emily Dickinson's poem, 'This is my letter to the World/ That never wrote to Me --', opens the Introduction, which focuses on the near-anonymity of nineteenth-century women novelists. Close readings of works by five British novelists—Jane Austen, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot—offer persuasive accounts of the ways in which women used stealth tactics to outmaneuver their detractors. Chapters examine the 'hidden manifesto' in Austen's works, whose imaginative heroines defend women's writing; the lasting impact of Jane Eyre, with its modest heroine who takes up the pen to tell her own story, even on male writers outside the English tradition; Cathy's testament as the 'ghost-text' of Wuthering Heights; and the shifting gender roles in Daniel Deronda, with its silenced heroine and androgynous hero. Though the focus is on British novelists, Sabiston's discussion of the Anglo-American connections in the factory novels of Elizabeth Gaskell and the slavery writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe has particular relevance for its demonstration of how the move from the private to the public sphere enables and even compels the blurring of national and ethnic boundaries. What emerges is a compelling argument for the relevance of these novelists to the emergence in our own time of hitherto-silenced female voices around the globe.

A couple of chapters are specifically Brontë-related: Not carved in stone: women's hearts and women's texts in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Cathy's book: the ghost-text in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Books, Scholar

Labels: Books, Scholar

Posted by M. at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Hollywood Reporter confirms what was already vox populi. Ecosse's Wuthering Films film project has secured Michael Fassbender as Heathcliff:

CANNES -- At least one half of the casting crisis facing John Maybury's "Wuthering Heights" has been solved in the wake of Natalie Portman's sudden decision to pull out of the headline role of Cathy.
Ecosse Films, the production house run by Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae, which is producing the picture, said they have secured Michael Fassbender for the role of Heathcliff.
Fassbender stars in Steve McQueen's "Hunger," which heralded the beginning of Cannes sidebar Un Certain Regard on Thursday.
Bernstein described the Heathcliff role as "one of the most powerful and iconic romantic roles" in cinema.
Finance and sales company HanWay is repping the title for sales here.
Portman's exit left the financiers, sellers and producers rattled just days ahead of the fest.
HanWay Films is hoping to have a replacement for Portman "within days" in the role of Cathy.
Written by Olivia Hetreed, who also undertook the adaptation of "Girl With a Pearl Earring," the new adaptation plans to steer away from "the stuffy costume drama" format.
Emily Bronte's novel centers on the intense love story between the rich Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling brought from the slums of Liverpool. (Stuart Kemp)

Variety adds:

“Fassbender has a touch of genius about him,” said HanWay’s chief exec Tim Haslam. “He’ll be a revelation — brooding, wild and dangerous — he could be a Brando for Britain.” (Ali Jaafar)

EDIT:
From The Independent (May 17):

A spokesperson for Ecosse Films, the British production company, said it had secured the actor, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "Michael's our Heathcliff. He has the raw quality we were looking for," said the spokesperson. "He's the right actor for the role, and he has a sense of star quality about him."

Tim Haslam, the chief executive of HanWay, which is handing the film's international sales, added: "He'll be a revelation – brooding, wild and dangerous – he could be a Brando for Britain." John Maybury, who is directing the film, was said to be gripped by the power of Fassbender's acting in the screen test. (Arifa Akbar)

Picture: Michael Fassbender yesterday, May 15, in Cannes. Source.

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

A.J. Kiesling writes for Crosswalk.com:

I once read a magazine article with the opener: “How did a generation of women grow up wanting to marry Edward Rochester?” The protagonist of Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre is dark, brooding, intelligent, quick-witted yet cynical. Still, for all his negative qualities (Jane herself describes him as “not handsome”) Rochester manages to captivate not only Jane but thousands of female readers who have read the novel during the nearly two centuries since Bronte penned it. The same could be said for Jane Austen’s elusive Mr. Darcy. Brooding, arrogant, disagreeable… Yet one key attribute sets both men apart—and, I suspect, keeps the women who read about them yearning to encounter just such a man in real life: Deep inside, both Darcy and Rochester are deeply passionate souls, and in the course of their respective stories, they step up to the plate and let their romantic feelings for the girl be known. They arrive at a point in time where the ardor of their affections forces them to “declare themselves” to the girl or woman of their choosing. In short, they pursue.

A couple of blogs write about the great book that Jane Eyre indubitably is: Nadine's attempt to read 1001 books before she dies and A Frivolous Thought (although this one has a picture of Becoming Jane to illustrate the post... ahem). Wuthering Expectations looks into the question of Jane Eyre and fairies.

Thus, with this evidence and a lot more of it in this blog's archives we bring this from The California Aggie:

Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë. Just kidding. If you see someone reading this book, slap it out of their hands and tell them to get a job. (K.C. Cody)

Our alternative version would be:

If you see K.C. Cody, smack him/her with your well-thumbed copy of Jane Eyre and tell her/him to learn a thing or two about literature before making sweeping statements.

Finally, Crónicas del Pájaro que Da Cuerda reviews - in Spanish - Una novela real by Minae Mizumura.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre

Labels: Books, Jane Eyre

Posted by Cristina at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

As we have been publishing these last few weeks, the London Children's Ballet premieres today, May 15, a new production based on Jane Eyre (originally premiered by the London Children's Ballet in 1994, with an original score by composer Julia Gomelskaya and choreography by Polyanna Buckingham.). The new choreography is by Nicole Tongue.

London Children's Ballet
Jane Eyre
15-18 May 2008

Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street, Holborn
WC2

Premiere Performance: Thu 15 at 7pm
Public Performances: Fri 16 at 7.30pm, Sat 17 at 2pm & 5.30pm, Sun 18 1pm & 4.30pm
from £14 (book via Sadler’s Wells Ticket Office)

The London Children’s Ballet has adapted Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre to thrill boys and girls of all ages.

The ballet opens with the forgotten chapter of the young Jane living with her cruel Aunt who banishes her to a bleak life at Lowood Charity School where she stays until her appointment as governess at Thornfield Hall. There Jane finds a world of parties, Mr Rochester and a web of mystery leading to the fateful night of the great fire…

Dance UK interviews Nicole Tongue:

The young dancers of Jane Eyre will learn a great deal working with you and each other. For some this will be the first professional experience of their young careers. What will you take with you from this production and how does this affect the next one?
Nicole Tongue in rehearsal with the dancers of London Childrens Ballet, Photography Pedro FerrerI always leave a children’s production with an immense sense of awe regarding their achievement. Mainly because I’ve aimed dangerously high and the children have risen to the challenge. Time is always an issue because you are at the mercy of the children’s learning speed. For Jane Eyre we only come together once a week on a Sunday so the lack of continuity has been a noticeable challenge. This combined with being a perfectionist has certainly increased the stress levels. However my ballet mistress has encouraged me keep moving forward, even when it’s felt like the bare bones of the ballet are barely there, and sure enough it’s now complete and in the process of being cleaned and the cleaning process is slow.
I shall most likely leave this production moved and inspired by the children’s personal stories and journeys; but also mindful of realistic outcomes, the need to be in the moment, not driven by time, and the importance of refilling my energy tank. (Anja Schall)

Categories: Dance, Jane Eyre

Labels: Dance, Jane Eyre

Posted by M. at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Yorkshire Post summarises the recent news about the two new film/TV adaptations of Wuthering Heights and asks Alan Bentley, director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, for his opinion:

But it's fair to say that popular books don't usually transfer well to the screen, which is why some Brontë enthusiasts are a little concerned with two new
screen versions of Wuthering Heights about to go into production.
Their fears won't have been allayed by reports that the rival adaptations, which both begin filming later this year, are going for radically different takes on Emily Brontë's classic tale of obsession and revenge.
A three-part television version for ITV described by insiders as "edgy, cool and raw" will see a distraught Heathcliff take his own life on hearing news of Cathy's death. Meanwhile the British film version is expected to stick closer to the idea of the two being childhood sweethearts, with Keira Knightley and Lindsay Lohan both reportedly vying for the role of Cathy. (...)
Alan Bentley, director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, in Haworth, hopes the new film versions will be true to the spirit of the original. "One of the strengths of the Brontës' books is they have always inspired new adaptations whether it's a film,
or a painting.
"I think they ought to try and keep to the basics of the plot, but ultimately what we are here to do is bring the book to as many people as possible, and film and TV adaptations reach a bigger audience than we can, so we're quite supportive in general," he says.
"I don't think any adaptation has ever really captured the essence of Wuthering Heights, but that's often the fate of novels because they tend to be more complex.
"Maybe the edgy re-interpretations will give people an idea of the impact the novel had at the time, because it was seen as very radical, it was thought of as being raucous, full of bad language and encouraging moral depravity.
"The Brontës' works weren't the cosy classics many see them as today. Wuthering Heights is edgy and it's not certainly not Jane Austen."
However, he accepts that not everyone will like the new films. "I'm sure there will be some purists who will be deeply disappointed, and I can understand that, but I think it's important to remember that a film can't do the same things as a novel," he says.
"But what it can do is encourage people who haven't heard of the Brontës before, to go and read their extraordinary books and find out more about these remarkable daughters of an obscure vicar from Yorkshire." (Chris Bond)

The Charleston City Paper reviews The Boat by Nam Le and describes it like this:

Not yet 30, Le effortlessly gives all seven tales in The Boat a different register, structure, vocabulary, and tone. "Halflead Bay," which unfolds in Australia, where Le partially grew up, is a wind-swept, craggy love story — a modern day Wuthering Heights set on the Continental Shelf. (John Freeman)

The Orange County Register publishes yet another review of the recent performances of Gordon & Caird's Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama in Huntington Beach, California:

In a dark and lonely manor with eerie laughter floating through its halls, an unconventional love affair begins to bloom in Brethren Christian's dynamic production of "Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama."
Based on the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre" follows the life of a young woman who conquers her adversarial circumstances to ultimately find love and acceptance. When Jane, a poor orphan with a blunt tongue and an iron will, falls in love with the mysterious Mr. Rochester, they must fight societal conventions and the secrets of Rochester's past to prove themselves "brave enough for love."
Kelsey Coleman and Patrick Quinn bring comic relief to the somber drama as Mrs. Fairfax and Robert, respectively. Coleman's wild gestures and loud, incongruous retorts upon first meeting Jane immediately establish the bubbly and lovably deaf nature of her role, while Quinn's irritated expressions and biting remarks show his character's disgruntled attitude toward his servile position.
Taylor Lardas is both captivating and fearsome as Bertha, the mad wife of Rochester. Her inane singing, frenzied pacing and wild appearance make her performance hauntingly bestial. In contrast to her untamed nature is the stolid and unmovable disposition of Grace Poole, played by Amanda Martin. Martin's drunken stagger and glowering looks legitimize Jane's nervous interactions with her character.
Nicole Braun rises to the challenge of capturing the complicated role of Jane Eyre. When around the other more dynamic and vivacious characters, her stiff posture and blank expression establish a quiet stage presence that accentuates Jane's silently resolved nature. In her solitary moments on stage, however, a new persona shines out. Her subtly passionate tones and anguished expression establish the caged emotions of her character.
Equally as expressive is Ryan Stong as the enigmatic Edward Rochester. His powerful, impassioned voice and brooding looks demonstrate a fiery yet self-contained demeanor that supplements the conflicted emotions of his role. In "The Gypsy," he proves to be as skillful at capturing comedic situations as he is at capturing the many dramatic moments of the show. Throughout the performance, both Braun and Stong consistently exhibit a very real and effective romance in their emotional duets on stage.
In the end, the show successfully transports the audience into the alluring world of Charlotte Bronte. With realistic characters and emotional songs, the cast of Brethren Christian's "Jane Eyre: a Musical Drama" powerfully captures a story that shows that everyone has a "hope of heaven." (Megan Petkovic)

DVD Verdict reviews A&E Romance Collection and, particularly, Jane Eyre 1997:

Orphaned at a young age, Jane Eyre is sent to an orphanage by her indifferent relatives. Finally ready to go out into the world, she is hired as governess at Thornhill, the estate of Edward Rochester. Rochester's a querulous man, with a colic temper and a manor in which odd things happen on a regular basis. Over time, Jane comes to love the irascible, enigmatic Rochester, who in turn professes his own love for Jane. For a brief instant, all is right in Jane's world—until her wedding day turns into a nightmare.
Did we really need another version of Jane Eyre? Charlotte Brontë's novel has been filmed no less than nineteen times—and that doesn't even count movies inspired by the novel, such as Val Lewton's I Walked With a Zombie. Surely one of those adaptations got it right. At least, I certainly hope so, because this one pretty much screws the pooch. The writers were brutal in their unholy quest to achieve a running time under two hours. Almost every subplot is gone—even Jane's childhood, which encompasses six or seven chapters in the novel, is glossed over in just a few minutes. As a result, the complexities of Jane's character fall by the wayside, and she becomes just another romantic heroine.
Samantha Morton (Emma) does a wonderful job as Jane (with what's left of her, at least), and is easily the strength of the production; unfortunately, the same can't be said for Ciaran Hinds as Rochester. His emoter has been cranked up to eleven; as a result, he's in turn too angry, too frustrated, and too emotional, with jarring transitions from one state to the next. It makes it very difficult to see what in him Jane finds so appealing. Rochester is usually considered a type of Byronic hero—moody, magnetic, and mysterious—but Hinds performance manages to downplay all of the romantic qualities of the type, resulting in a character who appears more dyspeptic than tortured. There's a certain amount of chemistry between the two, but this story demands not sparks between the leads, but raging bonfires, and that just doesn't happen.
If you are familiar with the novel and can fill in the plot gaps from memory, this is a somewhat passable adaptation, simply on the strength of Morton's performance. Those coming in blind—so to speak—probably won't care for it too much. (Judge Jim Thomas)

Rogue Weblog discusses Jane Eyre. Solodelibros reviews Wuthering Heights (in Spanish). Blog on Books talks about (briefly) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The Book Mine Set has a new Great Wednesday Compare: Charlotte Brontë vs Margaret Laurence. Last week's Brontë sisters fraticide battle has a curious final result:

The winner of last week's Great Wednesday Compare (Charlotte Brontë Vs. Emily Brontë Vs. Anne Brontë), with a final score of was Charlotte Brontë with 9 votes. Anne brought in 6, Emily had none.

Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History posts about Charlotte Brontë's antipathy to Catholicism in Villette and The Professor.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, The Profesor, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Theatre, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, The Professor, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Theatre, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

A new opera based on Wuthering Heights has been composed, or is being composed, we don't exactly know. The French conductor, pianist and composer Frédéric Chaslin is the author of the music and P.H. Fisher has written the libretto.

The world premiere of the prelude took place in Oslo, Norway last April 26th during the opening of the brand new Oslo Opera House (as reported in KulturSpeilet). Fortunately the composer has a YouTube channel where you can listen to the (quite inspired) piece. We are really looking forward to hearing more.

Categories: Music, Opera, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Music, Opera, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Orange County Register reviews the performances at the Brethren Christian Junior & Senior High School of Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama by Gordon & Caird:

A bedroom set aflame and haunting laughter is heard throughout the halls. Who is responsible? What secrets hide behind the walls? In the midst of it all, two people fall in love. But how will they live happily ever after?
Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece arrives on stage at Brethren Christian High School's production of "Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama." Nominated for a Tony for Best Musical in 2001, John Caird's and Paul Gordan's musical closely resembles the novel, following the title character as she finds her true love only to discover Thornfield's best kept secret.
The strong cast of both junior and high school students was anchored by the talents of Nicole Braun (Jane Eyre) and Ryan Strong (Edward Rochester). In "Sirens," their beautiful voices wove together to produce a heart-wrenching duet of their seemingly unrequited love. In "The Captive Bird," Braun's expressive face attempted to hide her shock when Rochester easily recognized her desire for adventure. Her anger at her own foolishness in "Painting Her Portrait" demonstrated her versatility and ease with changing moods. Strong's transformation from the stiff and moody Rochester into an old gypsy woman, complete with realistic falsetto, provided much-needed comic relief to an otherwise serious character.
J.T. Roque's portrayal of the preening, self-absorbed socialite Blanche Ingram contrasted well with that of Margaret Nkansah's Helen, whose mantra of forgiveness became a running theme. Taylor Lardas' (Bertha Mason) floating voice in "Sirens," as well as her dancing inbetween Braun and Strong visually reminded the audience that she stood between their happiness.
Robert's (Patrick Quinn) frustration at Mrs. Fairfax's (Kelsey Coleman) deafness provided comic relief in songs like "Perfectly Nice" and "The Master Returns." Amanda Martin (Grace Poole) added to her interpretation of the creepy maid with her insolent responses and expressions. The narrating ensemble spoke at the perfect pace, slowly enough to be understood but quickly enough for the story to continue.
The lighting design (Austin K. Johnston and Grant Carpenter) lit up most of the actors' faces. The stage crew (Josh Mar, Montgomery Shaw, Joey Shope, and Keegan Lund) ensured that all actors were ready for their entrances. The cast moved the chairs and tables quickly, entering and exiting without distracting from the other characters' songs.
Brethren Christian's exceptional production of "Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama" beautifully expressed the novel's messages of forgiveness, independence, and love. Brontë first published "Jane Eyre" in 1847, but these themes still resound over 160 years later. (Rebecca Miller)

It's not the first time that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga is linked with the Brontës. Wuthering Heights is an usual suspect but The Times also highlights Jane Eyre references:

Strip away the vampires and it is easy to see how the themes of Meyer's books appeal to teenagers, especially girls. The heroine is swept off her feet by a handsome hero. In the unremarkable Bella, who wins the heart of the charismatic man with a dark secret, there is a strong flavour of Jane Eyre. (Darmian Whitworth)

Another recurring topic in the Brontë news is Charlotte Brontë's fatal illness. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is the most probable candidate:

One of the defining symptoms of severe HG is that the drugs don't work, and there sadly isn't a whole other stable of drugs that medics are holding back for when things get really bad. One school of thought is that Charlotte Brontë probably died of severe HG, along with her unborn child. Elizabeth Gaskell identified her "sensations of perpetual nausea and ever-recurring faintness" but since, at that time and indeed until the middle of the last century, doctors thought morning sickness was psychosomatic - resulting from ambivalent feelings about becoming a mother - it could have been politeness that caused Brontë's doctor to write TB on her death certificate. Death from HG would probably be the result of kidney or heart failure. (Zoe Williams in The Guardian)

Johnstons at Tyndale posts about her visit to her recent trip to Haworth. Didascálias confronts Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea (in Portuguese). Much Madness is Divinest Sense reviews Jean Rhys's book. A.J. Kiesling is interviewed on Novel Journeys and once again she credits her Brontëiteness:

Other authors whose writings have influenced me are Gail Godwin, Sue Monk Kidd, NAME (Peace Like a River), C.S. Lewis, and the Bronte sisters.

Wuthering Expectations has two interesting posts on Jane Eyre. The first one traces book references and/or influences and the second one traces a chronology of the novel.

A Lady Bug's Books reviews Rachel Ferguson's The Brontës Went to Woolworths and A Girl Walks into a Bookstore discusses Laura Joh Rowland's The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë:

I was enthralled by the mystery, which unfolded perfectly, and did not want this book to end. It’s a must read for anyone who enjoys the works of the Bronte sisters, and the book made me want to re-read Jane Eyre. (Katherine)

Finally, The Boylan Blog posts and analyzes Emily Brontë's poem Remembrance.

Categories: Books, Brontëites, Charlotte Brontë, Haworth, In the News, Jane Eyre, Music, Poetry, References, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea

Labels: Books, Brontëites, Charlotte Brontë, Haworth, In the News, Jane Eyre, Music, Poetry, References, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea

Posted by M. at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Coky Giedroyc, director of the most recent BBC version of Oliver Twist and the BAFTA Awards nominated miniseries The Virgin Queen, is the chosen director for the 3-part Wuthering Heights production. We read on the The Dench Arnold Agency website the following:

Marella Shearer (Makeup and Hair) is presently working on 'Wuthering Heights' directed by Coky Giedroyc and produced by Radford Neville for Mammoth Screen.

Some interesting coincidences (or not). Coky Giedroyc also directed some episodes of Blackpool, that was written by Peter Bowker who is now the author of the new WH script. And in Oliver Twist (2008) she directed Tom Hardy and Sarah Lancashire.

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Labels: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

Posted by M. at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

An alert from Brooklyn, New York for today (May 13). A reading hosted by The Pacific Standard Fiction Series, will feature author Douglas A. Martin (Branwell. A novel of the Brontë Brother):

Pacific Standard Fiction Series: Victorian Night
featuring Arthur Phillips and Douglas A. Martin

Tuesday, May 13th, 7:00 p.m.
82 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (betw. St. Marks and Bergen)
hosted by Garth Risk Hallberg

Books available on-site!
Drink specials to be chosen by dartboard!
The Spring Season Finale for New York Magazine's "Best New Literary Event!"

Douglas A. Martin's second novel, BRANWELL, was hailed as "a cohesive and convincing portrait of the lost, forgotten Brontë" by The Austin Chronicle. "Stylistically complex and emotionally evocative," Darcy Steinke wrote. "Branwell Brontë emerges as ...both muse and devil to his sisters' passions, giving us a new dimension to this ever fascinating family."

Categories: Alert, Branwell Brontë, Fiction, Talks

Labels: Alert, Branwell Brontë, Fiction, Talks

Posted by M. at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments