In Search of the Brontës in Ontario

TVOntario announces the broadcast, next month, of the BBC/Opus documentary In Search of the Brontës (originally aired by the BBC in 2003).

That a trio of literary sisters continue to intrigue biographers, generation after generation, should come as no surprise. The novels of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë remain important and popular landmarks in English literature. No less interesting are their lives and evolving cultural mores.
Many have personified the sisters as the tragic heroines they vividly evoked in Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. True as that may be, it’s not the whole story as new research by Bronte expert and historian Juliet Barker suggests. In Search of the Brontës resurrects the sisters as three vivid, spirited women who were writing at a time when few women dared, and provides unique insight into the motivation behind their timeless novels.
The two-part docudrama puts a particular focus on Charlotte. She is revealed as fiercely ambitious, always one step ahead of her critics and those who tried to undermine her. After the death of her sisters, Charlotte was the impresario of their posthumous reputation and the driving force behind their success. The sisters’ wayward brother, Branwell, and their much-maligned curate father, Patrick, are also interpreted in a new light.

In Search of the Brontës airs Thursdays March 9 (A wish for wings) and 16 (Gone like dreams) at 10 pm on Masterworks.

In Search of the Brontës stars Victoria Hamilton as Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Hurran as Emily/Maria Brontë, Alexandra Milman as Anne Brontë, Patrick Malahide as Reverend Patrick Brontë and Jonathan McGuinness as Branwell Brontë.
Narrated by Patricia Routledge. Producer/Director: Samira Osman. Executive Producer: Kim Thomas.

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Biography