Brontë by name

The Telegraph & Argus thinks that the Brontë sisters' legacy goes beyond literature and enters into the naming of children:

The Bronte sisters have inspired artists and writers for 150 years and now,according to the latest research, they have influenced parents looking for that special name for their newborn. Bronte is moving up the popularity stakes for baby girls. So says Bounty, a parenting club which produces guides for new mums and dads.

It says during the last couple of years, 51 girls have been given Bronte as a first name which makes it about 1,500th in popularity nationwide. (...)

Over the years, the Bronte guardians at the Parsonage in Haworth, have recorded visits by people with Bronte as their second name, often claiming links with the literary family.

And Brontes from Ireland related to Patrick Bronte, the sisters' father, have visited in recent years, said librarian Ann Dinsdale.

By the way, we remind our readers that Ann Dinsdale's book The Brontës at Haworth is being published this month as we posted before.

But she cannot recall anyone with the first name Bronte.

"That is unusual. The first Bronte we know named after the family was Bronte Greenwood and he was a boy.

"It happened in the lifetime of Patrick Bronte and the child was the son of the local stationer who supplied the sisters with their writing paper.

"It also followed the publication of Mrs Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Bronte when the secret was out about the sisters and everyone knew who had written the novels. They had originally published under pseudonyms," said Mrs Dinsdale.

But the biggest impact on first names came after the publication of Charlotte's novel
Shirley.

"It was a boy's name before then. In the book, the heroine was given a boy's name because her parents were so disappointed that their first born was a girl.

"From 1849, when it was published, people started calling their girls Shirley," she added.

Changing the topic, Halifax Today complains about another Jane Eyre remake:

It’s the same with Jane Eyre which is currently enjoying its 578th remake on the box.

The only saving grace in this new version is the aestheticism provided by actor Toby Stephens (okay yes, I admit it, I am shallow.)

But come on people, it’s the same old stuff, there will be no new twists and no new plots (not unless the producers risk outraging Bronte diehards) Mrs Reed will still die, Mr Rochester will still dump Blanche, the house will still be burned to the ground by his mad wife and – shock of shocks – Jane and Rochester will end up together.

I’m sorry if you’re not familiar with this well-worn story and I have spoiled the ending but honestly you’d be better off watching something totally new and fresh.

Of course! We need new things and new twists. Let's make Jane fall in love with Pilot.... and what's all this stuff of the same books being retold. Are you not tired of so many Romeo and Juliets? We need new stories, always the same boy-meets-girl thing. Why not boy-meets-cat or bird-eats-girl or something really new. As a matter of fact, literature is so boring, it's always about words and letters... why not a really different approach, a novel with spots and whistles. Oh, yes, we need new things and new twists.

Categories: In_the_News, Shirley