Serious and Fun

Let's begin with some serious news. The Brontë Parsonage Blog presents the new editor of the Brontë Studies journal: Amber M. Adams.

After ten years in the editorial chair Bob Duckett is handing over his style guides, pending lists and blue pencil to Amber M. Adams. Bob took over the ailing Transactions of the Brontë Society in 1996 and transformed it into a prestigious thrice-yearly journal handled by a leading academic publisher. An appearance in Brontë Studies is now much esteemed. “I am amazed at the deluge of potential articles I have to deal with,” Amber says.

Amber Adams retired recently from her post in the library of Queen's University, Belfast, and now lives in Calgary, Canada, but in this electronic age distance is no object. Apart from being an active member of the Brontë Society - speaking, writing and reviewing - Amber was co-editor of the Journal of Documentation until recently. This is a highly-respected journal in the information field. (Richard Wilcocks)

And now, the not so serious news :P.

We have posted before about Branwell's ghost or more recently about an incident in Haworth itself. But this is new... this is the first report of Brontëite ghosts, that is ghosts that read Jane Eyre. The Bristol Herald Courier carries the following... erm... story:

Susan Lester, proprietress of the business, explained that a certain book – an old copy of “Jane Eyre” brought to the house by a psychic who saw it in a Mountain City antique shop and felt it belonged there – regularly moves around the house.

The book, Lester said, initially moved from the front table to a windowsill upstairs, where a woman who once lived in the house is said to have sat and read as she awaited her suitors.

Carolyn Pruitt, Lester’s friend, searched for the book Monday but could not find it.

“When we don’t have anything to do, we’ll go on a scavenger hunt and look for the book,” she said. “It just moves from place to place.”

We rather think that this ghost will gladly approve of the inclusion of the ouija scene in the second episode of BBC's Jane Eyre :P.

EDIT (12/10/06):
Michele Carter on the Brontë Parsonage Blog adds more ghosts to the recent Brontë news. The ghost world is quite busy lately and now is Tabby Aykroyd who has been seen around Haworth.

Categories: In_the_News, Weirdo, Brontë_Society, Journals