Reason and imagination

According to the Orlando Sentinel book blog, fans of that hardly-promoted (NOT!) book The Thirteenth Tale have somthing else to look forward to, once they have finished the book and - even more of a task - finished reading all the reviews of it out there. There's a newlypublished book out there called Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn that might help with the withdrawal symptoms.

Head's up, fans of The Thirteenth Tale. This is one to pick up before B&N markets the heck out of it.
The first in a planned series, Silent in the Grave (Mira; 512 pages) follows Lady Julia Grey as she tries to uncover the truth behind her husband Edward's death. Though Edward was sickly all his life, a series of threatening notes points to murder. Lady Julia must piece together what few clues remain with the help of the darkly enigmatic investigator Nicholas Brisbane -- before the murder strikes again. The secrets aren't limited to Edward's shady past, however. It seems Brisbane has a few skeletons he'd like to keep hidden, leaving Julia to wonder who she can trust.

However,

Raybourn offers readers a more substantial, better paced story than Diane Setterfield's gothic-tinged The Thirteenth Tale. The mystery unfolds in a unrushed, luxurious manner, with each development there for the reader to savor as they come along. The characters draw more on the Austen than Setterfield's darker Jane Eyre-esque palette: Lady Julia is immensely likable, self-deprecating and spirited, not to mention a clever match for Nicholas Brisbane's Heathcliff-meets-Sherlock-Holmes persona. Perhaps even more charming is the effortless by-play between Julia and her family, the quirky Marches. These wonderful people make it even harder for the reader, or Lady Julia, to suspect one of them capable of murder. (Rebecca S.V.)

So, if this book gets as promoted as The Thirteenth Tale, you can expect to see Austenblog flooded with reviews of it ;)

But back to the books that gave birth to all this. A community in LiveJournal, genres, is currently discussing the opposition between reason and imagination in Wuthering Heights. The main post is truly worth reading.

And finally the Providence Journal is reminding its readership of what's coming in PBS next January 21 and 28.

Masterpiece Theatre: Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens star in yet another version of the “love story that spawned a thousand gothic imitations” — Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Francesca Annis, Christina Cole, Tara Fitzgerald and Pam Ferris also star in the two-part adaptation that concludes next Sunday, same time and channel.

Of course, you really don't have to wait, since the DVD has already been released(*) - without the precious extras - in the US.

(*) The date has ben postponed until 20 February 2007
Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights