A visit to the Parsonage Library and Costumes

We would like to highlight an interesting blog that has already been presented on BrontëBlog. Noise from the Attic is described like this: 1 Recent Grad + 1 Research Grant + 1 Curiosity = 3 Weeks in England. The author is now visiting Haworth as a part of her research project:

The project! Right. Okay, so two years ago, in Professor Battistini's American Lit 2 class, I read Catherine Maria Sedgwick's 'A New-England Tale' and was stunned by how similar it was to 'JE.' I instantly jumped to the conclusion that it was modeled off the bestseller and recast in an American landscape, but as it turns out, 'ANET' was written 25 years prior to 'JE,' and I have yet to find even a tiny mention of the similarity between the two novels in any piece of criticism. Even though Sedgwick isn't widely read anymore in comparison to Charlotte Bronte--you could say Sedgwick is the JC Chasez to Bronte's Justin Timberlake--in 1822, 'ANET' was a hit. It was even reprinted in London where Bronte or someone she knew may have crossed paths with it...

I'm not out to catch Bronte copying an early American novel, nor do I expect to find anything that might prove she did, ("Dear Diary, Today I decided to write a new version of this marvelous book I've just read..."), but the success of 'ANET' certainly paved the way for 'JE's success, and I'm hoping to find those miniscule points of intersection where one novelist influenced the life of another. (Liz)

Here you can read about her finds in the Brontë Parsonage Library and here are some pictures of her stay in Haworth.

Yesterday I finally got into the Bronte Library. I showed up for my 10 o'clock appointment, signed in, and was led through the staff quarters to a small door beside the fireplace in what was the Bronte's kitchen. (Emily's German books lay open on the table next to tins of bread. She used to bake and study at the same time.) The library is no bigger than my living room and lined with glass-front bookcases. On a filing cabinet there's a bumper sticker that says, 'In Austen, sex is a kiss on the hand. In the Brontes, everything happens.'

After flipping through the estate sale lists and a few biographies, I came across ancient issues of 'Blackwood's Magazine,' which the Brontes, especially Charlotte and Branwell, loved. The librarian came back from the dining room, ... (read more)

Another blog worthy of notice is The Period Movie Review that devotes a very complete review to Wuthering Heights 1992 centered on the costumes designs:

Costumes: Very nice 1780s and 1800s costumes. There are a couple of very pretty Robes à l'Anglaise in the first part of the film and one early 1800s drop-front gown on Cathy (the younger) that I thought was quite nice. One of the costuming aspects I very much liked (and a lot of this was just good timing fashion-wise) was that in the second half of the film, when Juliette Binoche was now playing Catherine's daughter, she wore the high-waisted Empire style of the 1800s. This tends to look more child-like and had the effect of making the character look younger. When Cathy (jr.) then moves into Wuthering Heights she begins to wear (the now out of style) fitted bodices that are likely cast-offs or hand-me downs. This helps to make the now older and wiser Cathy seem less innocent. This is a really nice example of how good costuming can be used to tell the story, especially when you have one actress playing two roles. (Jenn)

Categories: Brontëana, Movies-DVD-TV, Websites, Wuthering Heights