Brontë territory

Variety devotes an article to Susanna White, director of the most recent Jane Eyre adaptation and nominated for an Emmy:

"It's a universal story that I think all females relate to," she says. "Of course it's a period piece, but I didn't want the audience to look at the film and see Jane as an actress dressed up in a corset; I wanted them to see her as a young woman experiencing what young women of all eras go through. We've all been through that 'Does he find me attractive? Will I ever find a partner?' rite of passage." (...)
"Every director wants to make an action film, and I am loving every minute of it," White says. "The contrast with 'Jane Eyre' couldn't be greater," she elaborates. "It is a very male world, and every other word in the script is 'motherfucker.'" (Steve Clarke)

We can imagine what Susanna White would think if she read The MetroWest Daily News that considers Jane Eyre a 'nanny' movie (in the tradition of Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music? Can you imagine a Rodgers & Hammerstein's Jane Eyre with Julie Andrews?). Maybe she can agree a little bit more with Lynda LaPlante:

Mystery and suspense had been a staple of fiction long before this - Lynda "Prime Suspect" LaPlante is among those to credit novelists such as the Brontes and Jane Austen as skilled thriller writers[.] (Megan Lane in BBCNews)

More Brontë mentions. Seven Days reviews A Peculiar Grace by Jeffrey Lent and finds some Wuthering Heights echoes:

A love that endures 23 years of separation? For many readers, this may seem like Wuthering Heights territory — and indeed, when Hewitt declares his feelings, his language recalls that of Emily Brontë. (“You’ve never left me . . . I’m a middle-aged man who knows better but still believe you’re my twin, my missing half.”) As Lent is narrator puts it, “Passion has no degrees. It’s either the wildfire burning in your heart or it’s nothing.” (Margot Harrison)

Travelling Through Time is driving through Yorkshire, including Haworth. Shifting Through the Noise reviews Jane Eyre. Henk Grasduint posts part four of his series on Anne Brontë (in Dutch).

Categories: Anne Brontë, Books, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights