Mrs Gaskell's rose-coloured glasses

Tehelka.com chats to writer Tabish Khair, who picks Wuthering Heights as a book that 'means a lot' to him, followed by a rather cryptic remark.

A book that means a lot to you
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, among others. A great book, but you probably need to be non-European to read it fully. (Lakshmi Indrasimhan)

The San Francisco Chronicle reviews Trespass by Valerie Martin, whose reference to Wuthering Heights has been mentioned in the past, and points this connection as well.

The idea of the outsider, the poacher, echoes in Chloe's richly described work illustrating "Wuthering Heights." Heathcliff, the outsider of Brontë's novel, becomes symbolic of Chloe's own crumbling universe. Brendan reflects after a particularly vicious confrontation between mother and son over Salome:
"She feels her territory has been invaded and she is under attack. She wants to throw the intruders out, go back to the way things were, but this, she must realize, is not an option, and so she's panicked. They have a poacher and they have a pregnant soon-to-be daughter-in-law; the outsiders are insiders now, staking their claims." (Lee Thomas)

And precisely talking about illustrating Wuthering Heights! The Hooded Utilitarian posts this information concerning Dame Darcy:

Dame Darcy, on the other hand, was born to illustrate Jane Eyre. Her stylized, twisted bodies perfectly capture the novel’s air of choked and stifled passion. The book is filled with great drawings, but I think my favorite is an illustration in which Jane kneels before Rochester, who is cross-dressing as a gypsy. His hand is inches from her face, her giant almond eyes seem frozen, as does the fire behind her. A mermaid tschotskes sits almost mockingly on the mantel above her head. The whole image throbs with mystery, unhealthy dominance, and repressed sex. It’s as masterful as one of Berni Wrightson’s classic drawings for Frankenstein — and I can’t think of higher praise. In an online interview, Darcy said she’d like to try *Wuthering Heights* next. Hopefully Viking will continue to demonstrate its good taste by paying her to do so.

BrontëBlog liked her Jane Eyre artwork very much and also hopes Viking will take her at her word.

And finally diary of a bookcrosser and bookseller posts a review of a very important book, yet one we hardly ever see bloggers reading: The Life of Charlotte Brontë. She admits to Mrs Gaskell 'wearing a pair of rose-colored glasses' when she wrote it but has really liked it.

So we would like to encourage readers to follow her example and read it. But with a pinch of salt!

Categories: Biography, Books, Comics, Brontëites, Wuthering Heights