Three-deckers

Not much going on in Brontëland today.

Variety has an article on book-based films and their endings. Wuthering Heights 1939 is mentioned:

Fidelity to challenging source material is hardly a given in Hollywood. In 1939, William Wyler's best picture-nominated "Wuthering Heights" adaptation omitted the entire second half of Emily Bronte's novel, transforming her dark saga of generational grudges and obsessions into a swoonworthy Victorian romance. (Andrew Barker)

It wasn't such a crazy thing to do as it has been previously argued that the whole second half of Wuthering Heights was added by Emily Brontë after Charlotte Brontë's The Professor wasn't accepted by Newby, the publisher. The three novels were to be published in three volumes - the standard three-decker - and the void left by The Professor supposedly had to be filled, thus obliging Emily Brontë to expand her novel. No one knows for sure, and it's been argued that it's doubtful that Emily Brontë would do such a thing, but the theory is there.

As for the blogosphere. Tex Willer mourns the loss (in Portuguese) of comic artist Carlo Raffaele Marcello. Apparently he had adapted literature classics such as Jane Eyre, although so far we haven't seen it.

EDIT: Raphaël Carlo Marcello (1929-2007). He adapted Jane Eyre for Opera Mundi in 1954.55. Source.

Postman's Horn posts yet another letter by Charlotte Brontë - this one dated December 10th, 1841. And Dacquirel traces the origins of the expression 'will not wash', quoting Charlotte Brontë's usage, though so far we've been unable to trace the actual quote.

Most word experts agree that "it will not wash" means it will not work. Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in eighteen forty-nine. She wrote, "That wiln't wash, miss." Mizz Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not be depended on to stay in the material.

LaLa Land looks into 'the problem of Jane Eyre'. And Meg Cabot picks Jane Eyre - problems or not - as one of her ten favourite books when interviewed by Slayground. Meg Cabot actually wrote an introduction for the novel too.

Categories: Brontëites, Comics, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, The Professor, Wuthering Heights