Plagiarism, murder and Mills & Boon

The Wingéd Elephant reports that the upcoming new book by Laura Joh Rowland, The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë, has been chosen the March Book Sense Pick by the American Booksellers Association:

"Laura Joh Rowland's newest book may be a departure from her San Ichiro mysteries, but this ripping good story is sure to delight her steadfast fans and win her legions more. In this fun and fast-paced story, the author of Jane Eyre tackles a mystery, which includes a charge of plagiarism and murder." --Karen Keyte, Books, Etc., Portland, ME

Reuters has an article on the centenary of the Mills & Boon romance publisher. Its continuing success for over a century and its adaptation to present tastes (in other words: more sex). We cannot imagine something less Mills & Boon-ish than a Brontë novel but apparently clichés are still alive and well:

"They are basically fairytales for women," said Margaret O'Brien, co-curator of an exhibition appearing in Manchester later this year, entitled "And then he kissed her: 100 years of Mills & Boon".
"It has a certain innocence, a certain old-fashioned quality about it," she said. "The structure is still similar to 'Wuthering Heights' or 'Jane Eyre'."
If there's one thing that certainly has changed, it's the sex. There's a whole lot more of it. There used to be none. (...)
Even the 19th century period romances have bits Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte would have left out. (Peter Graff)

A couple of new reviews of George Packer's Betrayed now on stage in New York include references to Emily Brontë:

And there is Intisar, the perky, Emily Bronte-loving idealist, who won't conform and wear a hijab because she was coerced enough under Saddam and refuses to be anymore -- and pays for it dearly. (John Simon in Bloomberg)

Also at work is Intisar (hauntingly portrayed by Aadya Bedi), a sparky young woman who loves Emily Brontë and independence. (Linda Winer in Newsday)

More Brontës for Valentine's day: In the Chicago Tribune suggest an audiobook edition of Wuthering Heights, 1995's abridged reading by Martin Shaw, published by Harper Collins Audio:

As Valentine's Day approaches, take shelter from the storm of pink envelopes and chalky hearts with a true romance. Set in the 19th Century moors of Yorkshire, this tale of unrequited love will get even the most frigid hearts thumping.

In the Chicago Sun-Times:

Readers who love to read about love are familiar enough with the classic love stories. There's Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (though I prefer Persuasion). Pick your Bronte -- Emily's Wuthering Heights or Charlotte's Jane Eyre. Are you a Thorn Birds romantic or is Gone With the Wind more your style? Love Story or Bridges of Madison County? (Teresa Budasi)

In PRNewswire:

In the tradition of turn-of-the-(19th)-Century novels of manners and society, we humbly suggest you consider embarking on your own voyage of discovery. Explore inner landscapes through George Eliot's Middlemarch. Seek adventure, perhaps, with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Or suffer with sister Emily's tormented Heathcliff and Cathy and their doomed love in Wuthering Heights--available in print, audio, and films from several different generations, including the musical!

Oltre Il Destino... briefly comments Wuthering Heights in Italian. British Literature and calicallita are reading Jane Eyre. I Me My has an interesting post about Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. madame_manga posts about the Brontës and Jane Austen.

Finally, we highlight this short story, by Christina Boufis, published in the San Francisco Chronicle with some nice Jane Eyre references.

Categories: Audio-Radio, Books, Fiction, In the News, Jane Eyre, References, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights