Lauren Bacall lost in a novel by the Brontë sisters

The Financial Times has recently carried articles on a couple of Brontëites. First of all, Barbara Taylor-Bradford - who has been featured previously on BrontëBlog - writes about Wuthering Heights:

I first read Wuthering Heights when I was about 12 or 13 years old. It was a favourite of my mother's, and she bought me a copy.
I remember finding the novel strange, mysterious, dramatic and compelling.
Most of all, it was very touching.
As I grew older, I came to understand that it was a story of revenge, and not a great love story, as so many think it is.
I became addicted to the books of the Bronte sisters - Emily, Charlotte and Anne. Often, my mother would take me to Haworth, where the sisters grew up with their brother, Branwell, at the Haworth Parsonage. Their father was the parson. This is a museum now. My mother also took me over the wild, windswept moors to Top Withens, supposedly the site of Wuthering Heights, which is of course, the name of the house where Catherine Earnshaw lived, not a place.
I grew up in Yorkshire, and Haworth is about two hours from Leeds, the city of my birth. This book, more than any other, influenced me and my writing.
I believe Emily Bronte to be one of the great geniuses of English literature. So influenced am I by the Brontes, I invented a play called Charlotte and Her Sisters, which I used in my novel The Triumph of Katie Byrne. Katie is an actress and appears in the play, but before this happens, I ''take'' her to Haworth to visit the parsonage.
What is so extraordinary about Wuthering Heights is that Emily Bronte used two narrators to tell her story. Also, Heathcliff is the great Byronic hero. Even today, I find the book unputdownable.
Barbara Taylor Bradford is author of ''Heirs of Ravenscar'' (HarperCollins).

And secondly Helen Dunmore - much loved here at BrontëBlog - is interviewed by Anna Metcalfe.

Have you ever imitated another writer’s style?
I’ve been influenced by a large number of writers. I copied the patterns in the poetry of Keats and T.S. Eliot in my teens. I aspire to F. Scott Fitzgerald for precision in writing, and Charlotte Bronte for her daring.

Let's continue with Brontëites and the news du jour. Today's Justine Picardie's Daphne release date and both Justine Picardie and Daphne du Maurier can be clearly classified as Brontëites of the highest order.

Ann Willmore, owner of the bookshop Bookends of Fowey, which specialises in Daphne du Maurier - has published her review of Daphne on Amazon.co.uk. She gives it 5/5 stars!

I have a major interest in all things relating to Daphne du Maurier and I love Justine Picardie's writing so I had been waiting eagerly for Justine's new novel `Daphne'. I was not disappointed, once I started reading I could not put it down. The story has an involved plot, which provides the reader with masses of detail and information, making the book a compelling read.
The story is told by three people Daphne du Maurier, Alex Symington and a young woman. Despite the three narratives, each of which interweaves with the other two, it is not an unnecessarily complicated novel. The way the story moves chapter by chapter through the different areas of the novel, helps you to hold on to everything that is happening. I think the story about the young woman is what held me the most, probably because, for me, she was the unknown quantity. She was so isolated from all the affection and comfort that most people take for granted...she was lost and alone and when she eventually found herself and we found out her name I was very moved. I like to think that she was called Jane after Wendy's daughter in Peter Pan. There were many other moments that really touched me - references to Guy du Maurier, Gerald du Maurier and the birds, the fact that inevitably Peter Llewelyn Davies was going to throw himself under that train, the young woman in the grounds of Menabilly. There was so much that had to be told and it was done brilliantly.
The elements of the novel that relate to Daphne du Maurier and Alex Symington have been well researched and are very strong factually and the fiction which is the young woman's story brings the whole narrative together beautifully. I lived and breathed every word and I hope other readers will appreciate the detail and complexity of this book as well as enjoying its content. I am sure this will be a book that provokes much interest and discussion and that it will give the author the recognition that she deserves.

The Sigla Blog also writes on the subject of Daphne. The blog owner hasn't read it yet but posts a reflection on it all the same, discussing the idea behind the book and Justine Picardie's recent articles in the press.

Now for something else. N.G. McClernan's stage adaptation of Jane Eyre in New York closed yesterday but reviews are still being published, such as this one from Talking Broadway:

What sort of person deserves love? Is it someone whose face resembles the ethereal quality that the symbol of affection embodies? Is it someone whose character is blameless? Is it someone accustomed to hard labor or someone used to riches and leisure? These are some of the questions posed in N.G. McClernan's theatrical adaptation of Jane Eyre. And while the talented cast try their best to paint a portrait of love, far more things than breaking through the bridled, Victorian era stand in their way. [...]
The 23 characters from the novel are reduced to 16, with four actors taking on various, memorable roles. Bruce Barton, resembling Kelsey Grammar in appearance, recycles his bombastic speaking voice for all the roles, but still manages to entertain. Alice Connorton and Annalisa Loeffler are both chameleons, deserving mention for their versatility. Unlike the novel, the production spends a great deal of time on Jane's experience with St. John Rivers, her cousin and potential mate. As Rivers, Nat Cassidy is much harsher and religious law-abiding that his character is in the novel, but it also helps us to understand why Jane runs back to Rochester. She not only still loves Rochester, but committing to Rivers is clearly a fate that she doesn't want for herself. The audience doesn't want that for her either. As Jane, Murphy is appropriately meek and blunt at the right times. Although her interactions with Bodine can't be wholly described as fiery, when they do get comfortable with each other and their declarations of love, they do come alive together. Bodine, sometimes rigid and humorless for Rochester's restraints, is debonair when he needs to be.
Jane Eyre is an ambitious effort to stage a highly respected, 400 page novel. The fact that they were able to encapsulate the gist of the novel in a two-hour presentation is a feat unto itself. However, some of the technical elements need to be smoother, and some of the staging choices need to be revisited before it can be called a success. And while it does shine in some parts, it won't be winning any new fans of Victorian fiction with the dry and tiresome beginning. Still, there are explorations of views on important themes such as social class, gender relations, morality and religion that are still pertinent today. While you may not be able to identify with corsets and Victorian restraint, the themes discussed in the novel and in this production should be familiar to you as components of the upcoming presidential election. (Cindy Pierre)

Here is a complex image from an article on fashion in the French newspaper Le Figaro:

À ces néo-George Sand, on préfère les passages plus « loose » où le grand manteau d’officier ceinturé évoque joliment l’allure racée d’une Lauren Bacall qui se serait égarée dans un roman des sœurs Brontë. (Caroline Rousseau)

It basically says that the item is reminiscent of Lauren Bacall lost in a novel by the Brontë sisters. Complex, as we said.

In brief: Meghan Curran continues posting about Wuthering Heights. Cupcake Chronicles posts about Shirley and what the book says about March among other things. And RecipeZaar has the recipe for 'Brontë Pie', supposedly 'Emily Brontë's favourite meat pie'. This is obviously to be taken with a grain of salt (no pun intended) as the explanation of why this would be Emily Brontë's favourite isn't at all accurate (for a start it was Charlotte writing to Emily from Brussels, not the other way around).

Categories: Books, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, References, Theatre, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights