Brontë Studies. Volume 33, Issue 2

The new issue of Brontë Studies (Volume 33, Issue 2, July 2008) is already available on-line. We provide you the table of contents and abstracts:

Editorial : pp. iii-iv(1) Author: Adams, Amber M.

ARTICLES

Charlotte Brontë's use of Italian Culture and Language in Her Later Juvenilia
pp. 87-90(4) Author: De Leo, Maddalena
Abstract:
Charlotte Brontë's Roe Head Journals and later novelettes are perused, exploring her possible knowledge and appreciation of Italian culture since her youth. Also analyzed is her usage of Italian in the Juvenilia.

'Loneness' in the Letters of Charlotte Brontë
pp. 91-96(8) Author: Connor, Sharon
Abstract
Much of Charlotte Brontë's fiction explores the place of single women, in a society which held the role of wife and mother as the true female vocation. Charlotte's letters also express a search for a point of acceptance of her own single status, and that search is given the freedom of imagination in her novels. Two letters of Charlotte's dealing with the concept of the unmarried or 'lone' woman, and loneliness are examined.

Arthur Bell Nicholls: A Reassessment
pp. 97-108(12) Author: Whitehead, Stephen
Abstract
A talk given by Stephen Whitehead in Haworth on 29 November 2006 to mark the centenary of the death of the Reverend A B Nicholls, BA.

Jane Eyre's Little Known Debt to the Methodist Magazine
pp. 109-119(11) Authors: Talley, Lee A.
Abstract
The Methodist Magazine is examined in order to assert that this evangelical publication provided a foundation for Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. One can see how she modified Methodists presented in the magazine to shape several notable characters who function as foils for Jane: Mr Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, John Reed and St John Rivers. Although indebted to this religious miscellany, however, Charlotte Brontë ultimately fashions her protagonist against these evangelical tales of the supernatural, conversion and death, creating a more secular heroine who balances the competing desires of body and spirit.

Jane Eyre and Jenny Lind
pp. 120-136(16) Author: Fell, Cassandra
Abstract
Jenny Lind's first performance in Britain was in 1847, the year in which Jane Eyre was published. Contemporary accounts of Lind's extraordinary success with relation to Charlotte Brontë's perception of Lind are discussed. Both the narrative and visual links between the popular 'characterization' of Lind and the character of Jane Eyre are explored. It is suggested that Charlotte Brontë's approval of Jenny Lind is strongly linked to Charlotte's perception of Lind's public persona. Lind's 'naturalness' and 'originality' appear to incorporate essential characteristics of Charlotte's own fictional heroine, Jane Eyre.

'Fresh Eyre'? How Original is Sandy Welch's Televised Jane Eyre?
pp. 136-147(10) Author: White, Rebecca
Abstract
An analysis is presented of screenwriter Sandy Welch's adaptation of Jane Eyre (BBC1, 2006), which places this production within the context of modern costume drama and examines the interplay between Charlotte Brontë's novel and the television series. Both the rewards and tensions that are apparent in contemporary approaches to adaptation of period drama are highlighted, exploring, for example, the use of camera effects, lighting and sound, and examining Welch's often problematic characterizations of Jane and Rochester. The legacy of previous adaptations of Jane Eyre is noted, as well as the influence of critical theory, intertextuality and cross-adaptation upon the contemporary screenwriter. The essay also touches upon the place of Welch's production within the 'Brontë Myth', and examines both the interest and the complexity that is to be found in Welch's desire to make her screenplay an 'original' reading of Charlotte Brontë's novel.

Shirley and the Luddites
pp. 148-158(11) Author: Hiltner, Ken
Abstract
For the past thirty years critics have largely accepted the suggestion that Chartism is the unspoken subject of Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley. However, in choosing to speak to what is unsaid in Shirley, we run the risk of making what is addressed in the novel, Luddism, marginal. The purpose of this essay is to sift through both Charlotte Brontë's novel and the recent windfall of historical material on the emergence of technological modernity in order to bring these unspoken subjects of Shirley to light. On speaking of the Luddites, author Edward Thompson said:
Only the successful (in the sense of those whose aspirations anticipated subsequent evolutions) are remembered. The blind alleys, the lost causes, and the losers themselves are forgotten.

Two Eminent Victorian Surgeons
pp. 159-168(10) Author: Walker, Michael
Abstract
Apart from the tragically early death of Maria Brontë in 1821 and the equally tragic deaths of the eldest Brontë children, Maria and Elizabeth, in 1825, the remaining members of the family generally enjoyed good health. However, when serious illness did threaten they did not hesitate to call in some of the finest physicians and surgeons available. In this article, we take a brief look at the lives of two of these eminent surgeons. Both were born in Leeds. William James Wilson was one of the foremost eye specialists of the day and Thomas Pridgin Teale, one of the foremost surgeons.

REVIEWS pp. 169-178(10)

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