Did the Brontës eat bilberry pie?

The Telegraph publishes one of those articles that really open new frontiers in the Brontë scholarship: Did the Brontës eat bilberry pie?

Bilberry pie goes back a long way in the North. The Brontë sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - almost certainly ate it at Haworth Parsonage. They could have picked the bilberries from the wuthering moors. There's an old Haworth recipe for bilberry pie made from the pulp of cooked apples, sugar and bilberries, with a crust glazed with egg white and sugar. The apple pulp adds much needed juiciness (if bilberries have a fault it is a tendency to Northern grit). It is to be served with 'cream if obtainable'. I like to think of the Brontë sisters eating this Yorkshire treat in their gloomy old parsonage. They needed some comfort in their short and miserable lives. (Bee Wilson)

If you want to feel like a satiated (miserable is at your own choice) Brontë you can check the Haworth bilberry pie recipe here.

Did you know that the first Sunday in August is the Sister's Day? Well, apparently it is. The Bradenton Herald talks about sisters:

It may not be widely known, but the first Sunday each August is recognized as "Sisters' Day." In keeping with this celebration of the spirit of sisterhood, let's explore some books written by, or about sisters - all of which can be found on the shelves of the Manatee County Public libraries. (...)
Perhaps the most famous sisters are the Brontës - Charlotte, Emily and Anne. In addition to their many personal works and biographies, check out some of the following, which offer a glimpse into the lives and works of these extraordinary 19th-century authors.
Lucasta Miller's background as a literary critic and editor are apparent as she sorts through the folklore surrounding the Brontë' sisters in "The Brontë Myth." The book deconstructs the fables surrounding the sisters in order to spotlight their works -and not the legends that surround the women. This is a must read for any fan of the Brontë's novels. Similarly, "The Brontës at Haworth" by Juliet Gardiner is an exploration of the lives and home of the Brontës. Pictures of their watercolors, ink washes, letters and diary pages are contained within the work, as well as portraits of the family. The visual elements in this book are sure to delight anyone interested in the Brontë sisters. (Stacy Reyer)

Now that the Heathcliffgate was over, Wendy Bardsley (author of Branwell's Own Creation) tries to revive it as the Branwellgate:

A final word on Gordon Brown's supposed likeness to Heathcliff. Author and Brontë expert Wendy Bardsley suggests the Prime Minister has much more in common with Branwell Brontë, Emily's troubled brother. "His energy could concentrate to a pitch of white hot steel, leaving behind a trail of awesome ideas, sometimes malformed – conceived with brilliance but finally unsustainable." Not much is known about Branwell, except that he was dismissed from his job as clerk of Luddenden Foot station when there was found to be a deficit in the accounts, attributed largely to his incompetence. Perhaps there is something in it. (Matthew Bell in The Independent)

The Times (South Africa) reviews The Interloper by H. Parker with curious Brontë connections:

Unsuccessful writer Heather dies before her time and, while in Limbo, is invited to join a writers circle comprising Charlotte and Anne Bronte, Katherine Mansfield and Olive Schreiner: with their help she is determined to complete her magnum opus. (Aubrey Paton)

Tomorrow, August 4, Shannon McKenna Schmidt, co-author with Joni Rendon of Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West, gives a talk at the Schenectady County Public Library, Schenectady, NY. The local Daily Gazette interviews her:

Q: How did you divide up your book? (...)
We did visit the ones that really interested us, too. I wanted to go to the Yorkshire Moors for the Bronte sisters and “Wuthering Heights.” This was our first literary trip together. (Interview by Wendy Liberatore)

For more information related to the Brontës in the aforementioned book, check these previous posts.

The Capital from Annapolis unveils film director Steven Fischer's Brontë interests:

The bookcases in Steven Fischer's Annapolis home are a virtual smorgasbord of the humanities.
There are volumes on luminaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and the Bronte sisters, tomes about silent film stars Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, a biography of movie director Francis Ford Coppola and a series of books on the Civil War. (Theresa Winslow)

We read in the Southern Oregon's Mail Tribune:

Here's something you don't see every day: classics flying off the shelf. But according to an e-mail from Barnes and Noble hyping "the top five best-selling classic novels of the year," some great books are "flying off the bookshelves."

Unfortunately there's no Brontës in there but an Austen:

Anyway, the winners are (drum roll): 1. "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck. 2. "Lord of the Flies," by William Golding. 3. "1984," by George Orwell. 4. "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 5. "Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austen. (...)
Classics is its own niche. And within it there's a Steinbeck nichelet, an Austen nichelet, etc. In a postmodern world in which everything (books, for example) is a commodity, do the Steinbeck people still talk to the Austen people? Not so much. The Steinbeck people might let Hemingway and Faulkner into their nichelet, and the Austen people probably hang out with the Bronte people, but that's about it. (Bill Varble)

The journalist has a point but it's not good to generalise. These humble Brontë nichelet tenants from BrontëBlog have read (one or the other) the top-five books, as we are sure many of our readers have.

Now let's quote some very biased Brontë clichés. Regina Barreca in The Philadelphia Enquirer makes use of the last Batman film: The Dark Knight to talk about why-girls-love-bad-guys:

From Charlotte Bronte to Barbara Cartland, thousands of novels and tales insist that women have to find the man who will colonize their emotions, enslave their passions, and rule over their lives.

We expected to see Emily Brontë mentioned here (although we wouldn't agree either).

Russell Kane reviews The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks in The Times and says:

Explicit humanism in a novel can be preachy and cloying, but a shrew or a Bronte villain can be a more powerful tugger of heart strings.

A Brontë villain is a strange category. Who can be defined by that? John Reed? Mr Brocklehurst? Arthur Huntingdon?.... Heathcliff? Too easy to call them villains.

Now the blogosphere. In a Strange Land reviews Shirley:

I've just finished reading Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte. It's a fascinating book, and I think one that can fairly be read as a feminist text. No doubt someone, somewhere, has written an analysis of Shirley, as part of her Honours or Masters or doctoral work, possibly in Women's Studies, or possibly in English. If so, I haven't read it, and I haven't even looked for it. What follows is my own, untutored response to the book. (Read more)

David and Imelda Marsden post on the Brontë Parsonage Blog about a couple of interesting upcoming events:

We are holding a sponsored Luddite walk in North Kirklees - where Charlotte Brontë set Shirley. On 7 September 2008 at 1.30pm it will start at the Dumb Steeple in Mirfield, with North Kirklees Rambler Association member Ken Dews as the leader. A talk will be given on the route the Luddites marched in 1812 by Luddite expert Dr J A Hargreaves. Funds raised on the walk will go to Hollybank School in Mirfield which the Brontë sisters attended between 1831-1836 when it was called Roe Head. The school now caters for severely disabled young people aged five to nineteen, who are resident at the school, educated and cared for by dedicated staff.
For further details telephone 01924-519370 or 01535-648209 or email david.marsden1603@hotmail.co.uk or david.marsden9117@ntlworld.com
Also - the Ramblers Association have a stall at the Mirfield Show on Sunday 17 August where details and sponsor forms can be picked up. This is held near the site where Blake Hall stood - where Ann Brontë was a governess. Only the South Lodge remains.

They also promise information about the shooting of the new Wuthering Heights TV series at Oakwell Hall (that has already finished). We will stay alert.

Tuning Fork Travels visits Haworth and the Brontë Parsonage Museum (to which Suite101 devotes a post). Reading, Writing, Working, Playing now that has finished Gaskell's biography of Charlotte posts (among other things) about Jenny Uglow's biography of Gaskell and Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes poems about Emily Brontë.

Finally we cannot finish without quoting this post (and excuses for the self-referentiality and total absence of humility).

Categories: Books, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Elizabeth Gaskell, Haworth, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Shirley, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights