The dangers of e-book readers

It looks like Princeton University Press is now releasing John Mullan's Anonymity in the USA. The Wall Street Journal reviews it today.

Charlotte Brontë enjoyed attending literary parties when she visited London but insisted on keeping up the pretense that she hadn't written "Jane Eyre" -- the only reason why she had been invited. (John Gross)

Again, this way of condensing in a nutshell portrays things rather different than they actually were. Charlotte Brontë didn't exactly 'enjoy' attending these parties, and George Smith - her publisher - was quite okay with the fact that she attended incognito (which was a cover that didn't last that long anyway).

Many newspapers - among them the Miami Herald - publish a review of The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen M. Beckett. According to the reviewer,

Fans of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters will be in a familiar landscape reading "The Magicians and Mrs. Quent." (Robert Folsom)

Bearing in mind that Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters don't actually share a familiar landscape we guess that's just becase on the fact that the book takes place when women wore longs skirts or something. But the publisher itself insists on the connection:

What if there was a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Galen Beckett began writing The Magicians and Mrs. Quent to answer that question.

Here's the synopsis, in case you are wondering:

In this enchanting debut novel, Galen Beckett weaves a dazzling spell of adventure and suspense, evoking a world of high magick and genteel society—a world where one young woman discovers that her modest life is far more extraordinary than she ever imagined.
Of the three Lockwell sisters—romantic Lily, prophetic Rose, and studious Ivy—all agree that it’s the eldest, the book-loving Ivy, who has held the family together ever since their father’s retreat into his silent vigil in the library upstairs. Everyone blames Mr. Lockwell’s malady on his magickal studies, but Ivy alone still believes—both in magic and in its power to bring her father back.
But there are others in the world who believe in magick as well. Over the years, Ivy has glimpsed them—the strangers in black topcoats and hats who appear at the door, strangers of whom their mother will never speak. Ivy once thought them secret benefactors, but now she’s not so certain.
After tragedy strikes, Ivy takes a job with the reclusive Mr. Quent in a desperate effort to preserve her family. It’s only then that she discovers the fate she shares with a jaded young nobleman named Dashton Rafferdy, his ambitious friend Eldyn Garritt, and a secret society of highwaymen, revolutionaries, illusionists, and spies who populate the island nation of Altania.
For there is far more to Altania than meets the eye and more to magick than mere fashion. And in the act of saving her father, Ivy will determine whether the world faces a new dawn—or an everlasting night. . . .

Another book reviewed is What Happened to Anna K., by Irina Reyn. From the Pittsburgh City Paper:

Reyn's Anna K. is a Russian-Jewish immigrant who works in publishing. She has a history of Bronte-obsession and, generally, likes nice things -- good books, expensive clothing, New York food -- that serve only to catapult her wanting to eventually disastrous extremes. Anna's marriage to the bloodless Alex K. predictably detonates, leaving her with David Zuckerman (the new Vronsky), an adjunct writing instructor and enthusiast of Russian literature. This doesn't last, either. (Adam Colman)

Author Kathy Lette, interviewed by Sky News, points out something we had overlooked about e-book readers.

On the negative side reading a book that relies on batteries or electrictiy has one fatal flaw, what if there's a blackout and you never get to find out if Jane Eyre marries Mr Rochester or if Lizzie Bennett discovers her altar ego with Mr Darcy or whodunnit in the whodunnit. It could be a case of creative intercourse interruptus.

Ooh, scary (and we mean it).

The reviewer of the New York Times mentions Jane Eyre when reviewing the new TV series Privileged.

Megan is more Baby Jane Holzer than Jane Eyre; she’s a lovely, refined Yale graduate who was raised in nearby Fort Lauderdale but seems quite at ease in high society. (Alessandra Stanley)

A couple of blogs today: Reading, Writing, Working, Playing posts about the first episode of the miniseries The Brontës of Haworth. If you liked the article on Fritz Eichenberg that we linked to yesterday, you might be interested in seeing more of his work courtesy of Caustic Cover Critic.

Categories: Books, References