TwilightBlog

Do read the Twilight-Brontë connection news of the day while we discuss renaming BrontëBlog TwilightBlog:

Twilight’s romantically conceived Cullens perfectly distill puberty’s attraction to fear—they symbolize confused, Brontean sex. Even if girls aren’t reading Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre; they know the vibe. Ed tells Bella, “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin,” but this fantasy isn’t decadent. When Ed reveals himself to Bella, she sees his skin shine like diamond dust. Taking breaths before they kiss, Hardwicke sustains the kids’ romantic expectation. As they lie together in a glade, Ed whispers, “So the lion fell in love with the lamb,” and the entire teenage audience understandably swooned. (Armond White in New York Press)

"Twilight" is said to be inspired loosely by "Pride and Prejudice," "New Moon" by "Romeo and Juliet," "Eclipse" by "Wuthering Heights" and "Breaking Dawn" by "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Jane Eyre." With these comparisons made in the series, it definitely made me want to read those selections. (Megan Byrne in Lancaster Intelligencer Journal)

True, it's a bit slow at times, as it emphasizes a modern high school romance intended to reflect the intensity of that between Cathy and Heathcliff (no, kids, not the comic-strip characters). (Tim Miller in The Cape Cod Times)

On Friday they planned to rock matching “Twilight” hoodies to the opening and have an after party with vampire wine and fang-themed gift bags.
“It’s one of those books that come along once in a while and span the whole age range,” Jo says. “It brings people together. If you are a teenager you might read it and think it’s romantic. But if you are an older person like me, you remember what it’s like to be in love for the first time.
“Good literature is good literature, and the writing is very much like the classics — Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ People connect to them and want to share it with someone. You don’t want the experience to end.” (Jeneé Osterheldt in The Kansas City Star)

EDIT (23/11/08):

But of course it’s not for such scenes that fans are lining up around the block to see this film, it’s for the romance.(...) This is especially true in the early part of the film, with anti-hero Edward coming across as a present-day Heathcliff. The problem is that Bella, the female lead, never becomes Catherine: other than keeping her boyfriend’s secret life concealed from her police chief dad, which doesn’t seem too hard, there are very few difficult decisions that she’s forced to make, certainly none on which the drama itself appears to hinge in any meaningful way. (Peter Gutiérrez in Firefox News)

Et la romancière insiste sur «histoire d'amour». Là bat le coeur de son oeuvre. Dans un amour (im)possible qui baigne dans une atmosphère vaguement gothique. Comme si Roméo et Juliette rencontrait Les hauts de Hurlevent. (Sonia Sarfati in Cyberpresse)

Well, the debate's over and despite the amount of reviews and reviewers drawing parallels and mentioning Twilight and the Brontës we have decided to stick to BrontëBlog. Also because there is - lo and behold! - some news that are not Twilight-related.

The Sentinel posts the fascinating story of Mavis Smith and her discovery of the the diaries of a 19th-century, upper-class English woman named Ellen Tollet who lived in North Staffordshire. Mrs Smith is comparing her to Jane Austen and claiming that,

Ellen was writing before the Brontes and Charles Dickens and after Jane Austen. [...]
She mingled with well-known characters from the period such as the Darwins, Florence Nightingale and the Gaskells.

If you're interested in reading the diaries, here's what you should know:

The book costs £12.50 plus package and postage. Proceeds will be donated to a cancer charity.
Copies can be obtained from Mrs Smith on 01782 750176. The book is also available at Waterstones at Keele University; Garners Garden Centre in Silverdale; Newcastle Museum & Art Gallery and The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley.

The recently-released version of Wuthering Heights by Studio One continues generating mentions, such as this from The Wall Street Journal:

Above all, though, live TV drama was a writers' medium. "Studio One," like most of the other anthology series, initially specialized in hour-long condensations of such well-known plays and novels as "Julius Caesar" and "Wuthering Heights." (Terry Teachout)

Several newspapers - like the Daily Record - bring to our attention a new Brontë horse:

Here goes, Heathcliff is still a maiden in six hurdle races to date but that is all the racing he has had and is surely open to improvement but has to defy a 222 day lay off. (Tanya Stevenson)

The Brontë Parsonage Blog reports Diane Setterfield's recent visit to Haworth (with a picture).

And also on the blogosphere, Movie Viewing Girl looks at the original Jane Eyre novel and its afterlife in several adaptations, retellings, etc. O Clube dos Escritores Mortos writes about Jane Eyre too in Portuguese.

Categories: Books, Brontë Society, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Victorian Era, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights