No-one's perfect

Steve Duin on The Oregonian chooses The Best of 2008 Comic and Graphic Novels. Discussing Posy Simmonds's Tamara Drew (a reworking of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd), he expresses a wish:

As I noted in my original review, Simmonds "the ability to capture the voices of a wide range of characters, mix prose and art on a page, and gently mock everyone in sight without belittling any of them." I hope she has plenty of time and watercolors on hand: I can't wait to see what she has planned for George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte and Oscar Wilde.

What Mr Duin probably doesn't remember is that Ms Simmonds already had a take (just a vignette though) on Charlotte Brontë. Check this old post for more details.

Another sorf of Best Of is BBC's 2008: A year in words. The Heathcliffgate is quoted:

Heathcliff
Up in the windy rooms of Number 10, a magnificent, brooding, dark-browed Mr Brown was hatching ideas to save the economy. In an embarrassing episode, he appeared to tell the New Statesman he thought he was a little like an "older, wiser" version of Heathcliff, the dastardly anti-hero of Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. It was not long before the Bronte museum pointed out this character might not be the best role model, given that he was guilty of domestic abuse and was possibly a murderer who had dug up the remains of his dead lover. Well, no-one's perfect. (Justin Parkinson)

EDIT (28/12/08): The Toronto Star also remembers the incident:

The U.K.'s stodgy, taciturn PM, Gordon Brown, said it was "absolutely correct" to compare him to Heathcliff, the passionate anti-hero of Wuthering Heights, although "an older Heathcliff, a wiser Heathcliff." No, Gordon, not even close. (Lynda Hurst)

And on Christmas Eve, nasimrochester has added a new story to Jane Eyre FanFiction.net: A Waft of Wind.

Categories: In the News, References