Brontë Society 2009 Conference

The Annual Brontë Society Conference begins today July 31:

The Bronte Society 2009 Conference
Men in the Brontë's Lives - Influences, Publishers, Critics and Characters
Friday 31st July - Sunday 2nd August
University of York

The general image of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte is one based soundly on Branwell's painting, exhibited permanently in the National Gallery: three unmarried sisters gaze at us, famous for their novels and the seclusion of their lives and attracting devotees as much for the one as the other. But the evidence shows clearly that these young women were far from solitary and that they were influenced by a good number of men. This is not to belittle their achievement, but rather to delve honestly into the influences that formed their work.

Our speakers are of the very highest proven calibre in research, publication and originality. We are indeed fortunate to have people who are prepared to cross the world to be with us, as well as those closer at hand who are prepared to give the Society yet more of their time and kindness.

The cost of the Conference is £299, which includes all lectures, bed and breakfast and all meals, including the Gala Dinner on Friday night and the Conference Dinner on the Saturday. Coffee and tea will be served between sessions and there will be a bookshop attached to the lecture hall selling both books by the lecturers and Bronte books. Accommodation will be in single ensuite rooms; spouses, partners and friends will be placed next to each other.

A fine venue, a memorable conference, a city steeped in history!

The list of speakers is truly impressive:

Our speakers are led by Professor Christine Alexander, of the University of New South Wales, who will explore the influence of the men on whom the Brontës modelled their Juvenilia heroes. Professor Margaret Smith, editor of the Letters of Charlotte Brontë, will talk about William Smith Williams and George Smith, and Jane Sellars, who co-authored The Art of the Brontës with Christine Alexander, will consider the influence that Branwell and his famous painting has had. Dr Paul Edmondson of the Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon, explores the influence of Shakespeare on Anne Brontë, and Professor Michael O’Neill, of Durham University, a poet himself and expert on Romanticism, will look at the influence of Byron and Shelley on Emily’s work. Lucasta Miller, author of The Brontë Myth, takes it further to look at the role the men play, and Dr Richard Mullan, editor of the Contemporary Review, is a Thackeray expert who well understands Charlotte’s dedication of Jane Eyre.
Professor Sue Lonoff, editor and translator of The Belgian Letters, is travelling from Harvard to consider M Heger, and Professor Miriam Bailin of Washington University in Missouri will also cross the pond to talk about G H Lewes. Professor John Mullen, of London University and Guardian columnist, will look at anonymity in Currer, Acton and Ellis Bell, and Dr Patsy
Stoneman, the Society’s own academic and Emeritus Reader at Hull, makes Heathcliff her new subject. Robert and Margaret Cochrane, Arthur Bell Nicholls’ tireless researchers, present Charlotte’s husband, and Dudley Green, quondam Chairman of the Society and Patrick expert, considers genetic and personal influences. What riches!

Categories: Brontë Society, Talks