Covers for a remarkable story

The Guardian picks up seven recent covers of Wuthering Heights editions in order to take a look at how recent editions have summoned up the spirit of Cathy. The chosen ones are (click on the links to enlarge the pictures):

White's Books edition (you have still time to enter our contest to win a copy of this recent release):

'One may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house, and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily the architect had foresight to build it strong. The narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones.'
Wind and clouds in a view from the window of Wuthering Heights, as seen by the designer Celia Birtwell a new edition from White's Books (PR)

Harper Collins à la Twilight edition:

'While leading the way upstairs, she recommended that I should hide the candle, and not make a noise; for her master had an odd notion about the chamber she would put me in, and never let anybody lodge there willingly.'
HarperCollins focus on the winding stair for the cover of their children's edition, but who does the white tulip stand for? (PR)

Well, as this edition was addressed basically to Twilight fans, the white tulip links together Emily Brontë's noveland Stephenie Meyer saga as it appeared on the cover of New Moon.


OUP's edition:

'She bounded before me, and returned to my side, and was off again like a young grey-hound; and at first I found plenty of entertainment in listening to the larks singing far and near, and enjoying the sweet, warm sunshine, and watching her, my pet and my delight, with her golden ringlets flying loose behind, and her bright cheek, as soft and pure in its bloom as a wild rose, and her eyes radiant with cloudless pleasure. She was a happy creature, and an angel, in those days. It's a pity she could not be content.'
No golden ringlets from Oxford World Classics, but is this flame-haired beauty inspired by Cathy or Kate Bush? (PR)

Penguin Red Classics:

'Cathy stayed at Thrushcross Grange five weeks, till Christmas. By that time her ankle was thoroughly cured, and her manners much improved. The mistress visited her often, in the interval, and commenced her plan of reform by trying to raise her self-respect with fine clothes and flattery, which she took readily: so that, instead of a wild, hatless little savage jumping into the house, and rushing to squeeze us all breathless, there lighted from a handsome black pony a very dignified person, with brown ringlets falling from the cover of a feathered beaver, and a long cloth habit which she was obliged to hold up with both hands that she might sail in.'
A little more refinement from this Penguin Red Classics edition (PR)

Penguin Classics:

'It was a very dark evening for summer. '
The light fades on the cover of this Penguin Classics edition (PR)

Wordsworth Classics

'I walked as if for a wager, mile after mile, till a turn brought me in view of the Heights; but no Catherine could I detect far or near.'
The house lowers at the top of the hill in this Wordsworth Classics edition (PR)

Classics Illustrated:

I wish I were out of doors! I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy and free, and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I so changed? Why does my blood rush into a hell of tumult at a few words? I'm sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills.'
The moor, the house, Cathy and Heathcliff all meet on the cover of this comic version of Wuthering Heights, first published in the 1940s (PR)

The White's Books editions are also mentioned in an interesting article in The Independent about the art of book cover design:

While these four publishers all work in paperback, White's Books is one that is taking on the hardback – at a time when these are fast disappearing from our shelves. They're not quite an endangered species yet: literary imprint Picador announced that they were doing away with hardbacks altogether last year, before quietly backing down. White's stick resolutely to the classics – their list runs to six titles so far, including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Treasure Island – but go all out in design terms, from the thickness of the paper to the exquisite covers.
White's art director, David Pearson, has commissioned illustrations from such people as textile designer Celia Birtwell and Stanley Donwood, better known for his work with Radiohead. The results stand out a mile in your average bookshop, thanks to the books' use of what Pearson calls "non-repeating narrative pattern" – images that look like a simple pattern from a distance, but which open up when seen at close quarters.(Jonathan Gibbs)

The San Francisco Bay Guardian publishes an extensive article about the zombie frenzy. A reference is made to the upcoming remake of I walked with a zombie 1943 which as readers of this blog know was based partially in Jane Eyre:

The five-minute video Zombie Apocalypse brings the zombie back to the beach, its eerily effective primary haunting ground in Jacques Tourneur's classic 1943 Val Lewton production I Walked with a Zombie — which, incidentally, is being remade, with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre now explicitly cited as its source material. (Johnny Ray Huston, Cheryl Eddy and Tony Papanikolas)

More summer reading recommendations. From The York Daily:

"Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Bronte (adult). If this is on your list of "books I've meant to read," treat yourself to the stirring tale of an orphaned governess and her mysterious employer. (Kathleen Whalin)

Vulpes Libris interviews actor Richard Armitage. Talking about his role in Sparkhouse, he says:

VL: Can I take you back to Sparkhouse for a few minutes? (For those who don’t know, Sparkhouse was a grim but fascinating three-part series written by Sally Wainwright, and loosely inspired by Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights – but with the two lead roles reversed … the ‘Heathcliff’ role was played by Sarah Smart and the ‘Cathy’ role by Joe McFadden.) Your character – John Standring – was a sort of amalgam of Isabella and Hareton. Did you read Wuthering Heights beforehand, and if you did – was it a help or a hindrance?
RA: I did read the novel, in fact I had read it many times before, and listened to Kate Bush!! The derivation of the character was less interesting in this instance, what was more useful was Brontë’s vision of that landscape, literal and metaphorical, the major themes in the novel, the wilderness and the madness. I didn’t try to locate John in Brontë’s novel and Sally was keen that there were no exact parallels. There was an elemental feeling from the novel, which had most impact on me.

Arteyliteratura reviews (in Spanish) the Jane Eyre Great Literary Classics audiobook read by Lucy Scott, ...not quite write... vindicates Anne Brontë. Led by the Sun analyses Emily Brontë's No Coward Soul is Mine.

Finally a recommendation, Syrie James's Q&A continues at JaneAusten Today and the author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë is offering interesting insights on her research. For instance:

You asked, "did you discover anything surprising about the Brontës?" Everything I learned surprised me, because when I started my research I knew nothing about them! I was astonished to discover the incredible volume of writing the Brontës did as children, and what wonderful artists and poets the sisters were. I was surprised to learn that Charlotte was secretly in love with a married man, and that he was the partial inspiration for many of the heroes in her novels. I was touched to learn that Mr. Nicholls was secretly in love with Charlotte for so many years, before he had the nerve to propose. It's a remarkable story, and the Brontës were a complicated and fascinating family.

Jane Austen Today is also giving away a copy of the book among the participants in the Q&A.

Categories: Audio-Radio, Books, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights