"I should write that book"

The Scarborough Evening News reports the results of the Scarborough in Bloom photographic competition:

The competition's Under 16 category winner was Larissa Webster with her flower and coastal view (Class 5J, Gladstone Road Junior School) while a highly commended went to Jessica Speight (Class 5B, also of Gladstone Road Junior School) for her photograph of Anne Bronte's grave.

Click on the picture to go to the Scarborough in Bloom website and enlarge it.

The Charleston Gazette interviews (look at the comments to read Denise Giardina's clarifications) Denise Giardina, author of the upcoming Emily's Ghost:

Charleston author Denise Giardina describes the realization as her "Come to Jesus moment."
The ordained Episcopal deacon was reading yet another biography of the Brontes. The book noted that a serious novel never had been written about the sisters who produced "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights." Perhaps, Peter Ackroyd should write one. (Rosalie Earle)

Well, actually what Lucasta Miller's The Brontë Myth (the "biography" which the article refers to) says is that "The great biographical Brontë novel is, however, yet to be written." and suggests not only Mr Ackroyd name but also A.S. Byatt. (Check the aforementioned comment to know more details).

"No, no, I should write that book," Giardina remembered saying to herself.
And so she did. (Rosalie Earle)

And Jude Morgan, Syrie James, Sheila Kohler or Juliet Gael did the same thing. Their novels have been published or will be published this or next year.

"Emily's Ghost: A Novel of Bronte Sisters" was published this month by W.W. Norton. Giardina talked about her fifth novel, read a passage from it and answered questions about her work Wednesday at Lunchtime Lecture at the Clay Center.
Her obsession with the Brontes began before she was born, Giardina explained. One of the first purchases her mother made with her first paycheck as a nurse was a two-volume set of "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights."
Giardina said the woodcarving illustrations in the books "were fascinating to me as a 5-year-old. I tried to make up stories about them because I couldn't yet read."
Later, she read a biography of the Brontes before she had actually read any of their 19th- century novels.
In her 1987 novel "Storming Heaven," Giardina introduces a main character, Carrie Bishop, by talking how much she loved "Wuthering Heights." She said she consciously modeled "The Unquiet Earth" on "Wuthering Heights," beginning with its name to its structure and characters.
So when she read that no serious novel had been written based on the Brontes, Giardina said she became obsessed with writing the book. After all, she had already done much of the research.
She focused on Emily Bronte, the author of "Wuthering Heights," because Charlotte Bronte outlived her sisters and, Giardina said, "totally controlled how the Bronte story was told." (A third sister, Anne, is the author of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.")
Giardina visited Haworth in Yorkshire, England, where the Brontes lived, and walked the moors described in "Wuthering Heights." She visited the parsonage, where the Rev. Patrick Bronte raised his daughters, and where his young, handsome curate William Weightman visited.
With a historical novel, Giardina said she is very careful to get the basic facts and details accurate.
But little of Emily Bronte's writings -- her poems, letters, perhaps a second novel -- remain. What Giardina learned about her was through others and through "Wuthering Heights" itself.
For example, a letter from a friend of Charlotte Bronte described Emily's intense look during a conversation with the curate. "I took that and ran," Giardina said.
In a March review for the Sunday Gazette-Mail, Carol Campbell wrote:
"When you open the pages of Denise Giardina's new novel, you slip into the world of the Brontes as effortlessly as one of Emily's ghosts.
"Whether you are very familiar with the lives of the famous Bronte sisters or know very little about them really doesn't matter for the success of this novel."
Giardina will speak about the novel and sign her books at a wine reception at 6 p.m. July 27 at Taylor Books on Capital Street. She will talk and sign books at 7 p.m. July 29 at Barnes & Noble, University Drive, Morgantown. (Rosalie Earle)

The Wall Street Journal talks about the Salinger incident and the fair use of copyright characters:

Fair-use copyright usually lets an author quote from another's work in a scholarly article, review or news story. But literary critique in the form of a novel is not unheard of. Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" retells "Jane Eyre" from the point of view of Bertha, the madwoman in the attic. Rita Copeland, a comparative literature professor at the University of Pennsylvania, calls it "a deep exploration of the political, social and racial issues that underlie Charlotte Brontë's novel. Of course Rhys' book is a great novel, but it's also an important 'reading' of 'Jane Eyre,' of the Caribbean side of the story in Brontë's novel and of the European relationship to the West Indies." (...)
Margaret Mitchell was long gone, of course, by the time Ms. Randall borrowed her creations, as was Brontë when Rhys wrote her work. And though Mr. Salinger himself was not troubled by his appearance in Mr. Colting's work, the public's fascination seemed to stem from this literary layering. (Julie Steinberg)

National Review lists several recent fantasy readings:

Galen Beckett’s The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a bit more heavy-handed as a pastiche of Austen and the Brontës, by way of Jules Verne, but I found it a delight from beginning to end. (Orson Scott Card)

The Tehama County Daily News discovers new Brontëites in the Corning Healthcare District, Jane Austen's World publishes a post compiling the Q&A with Syrie James, author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë. The novel is also reviewed on Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews:

This fascinating novel is a delight to read, and should send readers scurrying to discover James’ previous novel “The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen.”

The Blog of Oddments and Curiosities reviews Villette and Tj.blackwell has uploaded a complete set of pictures of his trip to Top Withens and Brontë country.

Finally, Bo Bunny interviews the author Joanna Campbell Slan:

What are your favorite books or authors?
I have so many that I could fill pages and pages. Let’s stick to the classics, shall we? I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, best of all.

Categories: Books, Brontëana, Brontëites, Fiction, Haworth, Villette, Wide Sargasso Sea