Jane Eyre Recap

60 Second Recap is an initiative trying to offer to (teen) students appealing summaries and information about the great works of (English) literature, all of them introduced by Jenny Sawyer and all of them just sixty seconds long. According to their own statement:

The 60second Recap™ wants to make the great works of literature accessible, relevant, and, frankly, irresistible to today's teens. Through our 60second Recap™ video albums, we seek to help teens engage with the best books out there ... not just to help them get better grades, but to help them build better lives.

Jane Eyre is among the books they have already discussed:

Jane is a miserable, mistreated orphan. And a lonely governess. And the love of wealthy Mr. Rochester’s life?
Ah, the romance.
Unfortunately, Charlotte Brontë had other plans for her protagonist. Jane is, after all, more than just the fiery main character of Jane Eyre. She’s also a feminist statement. Which means that love-followed-by-marriage would be just a bit too straightforward for Jane’s storyline.
Instead of marriage, there’s a shocking revelation. There’s Jane alone in the world again—penniless and friendless. And there’s romance again, too. But with Mr. Rochestser?

You can check a Teaser Trailer, the Overview, the Plot, Meet the Cast, Theme 1, Theme 2, Theme 3, Motifs, Symbols, In Conclusion and even Outtakes.

The next book to be discussed is Wuthering Heights and although it is still not online (November 9, 2009), the Boston Globe visited the set during the recording and talked with Jenny Sawyer:

Her face aglow as though she has a secret she can’t wait to share, Jenny Sawyer looks into a camera and begins to explain why a certain 19th-century novel is an absolute must-read.
“ ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a romance and a revenge story and a ghost story, too,’’ Sawyer begins. Then she suddenly looks offscreen, eyes widening in alarm.
“There’s someone at the window!’’ she cries, loosing a piercing, horror-movie scream. Then Sawyer resumes in a calm tone of voice: “But what this book is mostly about is passion.’’
Sawyer has a passion of her own - classic literature - that she is trying to get her teenage audience to share. That is why she is willing to ham it up occasionally as she talks about Emily Bronte’s Gothic novel in a recording studio at WGBH on a recent weekday. (...)
When Sawyer joined the project, she proved to be a natural on camera, with a likable and relaxed presence. But camera presence doesn’t pay the bills, and funding has been a struggle. “It’s kind of a race right now between finding the money to keep it going and kicking the plug out of the wall,’’ Osterlund says.
But you wouldn’t know it from the enthusiasm of the “60 Second Recap’’ team inside the recording studio as Sawyer segues from the overview of Bronte’s novel to a segment she calls “The Top Five Things You Need to Know to Understand ‘Wuthering Heights.’ ’’
No. 2 on the list is bound to be reassuring, not just to young readers but to some of us older ones who have had trouble scaling “Heights,’’ what with all those Catherines and Lintons. “If you feel confused at the beginning of this book,’’ says Sawyer, “remember this: You should.’’ (Don Aucoin)

EDIT: It's now on line: http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/wuthering-heights/

Categories: Jane Eyre, Websites, Wuthering Heights