Who Doesn't Like Pathetic Fallacies?

Skyscanner talks about books where exotic, and sometimes not so exotic locations, are key to the mood of the novel:

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, Northern England

The Yorkshire Moors are the setting for this classic novel. If you like pathetic fallacy, and quite frankly, who doesn’t, then this is the book for you. The anti-hero, Heathcliff, rants and raves whilst storms abound, as he lives a life tormented by his thwarted love for Catherine Linton.
The novel explores the destructive forces which their unresolved passion unleashes on them and others caught up in the drama. Part romance, mostly gothic fiction, the setting matches perfectly the isolation of many characters and the harshness of the landscape is an ideal backdrop for Heathcliff’s elemental nature to show its true colours.

Brief news: a graduate student remembering that her "class had great discussions about Wuthering Heights" in Livingston Daily, the Guardian (Nigeria) uses a bizarre Wuthering Heights metaphor:

If Yenagoa looked secure and tempting like a young girl in the summer of pubescence, the wuthering heights of life in the Delta is in the uncertainty of hope. So much potential hobbled by the failure of Nigerian politics. (Reuben Abati)

Cate Masters interviews author and Brontëite, Sandy Lender:

Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Sandy Lender: I love Charlotte Bronte (and her sisters). My favorite book of all time is JANE EYRE, and if you look closely, you’ll see influences in CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS. Right now I’m reading a book called CHARLOTTE IN LOVE by Brian Wilks. It’s driving me mad because, bless his heart, Mr. Wilks keeps saying the same things over and over and over…and they’re mostly things that Bronte scholars already know. So I keep putting the book down to read other books. That sounds very harsh of me. I should also say that he has done his research well. The things that he repeats are accurate and well-placed to make his arguments in the text.

Only Sometimes Clever, Community of Readers Book Reviews, The Read Queen and June Women have read (or reread) Jane Eyre, The weird world of Dani posts about Jane Eyre 2006 (in Dutch), 5 Minutes for Books reviews Jillian Dare, Savidge Reads posts a review of Justine Picardie's Daphne and Dalal Al Shareif posts an article by Sundus E. Al. Nabhani: Essential Differences Among Brontë Sisters’ Works.

Categories: Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Wuthering Heights

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë - a review

Our thanks to Avon A for sending us a review copy of this book:

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë
By Syrie James

ISBN: 9780061648373
ISBN10: 006164837X
Imprint: Avon A
On Sale: 6/30/2009
Format: Trade PB

ISBN: 9780061891786 (ebook)
ISBN: 9780061720192 (large print)

If deals and publication dates are to be believed, it looks like The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë is - after the slow recent trickle of Emily's Journal, The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë and, a few weeks ago, The Taste of Sorrow - among the first of the many fictional takes that we are to read on the Brontës and their writing. Fiction on Jane Austen seems to have led onto fiction on the Brontës, and Syrie James has first-hand experience of that, her début novel having been The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen.

What first draws attention to her second novel is its beautiful, original sort of cover, which includes a little drawing by Charlotte Brontë herself. Besides, it also includes resources for what we believe to be the target audience of the book: readers with a remote and superficial interest in nineteenth-century literature in general and members of book clubs with said interests in particular. Thus, the book includes a Q & A with the author, fragments from Charlotte's letters, selected poetry by the Brontë family (including Patrick Brontë's hilarious poem for Arthur Bell Nicholls against the washerwomen of Haworth's practices), the Brontë family bibliography and a guide for book clubs. Add to that Syrie James's extensive research, which shows all throughout the book - sometimes, perhaps, a little too much if we may say so - and you have a very complete book indeed.

Syrie James, in her foreword, asks the reader to:

Dear Reader,

Imagine, if you will, that a great discovery has been made, which has sparked enormous excitement in the literary world: a series of journals, which have lain buried and forgotten for more than a century in the cellar of a remote farmhouse in the British Isles, have been officially authenticated as the private diaries of Charlotte Brontë. [...]
The story you are about to read is true.

(Incidentally, though, we are never told how the diaries got to that 'remote farmhouse' in the first place). Also, Syrie James states in the Q& A that,

The novel is based almost entirely on fact. All the details of Charlotte's family life, her experiences at school, her friendship with Ellen, her feelings for Monsieur Heger, the evolution of her writing career, and her relationship with her publisher, George Smith, are all true and based on information from her letters and biographies. [...]
I was obliged to conjecture some of the events during the earlier years of Charlotte and Mr. Nicholls's acquaintance, to flesh out their love story--but based on what we do know, I feel that this telling is very close to the truth.

As Syrie James must have known too, Karen Joy Fowler began her novel The Jane Austen Book Club stating that, 'each of us has a private Austen', to which we add that each of us has private Brontës as well. This results in reading facts and personalities differently. To us, for instance, Emily Brontë was a highly private person, both in her personal and public life. To Syrie James, Emily - at least at the beginning of the book - is quite the gossipy, open girl who chats with a made-up acquaintance from Haworth and laughs quite a lot⁽¹⁾.

Fictional accounts get the two sides of the coin. On the positive side, we get the 'fleshed out' version, which paradoxically helps - through at least partially made-up events - to draw out a more real, three-dimensional person. Syrie James excels at her depiction of life at Roe Head School, for instance. She visited the place while researching this novel and she not only got - we suppose - the locations right but she also seems to have taken with her the whole atmosphere of the place. The boarding school life, the misfit that Charlotte must have been when she first got there and the actual train of events are all clearly, magically evoked. On the negative said, and connected to what we were saying before, the differing image the author and the reader might have if the reader is well-acquainted with the characters might clash sometimes. This reader found too much sugar in Branwell's death scene or in Charlotte and Arthur Bell Nicholls's married bliss.

Fiction also allows the author to be selective when it comes to the facts that his/her novel is being based on, which might be seen by the knowledgeable reader as quite a tricky, deceitful resource but might work to advantage on a more casual reader. Unreliable narrator though she must be, Charlotte states that she has never felt anything but friendship for her young editor George Smith when actually her infatuation with him is quite firmly supported by letters and accounts and is certainly more proved than Anne's love for her father's charming curate William Weightman and which Syrie James takes at face value. Charlotte's statement makes it easier for Syrie James to create Charlotte and Arthur's love story without having to deal with that. Later on, the couple's married bliss is - with one made-up exception - depicted as whole and uninterrupted. Ellen Nussey's jealousy and troubled relationship with her friend's husband is only touched upon prior to the wedding. Afterwards all three seem to live 'happily ever after'. Neither is it mentioned Arthur's position as censor of Charlotte's letters to Ellen Nussey and - fiction or not - we find the following conversation to be wholly out of character with him:

'Haven't you been writing something anyway, in the months since we've been married? A diary, I think it is?'
[...] 'Yes, I have. I did not think you knew. Do you object?'
'Why would I object? Charlotte: you are a writer. I knew that long before I asked you to marry me. It's what you love, and a part of who you are. I'll love you whether you write or not. If you've had your fill of it, then stop. If you enjoy keeping a diary, then keep it. . .'

The man who said that Charlotte's letters to Ellen Nussey were 'dangerous as lucifer matches' would have indeed objected to Charlotte keeping a diary. And we actually have a soft spot for Arthur, but - while we are at it - we find his fictional counterpart to be quite the Hollywood gentleman as opposed to the strict - loving yes, but strict - man of his time that he was⁽²⁾.

Charlotte begins keeping this, then, not-so-secret diary shortly after receiving Arthur's proposal of marriage. She then tells the story of her life, which is inseparable from her family's, through flashbacks inserted in-between the chain of events that led to said proposal - and beyond - ever since Arthur Bell Nicholls arrived in Haworth in 1845. This non-linear structure works surprisingly well, as Syrie James aptly places each flashback at the precise relevant moment. It's not at all confusing or chaotic and it does keep the knowledgeable reader alert and glued to the story which he/she obviously knows all too well. That, too, would be one of the great things of fictional accounts: much as we may love the story, much as accounts may overlap in certain points, each one is radically different from the rest. We wonder, though, whether Syrie James kept Jane Austen present - and the sisters discuss her works too - on purpose, as Charlotte and Arthur's love story is highly reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice.

The style in which the novel is written imitates Charlotte Brontë's style of writing, which works irregularly. Syrie James has included direct and extensive quotes and occurrences from all sorts of sources (novels, letters, prefaces, etc.). This effort to keep Charlotte Brontë and her family and friends speaking for themselves is truly praiseworthy, even though sometimes the insertion is quite obvious as it clashes somewhat with the rest (sometimes it is also subtle enough). Charlotte's addresses to the 'diary' as substitute of her famous 'reader' sound a bit forced, though. But our main problem with the style actually comes with the editing, which is contradictory. A British spelling has been adopted ('favour', 'endeavour') and typically British words such as 'daft' are used throughout. However, Americanisms also filter in which give the whole book an uncertain, undefined status in that sense: Patrick Brontë 'hires' a curate - the word 'hire' in this context is extensively used in a way a British person would not use -, people walk 'out the door' (a Britton would say 'out of the door') and, despite the British spelling, Mr and Mrs are abbreviated as 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.', which is the American way. Also, 'loan it to you' and 'loan me a copy' are considered ungrammatical in the UK and would not have been used by Charlotte Brontë or Arthur Bell Nicholls. The surname Heger is consistently spelled 'Héger' which , although used in some sources, is not correct⁽³⁾. And the few sentences in French are precarious at best⁽⁴⁾.

As a whole, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James is completely readable and extremely respectful to its subjects. It reads as a modern-day Devotion, where everything is sweeter and more charming than it supposedly was, but it serves to tell the Brontë story to readers who might not otherwise have thought it initially interesting or intriguing. They will be glued to its pages from start to finish and, no doubt, will want to read more by and about the Brontës. And for that, especially, we thank Syrie James.

Notes:

(1) Charlotte Brontë to William Smith Williams, 22 November 1848:

Ellis "the man of uncommon talents but dogged, brutal and morose", sat leaning back in his easy chair drawing his impeded breath as he best could, and looking, alas! piteously pale and wasted--it is not his wont to laugh--but he smiled half-amused and half in corn as he listened. (Our bold)

(2) Another anachronistic reappraisal seems to be that of Tabby when she is said to feed 'our eager attention with tales of love and adventure taken from old fairy tales and ballads--or, as I later discovered, from the pages of her favourite novels, such as Pamela'. We are grateful for the effort to have Tabby be more than just a servant, but in all probability and fairness Tabby couldn't read, didn't have a 'favourite novel' and had never even heard of Pamela. EDIT: However according to Mrs Chadwick in her book In the Footsteps of the Brontës (1914), 'Tabby seemed to have read Richardson's Pamela', but no source is given.

(3) Speaking of Heger, he is unwittingly helping The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë to be marketed.

For years, Charlotte harbored a secret love for her Belgian professor, Monsieur Hegér [sic]—a married man. Monsieur Hegér is the basis for all the heroes in Charlotte’s books, including Mr. Rochester in her most famous novel, Jane Eyre.

This marketing is a bit misleading as inside the book itself, Charlotte admits that Rochester owes a lot to the Duke of Zamorna as well (we would hazard that he owes more to Zamorna than to Heger, but that is just us). We might as well say here, that one conversation taken from Jane Eyre and made to take place between Heger and Charlotte didn't work for us.

(4) M. Heger saying 'ainsi je vois' for 'so I see' is simply wrong, to quote just one example.

Categories: Books, Charlotte Brontë, Fiction, Review

Brontë Parsonage Receives a Grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund

Good news from the Parsonage:

BRONTË PARSONAGE MUSEUM RECEIVES £50,000 FROM HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND TO SUPPORT NEW DEVELOPMENT

The Brontë Parsonage Museum has been awarded a grant of £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support a programme of exciting new developments.

The museum has ambitious plans to completely refurbish the historic interiors of the Parsonage over the next two years. This will involve researching and introducing a new decorative scheme to the Parsonage rooms, the renewal of interpretation giving visitors of all ages information about the house and the family, and installing new object cases and displays. The project will also seek to create a greater focus in the museum on Haworth’s history and the social-historical context in which the Brontës lived. As part of this initiative there will be a programme of community activity to involve local people in the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will fund stage 1 of the project which will involve the introduction of new interpretation, object cases and displays and the community programme of events which will begin with a local residents’ free admission day on 15 8 August. (see correction)

The museum, which was home to the famous Brontë family for over forty years, and is where Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s great novels were written, recently completed a major refurbishment to its permanent exhibition space located in an extension to the original Brontë house. The refurbishment was the first major development at the museum in over twenty years and the new exhibition space, Genius: The Brontë Story, which includes the treasures of the museum’s collection as well as fun interactive displays for children, has proved a big hit with visitors. This latest project will see further improvements to the museum.

Fiona Spiers, Head of HLF, Yorkshire and the Humber Region, said:

This fantastic project will really bring the museum’s collections to life for everyone to explore. HLF is dedicated to supporting projects that open up our heritage for locals and visitors to learn about and enjoy.

We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting us with this work. The Brontës are the heart of Haworth but they were part of a broader community when they lived and wrote here and the museum has an important role in reflecting that and in forging links with the twenty-first century Haworth community. This project will hopefully allow us to work in partnership with that community to reinterpret the Brontës and the Parsonage for the next generation.

Andrew McCarthy, Director, Brontë Parsonage Museum

Also on the Brontë Parsonage Blog and Yorkshire Post.

Categories: Brontë Parsonage Museum

Jane Eyre’s Heathcliff [sic!]

Before we move on to our daily newsround, we would like to publish a brief reminder that Charlotte Brontë - looking like a 'snowdrop' - married Arthur Bell Nicholls on a day like today in 1854, that is 155 years ago.

The Times reviews Flirting With Finance: The Modern Woman’s Guide To Financial Freedom, 'written by Anneli Knight, a freelance journalist, and Virginia Graham, a qualified financial planner and former model'. The reviewer spots one big mistake:

But these analogies gradually become stretched and overly literal, with biotech shares being compared to the guy who “wears a lab coat and protective eyewear during business hours”, telecoms shares to men who are “always on the phone, the internet” and the enterprise collapses entirely when the authors compare art and other collectable investments to “ahh, the dreamy, mysterious artist. The dark horse. Jane Eyre’s Heathcliff.” There’s a book called Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Brontë. There’s also a book called Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë. The latter, when I last read it, featured a character called Heathcliff. But, if memory serves, Jane Eyre and Heathcliff have never featured in the same major literary work. [...]
But the Heathcliff/Jane Eyre clanger is a symptom of a bigger intellectual problem with Flirting with Finance: ultimately, romance and investment are completely dissimilar. And to compare them (to make another comparison) is like drawing an analogy between Michael Jackson’s discography and the output of a Midlands sponge factory. (Sathnam Sanghera)

Fortunately, other people are capable of remembering who's in which book. The Mormon Times carries an article on Sister Ann M. Dibb:

One of her favorite examples of virtue is the character Jane Eyre, when she refuses to marry Mr. Rochester after she finds out his first wife is still alive. "It is because she is a virtuous woman" that she stays true to the laws of God, Sister Dibb said. (Christine Rappleye)

And it is one of our favourite examples of Jane Eyre's versatility and how it will be considered religious, not religious, Christian, unChristian, etc.

The Herald-Mail talks to Katie Wennick, a teenager who has 'won a $30,000 scholarship from romance writer Nora Roberts’ foundation'.

As a reader, Wennick said she likes many types of books, including classics such as “Jane Eyre” and “Oliver Twist.” (Andrew Schotz)

We wonder if due to that Nora Roberts will treat her to a night at her inn's Jane Eyre room.

Newsweek has published its mother of all the top-100 book lists: the meta-list. No Brontës in there (shame on you Mr. Newsweek) but Wide Sargasso Sea makes it to the 45.

On the blogosphere Tales of a Liberty Belle and Linda Loves Books! both write about Jane Eyre. Dovegreyreader interviews Lilian Pizzichini, Jean Rhys's biographer.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Weirdo, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights

Shirts, Books for dolls, Cards and Amulets

Lots of Charlotte Brontë-related thingies on the etsy shops:

Hand Stenciled Shirts:
KMStitchery:

This is not silk screened. I hand cut this stencil with an xacto knife.
This is apart of a feminism series of stencils I'm doing on influential women. I want to make this clothing to empower women. So, Represent! With these powerful ladies!
This is a RECYCLED shirt. Brand New Condition. Overstock purchased from thrift store. 55% Cotton 45% Modal. Short sleeves with folded style. Deep scoop neck on the front and small scoop in the back, thin material.

Miniature book for dollhouse:
marottesud:

Cute book « Jane Eyre » by Charlotte Brontë – Illustrations by Edmond Dulac
1,20cm x 1,70cm
The book contains 26 printed pages with 12 coloured illustrations.
This book is handmade.
It is a tiny book for dollhouse, roomboxe or collector. Not suitable for children.
I don't sell the lectern. You only buy the book.

Cards and drawings with Charlotte Brontë quotes:
yardia:

“Look twice before you leap.” –Charlotte Brontë
This is an original drawing of a Victorian handkerchief, accompanied by a hand-lettered quotation from Charlotte Brontë's novel, "Shirley". This illustration is hand drawn by me in violet-brown ink on watercolor paper.

"Try to keep looking upward."
--Charlotte Bronte, from an 1849 letter
This is a Gocco printed card taken from one of my original drawings of nineteenth-century dresses. The drawing is inspired by a silk taffeta ballgown from 1870. (or in a moleskine-like journal)

and... erm... Charlotte Brontë as an amulet:
SimpletoEnchant:

Charlotte Bronte evil eye charm ring
In addition to protecting you from all the routine evil eye problems, this Charlotte Bronte charm will protect you from evil against your book, short story, poem, article or English test. Charms is half an inch on diameter, on an adjustable ring.

Categories: Weirdo

An irascible demi-celebrity

The Boston Globe talks about modern-day high-school summer readings. It seems that the Brontës are not fashionable anymore:

Not so long ago, high schoolers had to lug heavy beach bags brimming with tomes by Bronte, Steinbeck, and Tolstoy. These days, they’re more likely to carry sprightly fare by contemporary authors like Dan Brown, Mitch Albom, and Bill Bryson.
With apologies to Kafka, the summer reading list is undergoing a metamorphosis.
While area schools constantly tweak their lists and debate what deserves a spot, a consensus is growing that students should be enticed to read, even if that leads them to books that haven’t yet stood the test of time.
So instead of reading about Heathcliff’s romantic misfortune at Wuthering Heights circa 1800, students can laugh over Bryson’s present-day attempt to conquer the Appalachian Trail, while riffing on his hiking buddy’s more annoying habits. (Lisa Kocian)

A Brontë reference in the Washington Times review of Richard Flanagan's Wanting:

Given her faith in continuous improvement, it is perhaps not surprising that she hit on the idea of adopting an aboriginal child and educating it like an English child to prove that aborigines can be brought into the modern world. She chooses Mathinna, who charms almost everyone with her spritely spontaneity. But while spriteliness appeals, it is not what is required, so Lady Jane subjects Mathinna to the kind of Victorian education shown in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." (Claire Hopley)

Bloomberg interviews writer (and Brontëite) Alice Hoffman:

Zinta Lundborg: What’s your reaction to being described as a “magical” writer?
Hoffman: I like to write about real people in mythic ways because I see them that way. The tradition of literature is magic, whether it’s fairy tales or Kafka, Shakespeare or the Brontes, and the whole idea of realism is a new and not-so- interesting idea.

Los Angeles Times reviews Jean Rhys's biography The Blue Hour by Lilian Pizzichini:

Rhys was thought to be dead, but she was living, precariously, the town drunk in constant squabbles with her neighbors and with her third husband, Max. The news that she was alive reached the ears of a sympathetic publisher who in 1958 signed her to finish the novel she was working on. When her masterpiece, "Wide Sargasso Sea," was published in 1966, and her four previous novels returned to print, she was hailed as the great lost writer of prewar England -- indeed, one of the finest and most original writers of the century. (...)
Pizzichini seems bored by Rhys' post-"Wide Sargasso Sea" life as an irascible demi-celebrity (nightclub impresario George Melly compared her to a septuagenarian Johnny Rotten in a pink wig). But her book -- more a "portrait" of Rhys than a full-blown biography -- largely achieves its aim: to "present the fact of Rhys's life in such a way that the reader is left with an impression of what it was like to have lived such a life." (Eric Banks)

The Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) talks with the actress Anarkali Akarsha who mentions her role as Jane Eyre in the local TV production Kula Kumariya (2007):

The actress with a charming personality chose ‘Iti Pahan’ by Somaratna Dissanayaka, ‘Arunoda Kalapaya’ by Senesh Bandara Dissanayake and Bermin Fernando’s ‘Kulakumari’ (playing her favourite Jane Eyre) as tele-dramas which made an impact among her fans. (Jatila Karawita)

Stacy's Bookblog posts about Jane Eyre 2006, The World According to Sam and Searching My Soul (in Greek) talk about Charlotte Brontë's novel.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Wide Sargasso Sea

Exhibitions, Translations and Readings

1. In Germany:

Annelies Štrba's exhibition My Life Dreams (more information on previous posts) can now be visited at the Burg Wissem Museum in Troisdorf, Germany:

26.06.2009 – 06.09.2009
Museum Burg Wissem
My Life Dreams:
Annelies Štrba

Die englischen Schwestern Anne, Emily und Charlotte Brontë gehören zu den bedeutendsten Schriftstellerinnen des 19. Jahrhunderts.
Sie wuchsen in einem Pfarrhaus im Heidemoor von Yorkshire auf und schufen schon als Kinder fantasievolle Geschichten, Gedichte und Zeichnungen. Eine Auswahl ihrer kleinformatigen Bücher und Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung des Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth gewähren einen intimen Einblick in die von ihnen erfundenen fiktiven Welten.
Die Schweizer Künstlerin Annelies Štrba hat sich von Leben und Werk der Schwestern und insbesondere von Emily Brontës berühmten Roman »Wuthering Heighs« inspirieren lassen. Mit ihren romantisch anmutenden Arbeiten beschwörtsie eine magische, märchenhafte Welt, die von ätherischen Frauen- und Mädchenfiguren in traumartigen Landschaften bevölkert wird. Ihre Arbeiten faszinieren durch einen sehr eigenwilligen und assoziativen Blick auf das Werk der Brontës. (Cut and paste to Google translation)

2. In Italy:
The second installment of the collection I Romanzi di Sempre with Il Giornale is Wuthering Heights:

Cime Tempestose di Emily Brontë

Introduzione di Mario Lunetta.
Traduzione di Mariagrazia Oddera Bianchi.

È questa un'opera del tutto isolata nella tradizione narrativa inglese. In essa l'aspro realismo del quotidiano vive di misteriose e inquietanti tensioni onirico-simboliche e di cupe fiammate emotive, all'interno di una struttura narrativa di grande saldezza ed efficacia. Vi domina la figura di Heathcliff il quale, animato da una passione distruttiva, svolge nel libro la funzione "fatale" del vendicatore spietato, vero "replicante" di tante devastanti figure del gothic novel britannico; ma il suo tirannico porsi come l'inflessibile dark hero nasce da una disperata infelicità di fondo e lo porta infine a vivificare la propria morte con quella della donna amata, in una sorta di aspirazione erotico-panteistica che conferisce alla sua figura dimensioni assolutamente inedite.

In edicola il 25/06/2009
Al costo di 6,80 € (Cut and paste to Google translation)

EDIT:
3. In Slovakia.
A radio programme in the Slovak Republic will read fragments of Jane Eyre. The reader is Mária Schlosserová. These are the details:

Charlotte Bronteová: Jana Eyrová
Marián Grebáč, Rádio Devín
[30. 06. 2009, 15:15]

Charlotte Bronteová, anglická spisovateľka, najznámejšia z troch sestier spisovateliek. Jej tvorbu výrazne poznamenalo domáce napätie a rodinné tragédie. Ich matka skonala na rakovinu, päť dcér a jedného syna zverila do opatery svojej sestre. Charlotte spolu s troma zo štyroch sestier poslali do internátnej školy. Dve staršie sestry - Mária a Elisabeth - opustili školu skôr a onedlho na to zomreli na tuberkulózu. Charlotte Bronteová sa preslávila románom Jana Eyrová. Prvé vydanie bolo ihneď rozpredané. Ľudia boli nadšení ohnivosťou mladej vychovávateľky a genialitou neznámej spisovateľky. Román je na vtedajšie pomery veľmi pokrokový, pretože nekopíruje len zásady romantizmu, ale miešajú sa v ňom aj nové, realistické prvky a motívy. V Jane, v zdanlivo útlej a nežnej bytôstke, stelesnila Bronteová všetky smelé sny o osamostatnení ženy v anglickej viktoriánskej spoločnosti. Eyrová očarúva čitateľov na celom svete mravnou čistotou a silou. Je to žena bez predsudkov, ktorá vie svoje túžby a bolesti podriadiť triezvemu rozumu. Úryvok z románu Charlotte Bronteovej Jana Eyrová číta Mária Schlosserová. (Google translation)

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Audio-Radio, Books, Translations, Wuthering Heights

The photograph seemed to say 'buy me'

The Independent gives more details about the anonymous buyer of the photograph of Patrick Brontë recently auctioned and who will donate it to the Parsonage:

A portrait of Patrick Brontë, whose daughters Emily, Charlotte and Anne wrote some of the most celebrated novels in the English literary canon, is to be returned to its rightful place in the family's former home after going missing for more than a century.
Four weeks ago, The Independent reported that the rare picture, which had not been seen since being sold by the Museum of Brontë Relics in 1898, was discovered in a cardboard box at a Midlands antique fair, in its original gilt frame.
On Wednesday, it was sold by an auction house in Surrey for £1,476 – more than double its estimated value. The buyer, who called in her bids by phone and saw off competition from a London antique dealer, is from the south of England, and she had read about the portrait in The Independent.
She has decided to donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, west Yorkshire, after reading that its directors could not afford to bid themselves. The woman, an office worker in her early 60s, wished to remain anonymous, but in an email to this newspaper she explained her motivations for buying the portrait.
"My husband saw the article in The Independent initially and, knowing my interest in the Brontës, drew it to my attention," she wrote. "Having read the article, which I found very interesting, the photograph seemed to say 'buy me', and I just thought it would be nice to own a piece of Brontë memorabilia – if I could afford it.
"I am a Brontë fan, particularly of Charlotte, but I'm not manic about it. I then checked [the auction house] website and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed wrong for the photograph to be in private hands, it should be back at the Parsonage where it belonged, so I decided that if I were successful, I would donate it to the museum.
"I must say that I was pushed to my financial limit to get the photograph, but the surprise and delight of the lady to whom I spoke at the museum was well worth it."
The woman added that she hoped to return the portrait to the museum in a few weeks. Andrew McCarthy, the museum's director, said he was "absolutely delighted" to hear it would soon be hanging in its rightful place in the Parsonage.
"We do get a lot of support from people in a lot of different ways, but usually it's from members of the Brontë Society who we know care about the family's heritage," he said. "When this kind of thing happens it's particularly gratifying, because it's an act of kindness from someone who just read about this picture and realised they could do something to help us, and she's really made a big difference."
Elizabeth Gaskell, in her 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë, described the Rev Brontë as a "strange" and"half-mad" man who was "not naturally fond of children". In the portrait he is gazing into the distance with haughty austerity. (Chris Green)

The author Sarah Zettel is a bit confused mentioning Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall on BSCReview:

In Shaman Drum I found an Anne Bronte novel, a genuine early feminist work that her more famous sister Charlotte had tried to stop from being published.

It is true that Charlotte Brontë stated that she didn't much like Anne's second work, but it's untrue that she tried to stop it from being published. What she actually did is not give it to her own editors, Smith, Elder & Co. for republication after Emily and Anne were dead, in 1850, partly because Thomas Newby still owned the copyright to it. Instead she gave them Agnes Grey to publish in a single volume with Wuthering Heights, neither of whose copyrights - it was decided - belonged to Newby.

We are not very sure that the following advice for getting an A in exams will work, but The Daily Star seems think otherwise:

Give them entertainment. Interpret the assignments they give you in the strangest ways possible. Brighten their lives with analyses of Jane Eyre's prediction of the nuclear arms race; expand their realms of thinking by debating with them the literary manifestations of Shakespeare's desire to exterminate the human race and repopulate the Earth with small rabbits.
Ladies and gentlemen, these kind teachers put up with mindless, poorly worded droning of identical themes for years _ the least you can do is provide them the enjoyment of having a genuine lunatic in one of their classes. (Jessie Matus)

Lijia Zhang's Socialism is Great! is recommend by the New York Times Paperback Row:

This coming-of-age memoir, written in fluent English (Zhang taught herself by reading “Jane Eyre” during political study sessions), traces a life of resistance and personal struggle. (Elsa Dixler)

ReadJunk interviews Bruce Campbell. The actor talks about his character in Burn Notice, Sam Axe:

What is something people don’t know about Sam Axe?
[Sam] reads a lot. He reads fiction, because it takes away from the reality; and that his favorite book is Wuthering Heights. That Sam is a secret romantic. That’s all I can reveal. I’ll have to kill you if I tell you more. (Adam Coozer)

We have a new category: a virtual Brontëite.

Some time ago we reported the appearance of a book (The Little Book of Twitter by Tim Collins) including Twitter summaries of classical novels. Not the only project around about basically the same, the Telegraph reports another upcoming book: Twitterature by Emmett Rensin and Alex Aciman. Wuthering Heights comes to this:

Wild-eyed, bushy-haired fellow on moors causes havoc with local females. If you haven't time to read it, listen to song of same name.

Il Sussidiario (Italy) talks about Stephenie Meyer's New Moon and guess who is referenced:

Un unione tra i due che ha quasi del soprannaturale (non a caso in Eclipse sarà citato Cime tempestose di Emily Brönte, in cui i protagonisti Heathcliff e Catherine sembrano indissolubili, nella vita come dopo la morte). Un “oltre” le loro stesse volontà cui debbono piegarsi. E che non li tradisce mai. Troppo metafisico per quello che in fondo è il racconto del primo vero amore di due ragazzi? (Eva Anelli) (Google translation)

Televizier.nl and TV-Visie publish information about the airing of Jane Eyre 2006 on Nederland 2.

Ionarts reviews Kate Royal's Midsummer Night CD. Onirik reviews the Sparkhouse DVD (in French). A Secret Garden posts about Wuthering Heights, Unmana on Indian Blog World has mixed feelings with Jane Eyre and BlackSheepBooks reviews enthusiastically Agnes Grey.

Categories: Agnes Grey, Brontëana, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Patrick Brontë,References, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Wuthering Heights

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë

We present today Syrie James's new novel. BrontëBlog will publish a review next week.

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë
By Syrie James

ISBN: 9780061648373
ISBN10: 006164837X
Imprint: Avon A
On Sale: 6/30/2009
Format: Trade PB

ISBN: 9780061891786 (ebook)
ISBN: 9780061720192 (large print)

Book Description

"I have written about the joys of love. I have, in my secret heart, long dreamt of an intimate connection with a man; every Jane, I believe, deserves her Rochester."

Though poor, plain, and unconnected, Charlotte Bronte possesses a deeply passionate side which she reveals only in her writings—creating Jane Eyre and other novels that stand among literature's most beloved works. Living a secluded life in the wilds of Yorkshire with her sisters Emily and Anne, their drug-addicted brother, and an eccentric father who is going blind, Charlotte Bronte dreams of a real love story as fiery as the ones she creates.

But it is in the pages of her diary where Charlotte exposes her deepest feelings and desires—and the truth about her life, its triumphs and shattering disappointments, her family, the inspiration behind her work, her scandalous secret passion for the man she can never have . . . and her intense, dramatic relationship with the man she comes to love, the enigmatic Arthur Bell Nicholls.

"Who is this man who has dared to ask for my hand? Why is my father so dead set against him? Why are half the residents of Haworth determined to lynch him—or shoot him?"

From Syrie James, the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, comes a powerfully compelling, intensely researched literary feat that blends historical fact and fiction to explore the passionate heart and unquiet soul of Charlotte Bronte. It is Charlotte's story, just as she might have written it herself.

On Syrie James's web much more information can be found: a Q&A with the author, an excerpt and even a Reading Group Study Guide.

Harriet Klausner on the B&N website has published a review:

This is a super historical biography that uses a diary to tell the tale of Charlotte Bronte, author of Jane Eyre. Using a first person perspective brings depth to the great author even that much more, but also detracts from how others see her and events like her sisters and Arthur as they come across through a Charlotte filter. Still this is an excellent biographical fiction that looks profoundly at a great nineteenth century writer as Syrie James does her research to tell the story of Charlotte Bronte as she did with THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN.

And Katherine Pierson on Fresh Fiction:

Syrie James writes in a similar style to Charlotte and Emily, and any who have read JANE EYRE or WUTHERING HEIGHTS will recognize the long, flowing sentences of a more old-fashioned construction. The style works well for this story as it mirrors both the time period and Charlotte's writing, and James uses footnotes to explain archaic terminology and to translate French conversation.
The book gets off to a slow start, but the pace picks up once the women publish a book of poetry and focus on their novels. I admit to hoping the author would get to the marriage proposal and romance sooner than she did, but I kept reading knowing it would come. I appreciate fiction for fiction's sake, but knowing that a story portrays an individual -- and not just a made-up character -- gives an extra sense of passion and curiosity to my reading. Fans of historical fiction -- and the Bronte sisters in particular -- will find this an enjoyable read.

Categories: Books, Fiction

Back in Haworth

The Telegraph & Argus gives further details of the auction of a rare Patrick Brontë photograph (more information on previous posts):

The miniature has been sold by auctioneers Ewbank Clarke Gammon Wellers to a woman in the south of England for £1,476.
Now she wants it to return to the Bronte Parsonage Museum where it will go on permanent loan.
Andrew McCarthy, director of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, confirmed the Bronte Society had made a bid for the item.
He said: “This is great news and a very generous and wonderful offer. She telephoned us straight away and said she wanted it back in Haworth.
“We had people ringing up and making significant donations, which was hugely appreciated.
“They said in the event of us not getting the photograph, the money should go into our collections fund.
“We believe there are some significant Bronte items coming up for sale this year and we are hoping those donations will help us.”

EDIT: Also in Keighley News.

Also in The Telegraph & Argus an article about Bollywood which mentions Deepak Verma and Tamasha recent Wuthering Heights adaptation and another one about the locations of Wuthering Heights 1992:

There have been various movie adaptations of Emily Bronte’s only published novel.
Sam Goldwyn at MGM had a go at it in 1939, and then in 1991, American International Pictures spent a reported $9 million on a remake, written by Irish playwright Anne Devlin, with Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff and Anna Calder-Marshall as Cathy. The film was released through Paramount Pictures.
Director Peter Kominsky rejected Haworth as a location because of the prevalence of TV aerials, pylons and power cables. But scenes were shot at Keighley’s East Riddlesden Hall and Shibden Hall, Halifax, between September and October, 1991.
Casting French actress Juliette Binoche as Cathy seemed unusual, but no more so than Merle Oberon starring opposite Laurence Olivier 52 years before.
Ralph Fiennes, Simon Ward, John Woodvine and Sinead O’Connor as Emily Bronte were among the cast.
Seventy-room Broughton Hall, near Skipton, was the base for crew and cast. It also doubled as Thrushcross Grange, home of Edgar and Isabella Linton. Ralph Fiennes went to art school with the wife of the-then owner, Roger Tempest.

The Guardian asks several writers about their favorite escapades. Marina Lewycka (A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Two Caravans) chooses the Peak District and North Lees Hall:

So I love to go out walking all day. When friends visit, we'll often walk close to Sheffield, down by North Lees Hall, near the gritstone cliff of Stanage Edge. Charlotte Brontë visited the house in the 1840s, and it's supposed to have inspired Mr Rochester's house in Jane Eyre. From there, you go down into the valley at Hathersage, where you can get a great cream tea, then you walk up by a little stream and a mill pond and take an old drover's track up along Stanage Edge to Robin Hood's Cave.

And the Edinburgh Evening News asks some of Edinburgh's best-known names what they loved reading as youngsters and why:

Mary Contini, 48, is an author and co-owner of Valvona and Crolla
"I remember loving Little Women, The Secret Garden, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and all those kinds of books when I was around 14, the age my daughter Olivia is now. They were such good reads – you were immediately pulled into the story. (Mark McLaughlin)

Russ Williams discusses Gothic vs Horror in the LA Writing Careers Examiner and thinks that The Sixth Sense is Brontë material (!):

An essential element of the Gothic is almost always romance. Just as Baldick leaves out the supernatural, which surely "haunts" much within the Gothic territory, he omits romance as well. Nowadays, if you want to write a good Gothic story, especially one that sells, you must have a strong romantic interest to animate your plot. Doomed love is the Gothic romantic theme par excellence, but you can also have it both ways, as does Emily Brontë in Wuthering Heights. Her main story is about a tragic romance, but she manages to insert a subplot romance with a happy ending. Volumes have been written about he relation between the Gothic and Romantic. All you need to know is, to write a successful Gothic story, in the words of the song, "You can't have one without the other."
If Emily and Charlotte Brontë typify the Gothic romantic end of the Gothic spectrum, authors like Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft champion the horror side. (...)
In film, an excellent example of a "purely" Gothic tale is The Sixth Sense. Referred to by Hollywood as a "supernatural thriller," this story is actually Gothic in the best sense of the word. Without retelling the whole story (the film is available on DVD if you haven't seen it), I want to emphasize the Gothic elements. The main character feels trapped by what happened to him in the past and senses a disintegration and isolation in his life, all of which he cannot understand. The theme of the supernatural is established early on by the boy with strange visions. The romantic element predominates, and in fact this entire story turns on the main character's love for his wife. In the end, the tragic reason his life has "fallen apart" stunningly reveals itself. Death has triumphed over love, but there's a final hope that love can be stronger than death. This is authentic Gothic stuff and could have easily been penned by an Emily or Charlotte Brontë of the 1990s. The real writer-director, M. Night Shyamalan went on to establish himself as one of the Gothic masters of Hollywood film.

The Stonington Times has an article about dogs and Keeper crops up:

“Bull’s Eye,” the very loyal and true pet of his very unworthy master Bill Sykes, is a character we’ve all met outside of Dickens. And when we read Emily Brontë’s novels we can easily imagine her roaming the moors, accompanied by the large and aggressive canine “Keeper.” The two of them, wind whipped and still wet, braving the Wuthering Heights, must once have been a familiar sight on those bleak, Yorkshire hills. (Penny Parr)

The Seattle Post reviews Stephen Frears new movie Chéri (adapting Colette) and makes the following remark about Rupert Friend:

And the couple at its center, Michelle Pfeiffer and the very Heathcliff-ish Rupert Friend, don't look so bad either. (Moira McDonald)

ArtDaily remembers the upcoming auction of the painting Wuthering Heights by L.S. Lowry.
Check this previous post for more information.

The blogosphere brings today Karine et ses livres reviewing The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in French, Cup-Bound and Scalding posting a poem devoted to Branwell Brontë and a short piece about Grace Poole. New posts with lots of pictures on the Brontë Sisters: Oakwell Hall, Gawthorpe Hall, the moors, Elizabeth Gaskell and Brookroyd. Posts about Jane Eyre on Emma in Oz and The Maiden's Court.

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Brontëana, Brontëites, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Patrick Brontë, References, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Jane Eyre and the Secrets of Thornfield Manor

A very curious Jane Eyre adaptation opens today in Greater London. No less than a version of John Courtney's Jane Eyre or The Secrets of Thornfield Manor (1848), the first theatrical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel.

Jane Eyre and the Secrets of Thornfield Manor
by John Courtney and Catherine McDonald

Through the Window Theatre Company
The Colour House,
Merton Abbey Mills

Date(s): Fri 26/06/2009 - Sat 27/06/2009
Friday and Saturday Night Only
Time(s): 7:30pm

Overview

Supported by research by eminent Brontë Scholar Dr Patsy Stoneman, Through The Window Theatre were commissioned in 2008 to adapt and perform a new one-act version of Jane Eyre for the Brontë Society, based on John Courtney's 1848 adaptation The Secrets of Thornfield Manor. Now, one year on, we have revised and extended the play and will be premiering the new work in June 2009.

Synopsis

The year is 1848. Legendary playwright John Courtney is finishing his adaptation of Mr. Currer Bell's Jane Eyre...
The actors are preparing in the dusty corridors, the audience are making their way through the foggy London streets...
On stage, Jane Eyre grows from a lonely orphan into a young woman, and finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall. She meets the dark, mysterious Mr Rochester and explores the even darker secrets of her new home.
Meanwhile in Haworth, Yorkshire, Charlotte Bronte, still disguised by her male pseudonym of Currer Bell, discusses Courtney's adaptation of her beloved novel with her brother Branwell. She is not best pleased by Courtney's ‘improvements' ...
The delicious Betty Bunce and the knavish Joe Joker are Courtney's delightful servant characters. They serve Brocklehurst, Rochester and other characters whilst getting into scrapes, fights, love triangles and, as Courtney says, "all the uproarious escapades of the lower order..." Their fate is now tied in with that of their masters!
From an unlikely friendship, and the frightening events which occur in Thornfield, Jane and Rochester learn to trust one another, and then begin to fall in love...
But Rochester has a secret, which will shatter all...

The Surrey Comet brings some details, like the origins of the project:
Picture: Catherine McDonald and Emily Jukes as Jane Eyre and Mrs Fairfax (Source)

It seems the indignant act of re-writing your favourite book to suit a Hollywood audience - Captain Corelli's Mandolin anyone? - was happening way back in the 19th Century as told in the new play, Jane Eyre and the Secrets of Thornfield Manor, showing at Merton's Colour House Theatre this week.
Charlotte Bronte’s passionate story of Jane and Mr Rochester was written to popular acclaim in 1846, but within three months adaptations and blatant rewritings of the book were being performed on stage.
Last year playwright and actor Catherine McDonald was commissioned by the Bronte Society to develop the first of these adaptations, written by John Courtney, into a one-act play that was performed at their AGM.
McDonald says: “Courtney’s adaptation is a raunchy comical farce. He creates new servant characters called Joe Joker, Betty Bunce and Sally Suds who romp their way through the story focusing away from Jane and Rochester.
“At the time Courtney was like the Shakespeare of his day having written 54 plays, though far removed from Bronte’s book this one was a sell out smash.”
In the one-act play McDonald used the character of John Courtney to narrate his own play.
McDonald has now cleverly expanded this show to weave together the story of Charlotte Bronte’s novel along with her well documented horrified response to the madness that had become of her work on stage.
McDonald says: “This play offers a dissection of what makes a novel work and what makes a play. It provides insight into life on the brink of change and looks at Charlotte Bronte, a woman ahead of her time.
“Bronte hates what has become of her book and more to the point that people love it.
"For those who are a fan of the novel I went back to it for the faithful retelling of the love story that sits alongside the farcical, comedy element of Courtney’s characters.”
McDonald worked with the eminent Bronte scholar Dr Patsy Stoneman, who discovered the lost manuscript for Courtney’s play and wrote the authoritative book, Jane Eyre on Stage 1848-1898, that explores the adaptations of Jane Eyre and explains their popularity.
Stoneman wrote that nineteenth century playwrights had no reverence for a text we regard as canonical and deleted and twisted it to suit their own purposes.
She adds that by focusing on the servants Courtney’s play becomes about class rebellion which is why it is so popular with the audience.
McDonald says: “Courtney’s play was appropriate for the audience of the time who were, what is named, the lower order. Ninety percent of society were illiterate and trawling through the novel would have been boring for them.
“In our play there is a discussion between Charlotte her brother Bramwell who understands the need to appeal to the different audience and acknowledges that people will still get to know and love her story.” (Claire Cain)

Categories: Jane Eyre, Theatre

Happy 192nd, Branwell!

Quite what Branwell Brontë would make of being well-known today, 192 years after his birth on a day like today in Thornton - and known as the 'bad boy' of the family too - thanks to his sisters' achievements we can't imagine. But we are pretty sure that having people read his writings and his poems today would be a fabulous birthday present.

Categories: Branwell Brontë, Reminder

Ray Bradbury loves Wuthering Heights covers

Nylon Magazine talks about the new covers designed by Ruben Toledo for the Penguin Classics DeLuxe Editions. Wuthering Heights (on the right) is scheduled for next August 25:

Pride and Prejudice is a book that needs no selling—the story of love, life, and first impressions is just as good today as when Jane Austen first wrote it. Same goes for Emily Bronte’s epic Wuthering Heights and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s damning The Scarlet Letter.
But if we were to judge a book by its cover, we’d argue that these classic reads have never looked better, thanks to the creative vision of Ruben Toledo. The artist is behind the three Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions, illustrating the front flaps of each. While his surreal take on the Yorkshire moors or his Technicolor vision of Hester Prynne might not change the actual details of the plot, they certainly add a stylish edge to book club mainstays.
The series gets its official release on August 25, but they’re available now for pre-order. Which means you have enough time to check out his work at the exhibit Toledo/Toledo: A Marriage of Art and FashionIsabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside out (on view at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City through September 26) and watch the entire BBC version of Pride and Prejudice beforehand. (Rebecca Willa Davis)

Another article about Salinger's veto to a sequel of The Catcher of the Rye which mentions Wide Sargasso Sea. On Real Clear Politics:

Borrowing is an essential part of the creation of culture. If we eliminated all derivative works, we would lose, among other things, Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (based on a story by an Italian writer), and Jean Rhys's acclaimed novel "Wide Sargasso Sea," the story of Mr. Rochester's mad wife from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." (Cathy Young)

Intelligent Enterprise finds Brontë references in a very improbable source: Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis by Bo Pang and Lillian Lee.

It cites 332 references, mostly to technical literature, but it also presents the business case for sentiment analysis and firmly roots discussions in real-world examples, from movie reviews to quotations from literary sources such as novelist Charlotte Brontë. You may find the opening chapters, "The Demand for Information on Opinions and Sentiment" and "Applications," helpful, even if you don't read further into the monograph, which goes deep into the technology. (Seth Grimes)

Chris Power in The Guardian's Book Blog analyses one of the current big mysteries: the algorithms behind book recommendations.

Yesterday morning a friend of mine – let's call her Hannah – emailed to apologise for making me redundant as her favoured source of book recommendations. Beneath that stark notice of termination stood a link: www.bookseer.com. Hackles already up, I clicked through to a screen that asked me the title and author of the last book I'd read.
"The Illustrated Man", I typed, and "Ray Bradbury". In the wink of a modem I was furnished with a list of recommendations from both Amazon and LibraryThing. On the Amazon list, understandably enough, there were a few other Bradbury titles mentioned – Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles – as well as Philip K Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Also Watchmen, which I thought was a rather good and not entirely obvious suggestion.
The logic behind LibraryThing's recommendations, however, was less discernible. Would Kim Stanley Robinson's Martian cycle get a mention? How about Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, which shares Bradbury's interest in commingling the horrific, the fantastic and the imperfectly human? Nope: Wuthering Heights. Quite madly, the rest of the list comprised Jane Austen novels and "saucy" rip-offs of the same.

The Tuscaloosa Liberal Examiner quotes Charlotte Brontë's conventionality-is-not-morality phrase to describe Governor Mark Sanford's sex scandal, The Times Literary Supplement recovers a 1905 article by Virginia Woolf which includes a couple of Brontë references, The Philadelphia Citypaper contains an enigmatic Wuthering Heights reference and the San Francisco Gate recommends Wuthering Heights 1939.

oberlep27 has uploaded to flickr (also on Discombobulated D.C.) a complete set of pictures (on the right) of the recent performances of Jane Eyre. The Musical by the TheatreLab in Washington D.C. One of the violin players in the performances is Joshua Coyne who is the subject of an article on WTOP.com. Student in the States recommends Jane Eyre, Without You I'll Be Miserable At Best, Into the quiet and Only from the heart can you reach the sky mention Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, References, Theatre, Wuthering Heights

"I feel this is something that shouldn't be in private hands"

The Yorkshire Post reports the results of the recent auction of Patrick Brontë's newly-discovered photograph, which fetched more than double the initial estimate: £1, 476

A RARE photograph of the father of the literary Brontë sisters fetched £1, 476 at auction yesterday and will be given to the museum in Haworth.
The faded sepia image of the Rev Patrick Brontë, Rector of Haworth, was found recently among papers in an old film box.
It has been lost since it was sold for one shilling (5p) in 1898 and was expected to fetch £600.
Yesterday a woman from the south of England, bidding by telephone, beat off competition from a London dealer to snap up the portrait photo for nearly three times more than expected at Surrey auctioneers Ewbank Clarke Gammon Wellers.
The unidentified buyer said afterwards she would present the photo to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
"I feel this is something that shouldn't be in private hands," she said.
The photograph was once on display along with other Brontë mementoes at the Temperance tearooms in Haworth.
Still in its original oval gilt frame, its whereabouts were a mystery until it was discovered at a provincial antiques fair. (...)
An inscription on the reverse of the portrait, presumably the original museum description, reads: "Rev P Brontë; Various relics including an oval photograph framed and glazed, a small china blue and white plate often used by him and a sword stick."

From BrontëBlog we would love to curtsy and bow and salute the anonymous bidder for such a gesture. We are not speaking for the Brontë Society, but thank her profusely for her generosity.

Categories: Brontëana, In the News, Patrick Brontë

Chinese Reviews

Several reviews of the Jane Eyre performances at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China, are slowly appearing in the Chinese media. Regrettably we just can quote rough "translations" (via Google translation) of some paragraphs to get the idea:

北京青年报 (Beijing Youth Daily):

Jane Eyre" performed at the Grand Theater. Sure enough, the film "near flawless." Music, sets, costumes, lighting, scheduling, etc. can be "absolutely fine" to describe. Rochester is said to even the hands of the paintings are produced in accordance with the original props, this movie's intentions can be seen, for the better-known Eagle teachers appreciate the creative approach. (...)
In any case, "Jane Eyre" is the best drama this year's entries. Play and give full play to the charm of the original works of literature, on stage with a beautiful picture and nice music. There is no lack of power performance, "made his mark", the lack of additional directors to expand the meaning and significance of embodiment, and to rely on a lot of movies. Although the completion of the reproduction of the original task, but there are many aesthetic elements for the exploitation and processing. (解玺璋)

北京娱乐信报 (Beijing Daily):

Wong's play "Jane Eyre" this week, the National Grand Theater in his heat, the performing arts sector has attracted many a star-studded. Zhang Guoli, Xu Fan, Chen Yi and others have come to watch the play, it is said that Zhang Guoli, read "Jane Eyre" He also would like to have fun on stage.
Xu Fan in told reporters after the show said: "" Jane Eyre "novels and movies I have seen. For now impetuous society drama" Jane Eyre "can give you a spiritual pillar. My mind 'Jane Eyre' is the Yuan Quan's like this. "Chen Yi in the drama after reading" Jane Eyre "said:" Although there have been prior to the film's "Jane Eyre", but it has the charm of the stage drama completely broken through the film. "

Star.Fotoever:

Yuan Quan and Wang Luoyong performing two different styles in "Jane Eyre" take on the story after the collision occurred, but also the feelings of a new audience. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester's love is far from plain sailing, Wang Luoyong highly infectious power of the performances, Yuan Quan as Jane Eyre's love is deep, depression. Moran stand up under the light of the Yuan Quan, most audiences love for them I do feel sorry for heartbreak. (彻寒)

EDIT (26/06/09):
The English section of CCTV.com publishes some pictures, a video (where we realize that the production uses profusely John William's music for Jane Eyre 1970) and a brief comment on the production.

A governess goes to work for a moody employer, captures his heart, a dark secret emerges. Charlotte Bronte's 1847 love story "Jane Eyre" comes to life in a new adaptation at Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts. The production boasts A-list stars including Wang Luoyong, the first Chinese star to sparkle on Broadway. In today's "Spotlight", we hear Wang Luoyong's experience with the refreshing Chinese take on the drama.
The Chinese version of Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel "Jane Eyre" has swept across China since the complete Chinese version was released in the 1950's. Capable, intelligent, forthright and sometimes tactless, Jane Eyre has been received by Chinese girls as a cultural pioneer of modern womanhood.
It's evident that the story remains pertinent today, in an ingenious theatrical adaptation at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
Actress Yuan Quan is well suited to the lead role as the spirited but plain young woman. And Wang Luoyong, who has broken the westerners' dominance on Broadway, is cast into the enigmatic master of Thornfield Hall, Edward Rochester.(...)
The story of Jane Eyre and Rochester has inspired a variety of films and dramas. Generations of directors and actors have taken relentless attempts in translating the chemistry between Jane and Rochester. The two won't be held back, as they help each other find their true selves.
Wang Luoyong acknowledged that the previous versions have left positive marks on this production.
Wang Luoyong hopes that this Chinese adaptation will serve as a memorable tribute to great literature that stands the test of time. (Zhao Yanchen)

And even more pictures on Le Quotidien du Peuple (in French):

L'actrice Yuan Quan est idéale dans le rôle principal de femme à la fois simple et spirituelle. Et Wang Luoyong, qui s'est imposé sur les planches de Broadway réservés jusqu'à présent aux Occidentaux, incarne le mystérieux maître du manoir de Thornfield, Edward Rochester.
Wang pense que le regain de la littérature classique comble le vide émotionnel éprouvé par la plupart des Chinois d'aujourd'hui.
Wang Luoyong, Acteur:
"Je pense que le public chinois est vraiment avide de ce genre d'histoire. Un amour absolu, dépourvu de tout intérêt lié à l'argent, aux bijoux, au côté clinquant des marques...car aujourd'hui, beaucoup de personnes ne pensent qu'à ça. Mais je pense qu'au fond d'eux-mêmes, il existe une infime partie qui réclame ce genre d'amour."
"Inédite, étrange, et captivant, un vrai défi... Au théâtre, on doit comprendre la langue originale. La langage est très important pour un acteur. Car il ne suffit pas de reproduire des sons. Il faut encore lier la pensée à la voix, et les combiner avec des sentiments authentiques. C'est difficile. Il m'arrive souvent de ne pas savoir établir ce genre de connexions..."
L'histoire d'amour entre Jane Eyre et Rochester a inspiré de nombreux cinéastes et dramaturges. Des générations d'acteurs ont tenté inlassablement d'exprimer cette relation subtile entre les deux personnages où chacun aide l'autre à se découvrir.
Wang Luoyong reconnaît tout le mérite des anciennes adaptations et leurs influences sur la pièce de théâtre.
"La musique est tirée de différentes adaptations. Les acteurs chinois ont essayé de se familiariser avec la musique et le rythme. Il a fallut aussi adopter des gestes particuliers. Ce n'est pas exactement un ballet, mais l'acteur doit se tenir droit, vous savez, être en extension, avec de la grâce. Il faut que le public considère notre corps comme un instrument qui se produit devant lui. Les spectateurs prennent conscience des sensations, et trouvent des réponses à leurs sentiments." (Google translation)

Categories: Jane Eyre, Theatre

To follow on the footsteps of the Brontës

The Literary Walks series of The Times is devoted today to the Brontës. And who better than Juliet Barker to guide us across Haworth and the Brontë moors?

There is no better place to begin a walk in Brontë country than at Haworth Parsonage, the home of the Brontë family for more than 40 years. A purist might wish to struggle up the cobbled Main Street, but I prefer to save my breath for the moors.
The parsonage stands at the top of the hill behind the church, its stolid exterior betraying no hint that it was a powerhouse of extraordinary creativity. It was here that, as young children, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne conjured up the exotic imaginary worlds of Glasstown, Angria and Gondal, which were to become a consuming passion well into their adult lives and lead to the creation of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
A visit to the parsonage, now the Brontë Parsonage Museum, is essential to set the scene for our walk. There is such a contrast between the handmade books, no bigger than a credit card, written in script so tiny that they are almost indecipherable and the imaginative power of the stories that they contain. There is a similar and equally symbolic contrast between the cramped parsonage and the wide open spaces of the moors, which were the inspiration and setting for the Brontës’ novels and poetry.
To follow on the footsteps of the Brontës, take the footpath from the parsonage, past the last remnants of the village and the old stone-pits and quarries, which Mrs Gaskell describes in her Life of Charlotte Brontë. You are heading high on the hillside, in the words of Emily’s poem: For the moors, For the moors, where the short grass like velvet beneath us should lie!
The great vista of open moorland broods on the horizon but the lower reaches of the hills are green: a testament to the tenacity of generations of Yorkshire farmers who have carved their fields out of a hostile environment and even today battle against the encroaching bracken and heather of the moor. The land is too poor to support crops, so the fields are small, bounded by drystone walls and provide only pasture for sheep. The scattered farmhouses hunker into the hillsides, as if sheltering from the constant “wuthering” of the wind. In the valley bottoms you occasionally glimpse a tall chimney and a square-built mill, sometimes with a row of cottages, all relics of the industrial revolution that transformed this corner of the West Riding and inspired Charlotte’s novel Shirley.
As early as 1850, Charlotte had observed that “various folks are beginning to come boring to Haworth, on the wise errand of seeing the scenery described in Jane Eyre and Shirley”. Today most visitors come with the landscape of Emily’s Wuthering Heights in mind. They won’t be disappointed, unless their impressions have been drawn from the films, rather than the books.
The real Brontë moors are as harsh and uncompromising as millstone grit. This is a landscape in thrall to the elements. The sinuous hills are riven with steep-sided valleys and, here and there, amid the heath and bracken, a landslip has gouged out a bare hollow or a black mass of rock rears on an exposed ridge. Clinging to the hills are a few scattered trees. There are no hedgerows, only grey drystone walls.
Apart from a few weeks in autumn, when the moors become a sea of purple, heavy with the scent of heather, the landscape is a variety of greens, browns and greys that change with the season and weather. The silence is broken only by the plaintive cry of sheep, the liquid warbling of curlew and the lyrical crescendos of lark-song. The one discordant element is the wind turbines, an affront to the eyes and an insult to the intelligence.
There are well-worn paths to the official tourist sites. All have questionable Brontë associations but that is irrelevant. “In the hill-country silence,” Charlotte wrote after her sisters had died, “their poetry comes by lines and stanzas into my mind”. We can share that experience and begin to understand the genesis of some of the greatest novels in the English language.
In search of Heathcliff’s lair
Out on the moor, following the path to the Brontë Falls, it’s easy to see the source of the power and the inspiration for Emily’s brutal battering-ram of a fable, Wuthering Heights. From the rim of the moor beyond the falls juts the ruined farmhouse of Top Withins, a hard, black angle of walls under a pair of skeletal trees.
Whether Emily modelled her fortress-like novel on Top Withins is open to question. But the isolated farmhouse under the edge of the moor was well known to her and, in its harshly beautiful setting, commanding a vast panorama of moorland, it makes by far the best candidate for Heathcliff’s lair.
Down in the valley, on a bank overlooking Ponden Reservoir, stands Ponden Hall, a Pennine farmhouse, long and low among its shelter trees. This was Emily’s Thrushcross Grange, home of the Linton family so sadistically and remorselessly destroyed by Heathcliff and his lover and foster-sister Catherine. It was also the setting for one of Emily’s lighter scenes, with Cathy and Heathcliff as naughty children, terrifying Edgar and Isabella Linton by making faces at them through the window — a chink of light and laughter in the dark stormy sky of Emily Brontë’s extraordinary imagination. (Juliet Barker)

Tom Hardy is the subject of an article in today's The Guardian. A paragraph is devoted to his performance as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights 2009:

Later this year, he'll play Heathcliff in a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights by Peter Bowker, writer of BBC1's recent Occupation. "Tom is the first Heathcliff I've ever seen who you honestly feel could beat the living daylights out of you," Bowker says. "He brings great pain to the role. What Tom instinctively understood was that Heathcliff knows power because he's been abused by those in power. Even at his most bullying, you sense what's driving him." (Gareth McLean)

The Boston Book Examiner makes a list of classic novels inspiring pop culture. Wuthering Heights and Twilight appear:

Wuthering Heights: Emily Bronte's novel is another inspiration for Twilight. Heathcliff, adopted into the Earnshaw family, is terribly mistreated by his adopted brother. However, his love for his adopted sister, Catherine, keeps him sane and alive. Eventually, though, Catherine meets another man, whom she becomes obsessed with, and she is torn between the two men. Catherine, more interested in her chances to advance socially, chooses another man over Heathcliff, so Heathcliff disappears. When he returns, having mysteriously acquired quite a bit of wealth, Heathcliff is determined to have his revenge on everyone who has hurt him. In an incredibly twisted plot of revenge, betrayal, and heartbreak, Heathcliff and Catherine's doomed relationship not only destroys them, but it destroys everyone in their path as well. (Tara Enwistle-Clark)

The Newark Book Examiner exaggerates a bit when it says:

In high school, students fantasize about burning their school books. Of course, since the books are school property, students generally aren't able to fulfill this particular dream. (...)
The cheapest books, and therefore the easiest to burn, are the novels. These little bundles of literature are generally less than ten dollars each and are the bane of many students' existence. Decoding the works of the likes of William Shakespeare and the Bronte sisters, who wrote their works in the vernacular of a different country (not to mention in a different century) was worse torture to some than facing all the algebra problems in the world. (Zinovia Stone)

The Suffolk Times announces two awards for a local student production of Jane Eyre at the Teeny Awards:

Two cast members from Mattituck High School's "Jane Eyre" were recognized: Megan Ross for outstanding performance in a drama and Moggy Vinciguerra for best supporting actress in a drama. (Ms. Vinciguerra won outstanding performance in a drama last year.) (Bridget Degnan)

Pictures of the two winners can be seen in the article.

Variety reviews the film Nebo, Peklo...Zem (Heaven, Hell... Earth) by Laura Veráková:

A comely ballerina has a passionate but painful affair with a mysterious older physician in contempo melodrama "Heaven, Hell ... Earth," the second feature by Slovak writer-director Laura Sivakova ("Quartetto"). This mostly compelling tale of a young woman coming to grips with her love life, career options and dysfunctional family plays more like "The Red Shoe Diaries" than "The Red Shoes," as the genre-savvy helmer tips her hat to romantic thrillers from "Jane Eyre" to "Fatal Attraction." Commercial fare on home turf, where it is still in theaters, the pic could attract fests and Euro tube sales. (Alissa Simon)

Village Voice reviews the performances of Sarah Michelson's Dover Beach dance piece:

Most provocative is a duet between Greg Zuccolo, who appears halfway through Dover Beach looking like Jane Eyre's Mr. Rochester in deshabille, and 13-year-old Allegra Herman, who has intermittently entered to watch. (Deborah Jowitt)

Amanda Fortini quotes on Salon.com a very heterogeneous group of references for her ideas about love:

As with most Americans, my own ideas about love were formed not only by books -- "Jane Eyre" and "Pride and Prejudice," "Emma" and "Wuthering Heights," yes, as well as the incestuous "Flowers in the Attic" series, "The Thorn Birds," and the Andrew Greeley books with their fornicating priests -- but by soap operas and romantic comedies: the tempestuous on-again-off-again affair of Bo and Hope on "Days of Our Lives," the jaunty repartee of "When Harry Met Sally."

Tales from the Reading Room posts about Justine Picardie's Daphne and Literary Trangressions posts about Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Categories: Books, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Theatre, Wuthering Heights