Redecorating the Parsonage

The Telegraph and Argus reports that the decoration of the Brontë Parsonage Museum will be closely examined during the closed period in order to gather evidence as to how it looked when the Brontës lived there. The goal is to make the Parsonage as similar as possible to the home the Brontë family knew and redecorate the Parsonage during next year's closed period.

Experts have been called in to help recreate the interior decoration at one of the most famous literary homes in the country.
They are examining minute samples of paint and scrutinising small pieces of wallpaper in an effort to uncover what the inside of the Brontë Parsonage looked like when it was occupied by the famous sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
The work is being carried out this month while the Brontë Parsonage Museum at Haworth is closed to the public.
The aim is to gather enough evidence to recreate the interior of the building in the early 19th century when the house was occupied by the family.
Andrew McCarthy, the museum’s director, said when the investigation was completed it was hoped to attract funding and to start the redecoration in the closed period next year.
“It’s a very exciting project,” he said. “We’re looking forward to discovering what the house looked like during that time. Who knows what the investigation might throw up?
“We already have a book which was owned by Charlotte and covered by wallpaper. We will be attempting to find out if that was a left-over piece used in the house at the time. It might be possible to match that with a paper design of the period.
“We have some other examples, including some paper used in a writing desk owned by the family.”
The papers could be reproduced as they would originally have been, using wooden blocks or by a modern digital process.
The paints would have to be more robust than the original distemper type in order to cope with the 75,000 people who visit the museum every year.
Called in to help has been Allyson McDermott, a specialist in recreating period schemes, especially in reproducing historic wallpapers and paints, and Crick Smith, consultants with expertise in analysing paints. (Clive White)

Even more news outlets continue looking forward to this year's releases of Jane Eyre 2011 and Wuthering Heights 2011.

Rope of Silicon includes Jane Eyre among its 25 most anticipated films of 2011:

Jane Eyre [March 11]: Cary Fukunaga's Sin Nombre was a devastating feature and all eyes will be his next film, a new telling of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel with a cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Imogen Poots. (Brad Brevet)

The Manila Bulletin picks Mia Wasikowska as one of their 'top breakout stars of 2010' and remarks that,

The pixie-faced Mia will surely make more waves as she portrays the title character in Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of “Jane Eyre,” . . . (Janet Susan Nepales)

KSEE 24 News considers both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights forthcoming titles 'of note':

"Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights"
WHY: Yes, these stories have been told many times, but when you add filmmakers like Cary Fukunaga and Andrea Arnold to the mix, suddenly there's something fresh about the perspective, and suddenly, it makes a lot of sense to tell the stories again. "Eyre" has Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, a powerhouse team-up to be sure, and "Heights" features an unknown cast, which could be exactly right with Arnold calling the shots.

Augusta Metro Spirit:

Given the unsatisfying 1996 version, it was more than time for another try. Brontë isn’t Austen, but it’s as close as we’ll get this year. (Allison Smithy)

And good news for Andrea Arnold, as according to News Shopper (which quotes the London Gazette) she will receive an OBE (Order of the British Empire).

Director Andrea Arnold, originally from Dartford but now living in Greenwich, gets an OBE for her services to the film industry.
Ms Arnold has directed a number of hard-hitting films including the 2006 Red Road set on a Glasgow estate and 2009’s Fish Tank.
She is currently working on a new version of Wuthering Heights. (Mark Chandler)

Interviewed on Bookslut, author Kim Gek Lin Short says that Heathcliff is a boy in love with a dead girl:

So, yes, it is strange to love a dead girl. Or is it? Orpheus, Heathcliff -- maybe it isn’t so strange.(Elizabeth Hildreth)

And more Wuthering Heights, particularly for those born under the sign of pisces out there. The Mirror's Horoscope advises:

Perhaps the way round this is to think about where your dream date would go on a day off and put yourself there rather than wait for him or her to walk into the Queens Head on a Saturday night with a copy of Wuthering Heights and a Labrador for you to stroke? (David Wells)

The Washington Post talks about the recent Paula Abdul's interview at David Letterman's show:

Paula also stole the show at the "Idol" season finale last May when she popped up on stage to say goodbye to outgoing snarky judge Simon Cowell, looking gorgeous and super-sexy in this hot pink strapless mini-skirted number -- while, just a few feet away, her replacement on the show, Kara DioGuardi looked like Jane Eyre on one of her bad days. (Lisa de Moraes)

Lisa de Moraes seems to hae an obsession with Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi and Jane Eyre because this is not the first or the second time she says something similar.

BlogHer returns to the influences of Wuthering Heights over Stephenie Meyer's Twilight:

That is, unless you plan on analyzing them, then you'll have a field day over how self deprecating Bella is and Edward's strange stalker tendencies. Doing a character comparison between Edward and Wuthering Height's Heathcliff is even more fun. I personally prefer to live in the delusion that Stephenie Meyer is a satirical genius who has masterfully crafted a work that is actually a parody of itself. (teachingaintforheroes)

My Big Brand New Life and Looks, Books & Music (in German) post lukewarm reviews of Wuthering Heights, on the other hand James Gallagher on Goodreads gives it 4 of 5 stars; Fifty Books Project 2011 reviews Edward Mendelson's The Things That Matter; Emily & Andrew Broderick loves the new Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of Jane Eyre; The Mole's World reviews Jennifer Vandever's The Brontë Project (in Spanish).

Categories: Books, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Wuthering Heights