Yorkshire: rich in writers

BBC Bradford and West Yorkshire reports that Route editor Ian Daley is willing to 'offer a publishing contract to the best of this new crop of Yorkshire writers and provide editorial support to turn the winning manuscript into a book'. The article reminds readers that,

Yorkshire is rich in writers, from the Brontës, JB Priestley to Alan Bennett.

We are not sure whether it is an old article that's been republished but if that's not the case then The Republican is convinced that Sherri Browning Erwin's Jane Slayre is about to be published this year (it was actually published in April 2010).

Already into the realm of the paranormal, Erwin's next book, "Jane Slayre", published this year, came about as a result of a conversation with a friend. Browning had just finished rereading Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre," because her daughter was reading it in school, and realized how melodramatic the story is.
"I thought, 'wouldn't it be fun if Jane had more powers than women of her time,'" Erwin said - like being a vampire slayer. She was laughing about it with a friend who told her to write it, and she did, crafting what is called a classic mash-up.
She took the story by Brontë - in some cases the actual words - deleted portions, rewrote others, and added scenes to create her own story. That's why Erwin considers herself the co-author. The book's authors are listed as Charlotte Brontë and Sherri Browning Erwin.
Erwin said it's actually harder to write a mash-up
than a wholly original story. "I try to keep the original author's voice and tone," she said, "while putting my own stamp on it." (Christine White)

Freelance writer Simone Castello also comments on the Brontës in an interview by FeaturesExec.

What books are on your bedside table, magazines in your bag, or blogs on your screen?
[...] My favourite novel of all time is Pride and Prejudice, I used to love Wuthering Heights but I re-read it a few years ago and found it less compelling than when I was 16. (Phoebe-Jane Boyd)

The London Evening Standard features 23-year-old Celeste Tobias, who grew up thinking that her father was actor Oliver Tobias but at 19 found out that it was actually Julian Metcalfe (of Pret A Manger fame). The journalist remarks,

She doesn't look much like the dark-browed Heathcliff-esque Oliver Tobias, certainly. (Alison Roberts)

Many websites report that two of these four actresses might land a role in The Dark Knight Rises: Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Kate Mara and Charlotte Riley. Many mention Charlotte Riley's part in Wuthering Heights 2009, but Big Shiny Robot takes it a little further than that:

And then Charlotte Riley. Who? Unless you watch the BBC, you probably haven’t seen her, and I certainly haven’t seen her, especially since she is best known for being in Wuthering Heights and I HATE THAT EFFING BOOK. She’s got an inside track, though, as she’s engaged to Tom Hardy, who starred in Nolan’s Inception and has an unnamed role in Dark Knight Rises.

Just for the record, Wuthering Heights 2009 was not on BBC but on ITV.

On the blogosphere, both Rockabilly Life and Al di là di un libro (in Italian) post about Jane Eyre.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights