SheKnows Book Lounge announces the upcoming release of Eve Marie Mont's
A Breath of Eyre:
Eve Mont made a splash in the literary world with her debut novel, Free to A Good Home. Now she's back with A Breath of Eyre (out March 27), the first book in a three-part YA series. A novel about a teen transported to the world of Jane Eyre, A Breath of Eyre is a refreshing, richly satisfying read.
A Breath of Eyre transports Eve Mont's modern-day heroine, Emma Townsend, into the life of Jane Eyre to create a mesmerizing story of love, longing and finding one's place in the world. Its sequels will continue the literary adventures of Emma Townsend as she travels into Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.
Emma Townsend has always believed in stories — the ones she reads voraciously, and the ones she creates in her head. Perhaps it's because she feels like an outsider at her exclusive prep school, or because her stepmother doesn't come close to filling the void left by her mother's death. And her only romantic prospect (apart from a crush on her English teacher) is Gray Newman — a long-time friend who just adds to Emma's confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre.
Reading of Jane's isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lighting storm catapults Emma right into Jane's body and her 19th-century world. As governess of Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging like she's never known — and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane's story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own...
Writing from the Tub interviews the author:
The YA book market is a competitive place. What do you think sets A Breath of Eyre apart from the pack?
Instead
of a straight literary retelling, my book has the protagonist actually
enter the world of Jane Eyre, causing a struggle over whether to change
the outcome of the book and the outcome of her life. She’s also able to
travel back and forth between Jane’s world and her own, which makes for
some interesting dilemmas. I’m hoping what sets my book apart is the
mash-up of genres: historical, retelling, contemporary, and a dash of
magical realism. (...)
What did you hope to accomplish by writing A Breath of Eyre? Do you think you have accomplished what you set out to do?
Really,
I wrote the book for me. I’ve always wanted to live in the world of
Jane Eyre, so I created a character who could. I wasn’t setting out with
any agenda, but now that the book is finished, I hope readers see it as
a respectful and worthy tribute to a beloved novel. I also hope readers
enjoy a few hours of fun, escapism, and romance. If it makes them want
to read Jane Eyre, so much the better! (Interview by CarlyB)
A reality show with famous authors?
Flavorwire suggests some options:
Are you more interested in the Brontës than the Kardashians? (...)
Growing up Brontë
Announcer: “Tune in this season as DISASTER STRIKES. Can the remaining Brontës COPE with the LOSS?”
Video: Charlotte cries while Emily comforts her. Anne stands forgotten in the background.
Series highlights: Charlotte makes advances on her
married ex-headmaster, Constantin Héger (sic). Their brother, Branwell,
seduces the wife of Anne’s boss. Anne confronts Branwell, but the
illicit love continues. Anne is eventually forced to quit. (Kim Parker)
Not the only interesting Brontë-related suggestion.
The New Bern South Journal talks about an upcoming production of the local company
Athens of the South:
The local theater production group Athens of the South has attained its
non-profit status and to celebrate, the first new show is “Murder in
3-D,” which gives Hollywood a roasting. (...)
Hand provided this synopsis of the “Murder in 3-D” plot line:
“The famous directing brothers, Roger and Braxton Boomer, believe
they finally have a new hit on their hands — a 3-D romance that is
suspiciously similar to a Nicholas Sparks novel (but don’t tell them
that). Roger, the outgoing Boomer brother, has invited a famous
producer, a billionaire known for his Hollywood support, and an A-List
actress on hard times after her involvement with the movie disaster,
‘Jane Eyre Among the Ewoks.’ These, and a party-crashing videographer,
all hope to get in on the Boomers’ money-making magic.”
The
Fresno Bee reviews the
CSU production of Polly Teale's Brontë:
While the production, directed with care and insight by Ruth Griffin,
has some flaws, it deserves high commendation for tackling such an
intellectually rigorous subject with such theatrical finesse. (It
continues through Saturday at the Woods Theatre.) (...)
"Brontë" has a fire in its soul, thanks to innovative staging and
Elizabeth R. Payne's fine period costumes, but Teale's earnest script
can feel too clinical (and even obvious) at times, particularly when
illuminating the parallels between biography and literature. Jeff
Hunter's set, which tries for a fractured, expressionistic view of the
interior of the Brontë home, is too rigid, with the stark parallel
vertical elements reading as cold, clinical and psychologically
uninteresting. And for a play this stylized and theatrical, I was
expecting a little more intensity from Izzy Einsidler's lighting design.
The biggest flaw: I think there's more that Griffin could have done
in terms of directing her actors aside from her stellar movement work.
McGee and Schiltz are strong in their supporting roles, but the three
sisters have some weaknesses. (...)
Despite these flaws, however, this "Brontë" emerges as a worthy
theatrical experience that digs deep. (Donald Munro)
Lohud.com (Lower Hudson Valley) talks about reading lists and mentions the memoir of Louis L'Amour
Educacion of a Wandering Man in which he wrote about "about the value of reading books":
L’Amour kept lists
of the books and plays he read. In 1931, he listed 120 titles — from
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë. (Phil Reisman)
The
Small Business Newswire remembers that Penzance's claim to fame is not only Gordon & Sullivan's
The Pirates of Penzance:
It’s interesting to note also, that Penzance was the birthplace of Maria Branwell – the mother of the famous Brontë sisters.
Salon analyses
The Hunger Games phenomenon:
Like the Brontë novels, “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” are fairly
oozing with repressed eroticism. One can no more write about
extramarital sex in a book aimed at modern teenage girls than one could
in a Victorian novel, but the implication drips from every page, which
possibly explains the enormous volume of smutty fan-fiction on the
Internet making the implicit explicit. (Laurie Penny)
Female First interviews Juliet Greenwood, author of
Eden's Garden:
If your dream career was to write, why didn’t you pursue this earlier in life?
I think, like everyone, I got caught up in making a living, buying a
house and doing all the grownup things you’re supposed to do. I did try
to become a writer in my early twenties, when I was living in London. I
sent off articles and short stories and entered playwriting
competitions. I didn’t get anywhere, so I put the dream to one side and
took up a ‘sensible’ career instead. What I didn’t realise was that I
had nothing to write about. I’d been at school or university all my
life. I was stuffed full of lofty ideas and the novels of Charlotte
Bronteëand Dickens, but I hadn’t done any living on my own account.
There was no inner fire driving me: just a love of books and writing. (Interview by Lucy Walton)
The Buffalo News covers a recent talk by the author Zadie Smith where she was asked about the "the five essential British novels":
She took a stab at it -- offering, with some hesitation, "Clarissa,"
"Pride and Prejudice," "Jane Eyre," "The Quiet American," and "The Prime
of Miss Jean Brodie" -- before laughingly suggesting that the student
just google it. "Give me a break! (Margaret Sullivan)
Moving Landscapes reviews (in Swedish)
Wuthering Heights 2011;
Meditative Meanderings posts about Syrie James's
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë;
chloesnelling posts a fashion design project inspired by
Wuthering Heights (particularly by Kaya Scodelario's Cathy in
Wuthering Heights 2011);
Sparks Fly Up reviews Emily Brontë's original novel;
The Ana Mum Diary posts about
Jane Eyre;
Danielle Sloan uploads a set of
Wuthering Heights-inspired pictures on Flickr and
Nickcoates74 posts a picture of Wycoller Hall; Rebecca Chesney is making a colour wheel for her
Brontë Weather Project.
And finally some competitions around to win the
Wuthering Heights 2011 DVD or Blu-Ray:
Film-News.co.uk (DVD, closes April 18),
Magic FM (DVD, closes March 26),
Reviewed Online (Blue-Ray),
Kaya Scodelario Web (closes March 28). And
Jane Eyre 2011:
Cosmopolitan (closes April 2),
Good to Know (closes April 12),
Look (closes April 12),
Stylist (closes March 27 and offers "a break for up to four people in one of a choice of five
fabulous cottages in the spectacular Peak District, close to the
magnificent Haddon Hall where
Jane Eyre was filmed"),
Superdrug (closes May 9),
MyBliss (closes March 27),
Wedding Magazine (closes April 1).
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