Blue skies for Anne Brontë

The Brontë Society website reports on Saturday's ceremony at Anne Brontë's grave in Scarborough:

As the service started the rain stopped and though it was chilly the skies were blue. We were very grateful to the vicar of St. Mary's, Martyn Dunning, who officiated (some members will remember him from our last visit to Scarborough). As Chair of Council I had the joyful task of welcoming everyone and explaining how the plaque was arrived at: to ensure that those who make pilgrimage there in the future see as generations have before the headstone and its inscription while leaving the grave undisturbed. A selection of readings followed including two of Anne's poems and her last letter. Flowers were set down and a moment’s silence concluded the service.
By the time we gathered outside the Grand Hotel for a walk around Anne Brontë's Scarborough the sun was with us. Led by Trevor Pearson of English Heritage, we were given an outstanding tour of the town. I had never visited the site of Christchurch before and what a poignant moment it was to see the site of Anne’s funeral now re-developed. Trevor was able to point out the buildings that Anne would have known, the town she arrived at, loved and spent her final days in.
My sincere thanks to Chris Went who arranged the day. Thanks also to trustees Susan Aykroyd, Anne Simpson and Doreen Harris and Membership Officer Peter Morrison who supported this special day.
Sally McDonald
Chairman, The Brontë Society Council

Author Ángeles Caso has written an article on the Brontë sisters for La Vanguardia (Spain).

Escribo este artículo en una pensión de Haworth, mientras la tarde cae con una magnífica luz plateada sobre el puñado de árboles aún desnudos que se alzan al borde de los páramos, más allá de mi ventana. Haworth es un pueblo pequeño del norte de Inglaterra, en la comarca de Yorkshire. Algunos historiadores sostienen que este fue uno de los lugares donde comenzó la revolución industrial, cuando a principios del siglo XVIII ciertos tejedores instalaron fábricas dotadas de sistemas hidráulicos que acrecentaron enormemente la producción de tejidos.
Pero lo que me ha traído hasta aquí no son los orígenes de la clase proletaria, sino el recuerdo de tres mujeres únicas que vivieron en este pueblo en la primera mitad del XIX: Charlotte, Emily y Anne Brontë, autoras de novelas y poemas excepcionales, que asombran aún más cuando se conoce un poco a sus autoras. Las hermanas Brontë eran hijas del párroco protestante de este lugar. Tuvieron una infancia extraña. Perdieron muy pronto a su madre y a las dos hermanas mayores. Vivían austeramente del sueldo del padre, pero se educaron de manera excepcional: desde muy pequeñas, leyeron absolutamente todo lo que caía en sus manos, incluyendo los periódicos y los grandes clásicos; al mismo tiempo, corrieron infatigables como niñas semisalvajes por los páramos, aprendiendo a reconocer cada árbol y cada piedra. (Read more) (Translation)

Similar personality traits are used by Fabula (France) in a review of the book Leçons de solfège et de piano by Pascal Quignard where

Il évoque ses trois grand-tantes : Juliette, Marthe, Marguerite, toutes trois musiciennes – modestes, délicates, mystérieuses, silencieuses, fascinantes comme les sœurs Brontë. (Marielle Macé) (Translation)

The Charlotte Observer reviews the book The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.

She's a distant relation of Brontë's madwoman in the attic, a descendant of Thoreau's quietly desperate men, and to round out the literary allusions, an artist - she makes feminist-themed, Joseph Cornell-like dioramas - in need of a studio of her own. (Ann Levin)

Library Journal features several books about drinks and cocktails, one of which is

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle (Running Pr.). Federle’s quip of a cocktail guide mixes Jane Eyre with gin and Shakespeare with juleps. (Neal Wyatt)

Heraldo de Aragón (Spain) interviews Brontëite writer Carmen Santos.

¿Qué novelas tenía en la cabeza antes de ponerse a escribir? Pensaba en mis admirados novelistas del siglo XIX: Dickens, Stendhal, Tolstoi, Flaubert, Perez Galdós, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen… Quería escribir una de esas novelas llenas de pasiones, traiciones y venganzas que narran varias décadas en las vidas de los personajes. (Antón Castro) (Translation)

Another Brontëite writer: Marta del Riego Anta as interviewed by Diario de León (Spain).

—Un personaje imprescindible en la literatura (o en la vida).—Don Quijote y Sancho Panza, no creo que nadie haya reflejado mejor el ser español. Los Buendía de Cien años de Soledad y Jane Eyre, una poderosa heroína romántica. (Translation)

Teen Ink has a short story with a couple of Brontë mentions:

“You're not in love with me. You're in love with playing the Heathcliff to my Catherine, the ­Sinbad of the Skies to my Arianna M. Ether. You want to be a Branwell Brontë; the woman is insignificant. Go languish for love someplace else!” (MoandBrowniegirl)

The Times talks about the show of the comedian Eddie Izzard:

What links Charles I, the Romans, Edward the Confessor, Wuthering Heights and the Tour de France? Just his ability to be funny about them, really. (Dominic Maxwell)

This is what Cine Vue says about the Blu-ray of Baron Blood:

Giallo master Mario Bava's camp schlockfest has more classic Gothic tropes than you can shake a Brontë sister at. (Chris Fyvie)

Wales Online discusses boarding school life for children:

Emma Taylor, headteacher at Christ College, Brecon, said boarding schools have the capacity to both extend and enhance academic learning “and also to have a lot of fun”.
She added: “Ask any pupil from here for their highlights and I hope there would be some who talked about loving the study of Jane Eyre and astrophysics – but there would certainly be plenty who would talk about trips, sports tours, tobogganing, climbing Pen-y-Fan at dawn, cooking sausages on a campsite, singing at La Madeleine in Paris, doing silly things for charity and having a lot of fun while learning, preferably without even realising they are learning.” (Gareth Evans)

The Columbus Dispatch mentions a local student who recited a poem by Emily Brontë for the Poetry Out Loud national poetry recitation competition. The High School Dublin Book Club has a post on Jane Eyre. Mr Rochester makes it into Millie's Men, a column on The Courier Online. Rereading Every Book I Own writes about Rebecca Fraser's Charlotte Brontë and Her Family.

Read More

Once again, covers

New covers of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights:

André Matos, Pirilampus/Sorocaba-SP	Cherries on a Swing Set at the VokalFest 2013
Indica - Wuthering Heights (Mexico 2013)	Eirik Søfteland - IDOL Norge 2013

Read More

A place of pilgrimage

The Yorkshire Post reports on Saturday's ceremony at Anne Brontë's grave.

BRONTË fans from across the country gathered at Anne Brontë’s grave at the weekend to dedicate a new memorial slab which corrects a 164-year-old mistake in the original headstone. [...]
Charlotte made the burial arrangements from Haworth and while she attended the service, it is thought she must have failed to check the headstone’s inscription, resulting in her sister’s age appearing as 28.
The Brontë Society had grown increasingly concerned about both the error and weather damage which has left the headstone’s writing almost unreadable. On Saturday, a service of dedication was held at the graveside to mark the official unveiling of the plaque, laid without publicity in 2011.
Brontë Society chairman Sally McDonald said: “This was a place Anne very much loved. I do not ever think of this as a tourist destination. I think of it as a place of pilgrimage and it is right Anne’s resting place is properly identified for those who arrive here.”

The Times also covers the story and includes a picture of the actual plaque. We still think, however, that more should have been done in order to preserve the actual headstone which Charlotte Brontë picked and stood in front of, if only bringing it indoors at some point before the text had mostly crumbled away. It's a sad loss.

La Razón (Spain) interviews writer Kate Morton, who admits to her Brontëiteness:

-Pero gótica y victoriana, ¿sí se confesará...?–¡Sin duda! La novela del XIX, James, las hermanas Brontë.... Su textura, las capas, las atmósferas... Me siento identificada con esa tridimensionalidad e intento utilizarla. (Ángeles López) (Translation)

NJ.com reviews the novel Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline where

Molly commits a small crime; she steals a dog-eared copy of “Jane Eyre” from the library and has to do community service. (Jacqueline Cutler)

The Nottingham Post reviews a performance by Scott Matthews:

Katherine Priddy's modern folk ballads complemented him well. From a portrait of the hero of Wuthering Heights to a Richard Thompson cover, her set featured much to beguile. (Peter Palmer)

La Jornada (Mexico) mentions Patrick Brontë's mask experiment with his children. Summer Day is posting her retelling Anne Eyre as installments on her blog. El mundo de Vicky writes in Spanish about Jane Eyre.

Read More

Romanic Brontës

New editions of Brontë novels in French, Italian and Spanish:

Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Editeur : Larousse (April 10, 2013)
Collection : Petits Classiques Larousse
ISBN-13: 978-2035874023

Jane Eyre est un roman de formation : une orpheline mal-aimée et au physique ingrat se révolte contre l'oppression, critique les moeurs de la société victorienne, fait face aux affres de la passion qu'elle éprouve pour un aristocrate sombre et arrogant dont le passé mystérieux ressurgit. Roman gothique par la puissance symbolique des lieux, réécriture des contes de fées, fausse autobiographie, ce roman polymorphe fait non seulement accéder la gouvernante au rang d'héroïne romanesque, mais crée avec Rochester, le cavalier noir, un mythe littéraire.

Le dossier

Avant d'aborder l'oeuvre
° Fiche d'identité de l'auteur° Repères chronologiques° Fiche d'identité de l'oeuvre° Pour mieux lire l'oeuvre

Pour approfondir
° Thèmes et prolongements° Textes et images° Vers le brevet° Outils de lecture° Bibliographie et filmographie

Cime tempestose
[Brossura]
Emily Brontë
Edizione Mya (April 15, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-8898450008

Jane Eyre (Clásicos De Bolsillo)Charlotte Brontë
Editorial Everest (April 29,  2013)
Colección: Clasicos De Bolsillo
ISBN-13: 978-8444111094

Read More

From Gomersal to Thornton

Imelda Marsden herself talks in the Spenborough Guardian about the Facts into Fiction event that took place a week ago:

We had a full room of those who attended the Facts into Fiction – focussing on The Luddities and the novel Shirley – event on Sunday afternoon in the upper barn at Red House Museum.
Speaker Jim Summerscales, a retired teacher and historian, gave a superb informative talk with documents and humour which the audience enjoyed, about the Luddities and his family involved at the time of the Luddites riots.
One big thank you to Jim and also to John Appleyard for helping, as well as the staff at the museum for provding refreshments.
The copy of Charlotte Brontë’s wedding dress and bonnet was on display and the dress will be on show in the museum for a couple of weeks.
The Brontë Parsonage museum loaned the bonnet – the original is on display at the Bronte museum. Thanks to Guardian reporter Lauren Ballinger who provide a head-piece for the bonnet. (...)
For those who have not visited the Red House Museum in Gomersal, it is worth a visit with the history of the area and Brontë connection. 

Coincidentally, the Telegraph & Argus reports that the Red House will be used as a wedding venue:

Couples will be able to marry in the parlour or hall at Red House, a grade II-listed former cloth merchant’s home in Oxford Road.
Revenue from the hire of the venue for weddings will help to make the museum more viable after budget cuts by Kirklees Council left its future hanging in the balance last year. (...)
Gordon North, vice-chairman of Spen Valley Civic Society, said using Red House as a wedding venue was a great idea to secure its long-term future.

ITV announces that some members of the Brontë Society are preparing a commemoration for the 165th anniversary of Anne Brontë's death next May 28th:

Anne Brontë enthusiasts are due to gather at the graveside of the Yorkshire author and poet this lunchtime, at St Mary’s church, Scarborough, to dedicate the memorial plaque, laid in her honour in 2011.
The Brontë Society’s plaque interprets the wording on Anne’s original gravestone, which is so weathered it was becoming hard to read. It also corrects a mistake in the original inscription – Anne’s age at the time of her death is now correctly stated as 29, rather than 28.
A simple service of dedication will be held at the graveside by Revd Martyn Dunning, vicar of St Mary’s. Members of the Brontë Society, who maintain the grave, will read some of Anne’s poems, and Brontë Society Chairman Sally McDonald will talk about the history of the plaque.

The Sunday Herald reviews Peter McMaster's all-male Wuthering Heights:

There's an altogether different, and subtler, broaching of issues of gender in Peter McMaster's all-male contemplation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. The talented five-strong cast evoke characters from the novel, from Heathcliff and his ill-fated love Catherine, to the evocatively symbolic horses. The novel's tracing of rites of passage draw McMaster's performers into touching musings on stages of development, real or imagined, in their own lives.
The decision to have all five actors defiantly sporting beards of one kind or another is a smart one. The contrast, in the piece's cross-dressing moments, between observable biological masculinity and attempts to evoke a feminine persona, is enjoyable; although it might have been more affecting had McMaster not made concessions to the conventional demand that men in frocks play it for laughs. That said, when the cast go all out for comedy, as in their daft choreography to Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, they are reminiscent of DV8 Physical Theatre in their lighter moments.
At times one wishes this collection of vignettes was just a bit tighter; for instance, a scene in which the ensemble cough and splutter violently is an unnecessarily graphic, overlong depiction of the tuberculosis which features so prominently in Brontë's novel. Nevertheless, the piece sparks with theatrical imagination in a way that suggests we may well be hearing the name of Peter McMaster again in the not-too-distant future. (Mark Brown)

Tri County Record publishes a (very bad) review of the Wuthering Heights 2011 DVD:

Director Andrea Arnold, who brought so much energy and authenticity to “Fish Tank,” stumbles with her adaptation of the Emily Brontë classic. Her mistakes are many and include casting novices in the roles of Heathcliff and Cathy, draining the drama of much of its dialogue, and employing cinematography so dark its hard to see what’s going on. It’s a great idea to bring a bit of dank atmosphere to this tale of passion on the moors but Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights” is all atmosphere and not much else. (Amy Longsdorf)

References to the release can also be found on Filmophilia or MSN Entertainment.

The Arts Desk has an article about the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, TX and remembers that

There are manuscripts and first editions by Poe, Brontë, Byron, Shelley, Keats and others, as well as first folios of Shakespeare and - on permanent display - a Gutenberg bible. (Markie Robson-Scott)

Sussex Express describes Hamsey like this:

Walk down the narrow lane that ends at the church, perhaps framed at dusk by the neon glow of Lewes to the south, and it is a journey straight out of Charlotte Brontë at her atmospheric best, with perhaps a shade of Hammer Horror.

And The Hull Daily Mail also uses a Brontë reference to describe Middlethorpe Hall:

It is cloaked in tranquility, straight from the pages of a Brontë novel. (Alison Coggan)

The Boston Globe reviews The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud:

The woman upstairs, Messud’s narrator suggests, is not to be confused with the proverbial madwoman in the attic who haunted Jane Eyre and became a symbol of feminist literary criticism. Instead, like Thoreau’s masses, she leads a life “of quiet desperation.” She is trapped in a carnival fun house — “life itself” — where appearances are meant to deceive, and exit is impossible. (Julia Klein)

The Independent mentions the BabyLit collection of toddler books:

Piffle to those who say that children's education is being dumbed down. This spring sees the launch of a collection of "BabyLit" from Gibbs Smith publishing which includes a numbers book for babies and toddlers based on Pride and Prejudice, a weather primer that uses Wuthering Heights, counting books based on Dracula, Jane Eyre and Romeo and Juliet, a colours picture book of Alice in Wonderland (white rabbit; black shoes; purple bottle …) and a book about opposites based on Sense and Sensibility (Norland Park is BIG whereas Barton Cottage is LITTLE, and so on).

The Guardian is probably right when it says

The key thing children miss out on without that moment of solitude before sleep, is reading. A generation ago, if you saw a light under a child's bedclothes, it would be a torch illuminating some secretive paperback. Now the light under the bedclothes has changed to the blue phosphorescent glow of a laptop or an iPad or a phone, and it's a dead cert that no one is reading Jane Eyre. (Jane Thynne)

But does the problem lie with the laptop/iPad/whatever or the education?

Revista D-Prensa Libre (Guatemala) talks with a local (and clever) bookseller:

Cuando tenía 12 años descubrí un ropero de mi mamá, donde había libros de Pablo Neruda y obras como María y Cumbres borrascosas, y leer esto a esa edad fue maravilloso. (Translation)

Via this article in The Huffington Post we know that Charlotte Brontë is one of the (many) names suggested by the public for use in Bank of England banknotes; Exile on Peachtree Street reviews the erotic retelling Wuthering Nights by I.J. Miller.

Hathaways of Haworth and The Brontë Bell Chapel Facebook Wall posts several pictures of a poetry reading event last Friday in the Brontë Bell Chapel in Thornton:

Aa showing of Ashley Jacksons painting of the Brontë Bell chapel and a poetry reading by Lynn Cunliffe (in period costume).

The main element of yesterdays event was some filming at the Brontë Bell Chapel by the BBC, the program is about the work done to restore the chapel and the graveyard and also about the theft and destruction wrought on it a few months past when thieves stole several gravestones and caused damage.

Finally, an alert from BBC Radio 4. Today, April 28 the Poetry Please progamme (16.30 h. Repeated next Saturday, May 4 at 11:30 PM) will feature a poem by Emily Brontë:

 Remembrance                                                
By Emily Brontë
From The Brontës - Selected Poems
Publisher : Everyman
Presenter: Roger McGough
Performers: Patrick Romer, Kate Littlewood and Alun Raglan
Producer: Mark Smalley

Read More

The Brontës of Haworth in Region 2

Network ON AIR has released The Brontës of Haworth 1973 in Region 2/PAL:

The Brontës of Haworth: The Complete Series

In their isolated world on the Yorkshire Moors, the Brontë sisters found an escape in the childhood fantasies that would help mould the novels now regarded as classics of world literature; the grey-stone parsonage at Haworth in which they spent much of their short lives has become a place of literary pilgrimage. In this acclaimed mini-series, distinguished playwright, author and critic Christopher Fry tells the extraordinary story of a troubled family of genius.

Vickery Turner, Rosemary McHale and Ann Penfold portray the shy, precociously talented Brontë sisters; Michael Kitchen plays Branwell, the brother whose life, ravaged by drink and drugs, ended at the age of 31, and Alfred Burke stars as the Reverend Patrick Brontë, the widowed father who would outlive all his children.

Tracing significant events and key periods, each member of the Brontë family is brought vividly to life in this meticulously researched series.

Number of Discs: 2
Picture 1.33:1 / Colour
Sound Mono / English
Subtitles None
Region 2 / PAL
Time 300 mins approx
29th April 2013

Read More

Tale of Loss and Romance

Peter McMaster's take on Wuthering Heights is still gathering reviews. From STV Entertainment:

McMaster and co-creators, Nick Anderson; Chris Hall; Thom Scullion and Murray Wason, use the novel’s themes, and the character of Heathcliff, as the leap off point to offer up a 70 minute riff on different facets and interpretations of masculinity, and male identity.
Beginning with a quick synopsis of the novel, its personae, themes and motifs, McMaster and co. then set about offering up a delicately balanced mix of intriguing set pieces and confessionals involving personal recollections of childhood; adolescence; father and son relations; hopes for the future, and what masculinity means.
Harbouring some doubts at first, I have to say it works surprisingly well. At one point McMaster relentlessly volleys a thought-provoking litany of questions about maleness at one of his co-creators, while elsewhere a coughing fit brought on by embarrassment becomes the cue for a primordial primal scream. Let it out boys, let it out.
It doesn’t all hang together. Having the cast pretending to be horses is just plain silly. A choreographed dance routine to the Kate Bush song Wuthering Heights while very funny, seems out of tune, and tone, with the rest of the piece’s serious attempt to get underneath the skin of masculinity. [...]
But taken as a whole, this is a moving, sensitive, engaging piece, recommended for both sexes. (Alan Chadwick)

The Times gives it 3 stars out of 5 while the Guardian's Theatre Blog includes it on its list of recommendations:

Upstairs, in the Arches' main studio, Peter McMaster presents an all-male reboot of Wuthering Hleights. All the familiar elements of Emily Brontë's novel are present, including ghosts. ill-fated passions and windows opened to storm-blasted moors. Instead of simply rehashing the story, however, McMaster has boiled the narrative down to its essential elements while drawing in aspects of the wider myth that surrounds Brontë's text.
There's much to enjoy here, from a faithful recreation of the iconic moves from Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights video to an entire sequence narrated from the point of view of a horse. But there's a serious side to the piece, too. McMaster and his four collaborators do a good job of harnessing the spirit of Brontë's tortured protagonist, Heathcliff, and the themes of the novel to create a playful medlitation on contemporary masculinity.
Though the piece feels disjointed and at times repetitive, a closing round of anecdotes on the men's relationships with their fathers and their own views on impending (Allan Radcliffe)

More on stage as Broadway World reviews Mustard Seed Theatre's production of Jane Eyre.

Playwright Julie Beckman does wonderful work in adapting Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre, for the stage. It's so literate that the characters even voice their thoughts, giving way at times to some much needed humor for this sad, but hopeful Gothic tale of loss and romance. Mustard Seed Theatre's production of this play is superb, with excellent performances buoyed by incisive direction and lush interior design. [...]
Sarah Cannon is astounding as Jane, playing her from childhood to adult, and doing so flawlessly. Cannon is probably the only actress in St. Louis who can actually pull off this particular feat, and she's an absolute natural in the role of Jane Eyre. Her stellar performance is matched by the brooding talents of Shaun Sheley, who invests the part of Mr. Rochester with an initial uneasiness that eventually gives way to love. Rochester is a man shrouded in mystery and intrigue, and Sheley does a fabulous job bringing him to life. The supporting cast, many of whom play multiple roles, is also excellent and deserves mention: Gregory Cuellar, Katie Donnelly, Laura Ernst, Kathryn Hunter, Carmen Russell, Donna Weinsting, B. Weller and Leslie Wobbe all do marvelous work here.
Deanna Jent's direction is excellent as always, but particularly deserved of attention here for making this sprawling story seem intimate and engaging. The play is actually fairly long, but you won't notice it since you'll be completely drawn in to its charms. Dunsi Dai's set is amazing, complete with spiral staircase, and masterfully lit by Michael Sullivan. The music compositions by Leona Ernst fit the dour atmosphere most appropriately. (Chris Gibson)

The Arts Desk reviews The Brontës of Haworth DVD and gives it 3 stars out of 5:

Are we approaching some sort  of Brontë anniversary? Or is it simply the 40th anniversary of this long-forgotten dramatization of the “Brontë story” that’s being marked with a two-disc DVD release? The Brontës of Haworth has hardly gone down in the annals of TV drama history, such as, for instance, I, Claudius, the 1976 adaptation of the Robert Graves’ novel currently being repeated on BBC Two. This is probably not surprising, since the Roman emperor’s life was hardly lacking in incident, and the same cannot be said of the talented siblings Emily, Charlotte, Anne and their troubled, underachieving brother Branwell.
Scripted by playwright Christopher Fry and directed by Marc Miller the five-episode drama is a Yorkshire Television production, so perhaps a reminder that commercial television has never quite pulled off a costume drama with as much aplomb as the BBC. Still, it’s a tricky one. Talking and writing alone cannot a compelling drama make, and there are innumerable sequences which show the sisters simply talking and walking, literally in circles around a table, to ward off the frustration and boredom of their constricted lives. (Fisun Güner)

La Vanguardia (Spain) interviews writer Kate Morton and finds Brontë influences on her work.

La han influenciado la literatura gótica y la victoriana. Pero inquieta la mezcla de Brontë, Poe y Daphne de Maurier con Enid Blyton. ¿Lo truculento y lo ingenuo juntos?
Lo ingenuo me llega de los 4 a los 9 años con lecturas que poco a poco se van volviendo más siniestras. Pero lo que ha permanecido en mi obra es ese estilo inglés, ese carácter quedó grabado en mi mente para siempre. Creo firmemente que uno sólo debe escribir lo que le gusta leer. (Núria Escur) (Translation)

The Times also finds Brontë echoes in The House is Haunted by John Boyne.

This ghost story is great fun, even if it sometimes seems to have been built from a kit. There’s a youthful governess who might be unstable, two weird kids and various malign ghosts, plus a dash of Jane Eyre. (Kate Saunders)

Apollodoro (Italy) includes Wuthering Heights on a list of beautiful books with disappointing endings.

‘Cime tempestose’ è l’unico romanzo di Emily Brontë. Venne pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1847 e qui le obiezioni che vengono mosse al suo finale sono due. Prima di tutto, la maggior parte dei lettori voleva che la narrazione, specie della seconda parte, si incentrasse di più su Heathcliff e Catherine e non sui rispettivi figli. La seconda è che tutti volevano un excipit con una storia d’amore passionale fra i due, non solamente i due fantasmi che si tengono romanticamente per mano nella brughiera. Anche se a noi è sempre piaciuto questo amore oltre la morte. (Manuela Chimera) (Translation)

Another Italian website, Best Movie, reviews the film The English Teacher.

In una tranquilla cittadina della Pennsylvania Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) vive immersa nella passione per i libri, tanto da immolare tutta la sua vita in favore di quegli ideali puri e assoluti impressi nelle pagine di Dickens, delle sorelle Brontë e di tutti i classici della letteratura inglese. Ma gli stessi libri che le scaldano il cuore l’hanno isolata in una prigione di solitudine, correlando ogni rapporto sentimentale a quelli ideali aulici, difficilmente raggiungibili da qualsiasi essere umano. (Eva Carducci) (Translation)

Crushable comments on the fact that actor Chris Pine is now apparently single:

Okay so…I mean…I write on a funny blog for a living, and I’m pretty cynical, soooo maybe we’ll run into each other at one of the screenings for Star Trek Into Darkness and fall in love? I’ll be the one reading Wuthering Heights with a rose through my teeth. (Alexis Rhiannon)

A couple of alerts for today. Reported by the Halifax Courier:

Helen’s Heritage Walks and Talks welcome you to walk their way, this Saturday, April 27.
The guided walk will discuss the connection between Shibden Hall and Wuthering Heights.
Helen Broadhead, tour guide, said: “It’s likely that Emily Brontë was inspired by High Sunderland Hall, on the hill above Shibden Hall.”
Meeting at Mereside Cafe, Shibden Estate, at 10.30am. Charge £8.50. To book call 01274 532425.

And from La Opinión A Coruña (Spain), a screening of Wuthering Heights 2011:

El atractivo de la adaptación de Arnold pasa también por la forma de plasmarlo visualmente al ofrecer al espectador un puro deleite estético.La obra ha sido, además, galardonada en el Festival de Venecia y en el Festival de Valladolid-Seminci. La sesiones del Fórum serán este viernes a las 20.15 y 22.45 horas y el sábado a las 17.15 y 20.15 horas y la entrada, tres euros. (Translation)

Le nouvel économiste (France) quotes from a poem by Emily Brontë; Le Manège de Psylook (in French) posts about Jane Eyre; Grande Caps-Movies has uploaded lots of caps from Wuthering Heights 2011; the film gets a positive review on Double Exposure; Musings posts a drawing of a Charlotte Brontësaurus, literally.

Read More

The Bag and the Sofa

We bring you today a couple of products if you have some spare money, well... as a matter of fact, a lot of spare money:
1. A bag... but not any bag:

Olypia Le-TanJane Eyre embroidered clutch (1880 $)

Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre is the latest addition to Olympia Le-Tan's range of book clutches. Felt appliqués and embroidery in pretty shades of pink and blue beautifully depict the protagonist. This collectible canvas design has been entirely made by hand and features a stitched identity number at the back.

Nevertheless, Bag Snob is not very impressed about it:

Playing on our sentimentality to get us to pay top dollar is something I doubt Charlotte Brontë would approve of, so let’s break things down for a minute. The felt appliqués are easy enough to create on your own, in fact I would say a grade school arts and crafts class could make them (and as a certified 2nd grade book report and puppet making assistant, I would know). The embroidery is not incredibly detailed either, and while the clutch is “Hand Made in France,” it’s basically just canvas, a metal frame, and a poplin interior. So what does the book club think – snob or slob? (Bag Snob Tina)

2. And a sofa or chair with footstool.

We are not entirely sure that these designs by Dare Studio are named after our Brontës though.

Handmade Beech frame, available with Solid American Black Walnut or White Oak legs.
Designed by Sean Dare.

Read More

Brontë, the Other Brontë, and the Other Other Brontë

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch features Sarah Godefroid-Cannon, who plays the title role in Mustard Seed Theatre's production of Jane Eyre. She

has loved Charlotte Brontë's influential romance ever since she first read it, when she was around 12 years old.
Today she loves it more. Before she appeared in this production, she directed a student production of the novel at Rosati-Kain High School, where she teaches drama and English.
Like Mustard Seed director Deanna Jent, Godefroid-Cannon chose Julie Beckman's adaptation, a page-to-stage treatment in which the characters (including Jane) narrate the action.
Godefroid-Cannon says she hopes she is a more astute reader than she was as a girl, and that she knows she's a more sympathetic one. At one time, she said, she had a lot of trouble with dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester (played by Shaun Sheley at Mustard Seed), Jane's employer and, eventually, her husband.
It used to bother her that Mr. Rochester could only seem to reach out to Jane when he was injured (which happens more than you might imagine). “I think I have a better grasp of him now,” she said.
Godefroid-Cannon is making the most of her recent immersion in Brontë's work. She's taking the combination of directing and starring in the different productions of the same play as the subject of her master's thesis at Fontbonne University – which is where Mustard Seed performs. (Judith Newmark)

Jezebel also seems to have trouble with Jane and Rochester's relationship, particularly their age-gap:

So dudes are into hot young chicks? So what? It's nothing new. I believe it was Jane Austen who once wrote, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a venerable leading man in possession of a good hot chick must be in want of another better hot chick with 30% less spider veins." Then she drowned in a barrel of wrinkle cream on her 31st birthday. The cause of death was "old age/being gross." (Below, the medical examiner added, "BRB, just met this really hot baby named Charlotte Brontë & am waiting for it to turn 18 so that I might obtain some of that fine undercarriage. #yolo.") Literature. (Lindy West)

Slate discusses the myth of men not reading anything by women authors.

Because publishers, editors, and agents fear that men won’t read books by women, they encourage people like Rowling and Evans—and, for that matter, the Brontë sisters, Hilda Doolittle, Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, Karen Blixen, Alice Sheldon, Amandine Lucie Aurore Dupin, and an exhausting number of others—to hide behind gender-obscuring initials or pen names, and thus they exacerbate the problem. A male-seeming author of a well-loved book doesn’t help to change the perceptions of a male reader, just as a child who hates spinach doesn’t come to love it when it is blended skillfully into his cupcake. (Ester Bloom)

While the Alberta Lea Tribune discusses romance in literature.

Romance in literature is as eclectic as real life. From bare-chested Fabio covers of Harlequin to gray-tie wearing millionaires to the starry-eyed poetry of Keats and the gothic tragedy of the Brontës, romance has always been defined by the reader. (Angie Barker)

The Oxford Student discusses romance in real life:

I was raised on a diet of Austen, Brontë, the Other Brontë, and the Other Other Brontë- and so far, I’ve noticed a distinct dearth of dark, brooding young men confessing their undying love on horseback. (Maryam Ahmed)

USA Today's Happy Ever After features several newly-released erotic novels and among them is

Wuthering Nights by I.J. Miller (Grand Central Publishing). Romantics everywhere have been enthralled by Emily Brontë's classic novel of the tragic love between beautiful, spirited Catherine and dark, brooding Heathcliff. The restrained desire between these two star-crossed lovers now ignites as writer I.J. Miller reimagines this timeless story to reveal the passion between Catherine and Heathcliff — in all its forbidden glory. (Joyce Lamb)

For Cosmopolitan the actual Brontë novels seem more than enough. In an article on condoms being used as protection for smartphones, the columnist writes,

Might I suggest a size that fits Kindles? When I'm reading a novel by, say, one of the Brontë sisters, I sometimes feel like its sheer steaminess might knock me up. (Anna Breslaw)

Female First interviews writer Chelsey Flood:

Do you find that other novelists have had an impact on your work?Of course. Only a maniac would think not. Other novelists made me want to write novels in the first place, and keep me wanting to write them, even though it's quite difficult and boring a lot of the time! I am a bit behind in terms of contemporary literature, as I am still struggling to get up to date with the old stuff. Some writers I love are Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Yates, Lorrie Moore, Emily Brontë, Margaret Atwood, David Almond, Amanda Davies, Tolstoy, and Fitzgerald. (Lucy Walton)

The Warrington Guardian features singer Chris Braide who has some other sort of Brontë influence:

The singer said: “Kate Bush was one of my earliest influences and hearing her sing Wuthering Heights made a huge impression on me along with the production on Video Killed The Radio Star. Those records inspired me and fired my imagination”.

Cuchara Sónica picks the Top 10 songs by music band Death Cab For Cutie and finds another Wuthering Heights-inspired song:

"Cath..."
"Cath..." es una de las canciones más interesantes de de Narrow Stairs y no solo porque su música es genial, sino también porque está basada en el personaje Catherine Earnshaw de la novela Wuthering Heights, que cuenta el casamiento de la protagonista y un hombre al que no ama. (Axel Marazzi) (Translation)

A letter from a reader of the Spenborough Guardian on the recent events at the Red House Museum:

On Sunday I helped out at the Red House Museum where the Brontë Society was celebrating the 197th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birthday. On display was a copy of Charlotte Brontë’s wedding dress and hat.
Imelda Marsden, life member of the Brontë Society gave a brief introduction to Charlotte’s life and her book Shirley and the connections with the local area.
Local historian Jim Summerscales gave us a fascinating afternoon of what life was like in Liversedge during the Luddite uprising of 1812. Jim has a fascinating background with family connections to the Luddites – and one of his relatives invented the lawnmower!
Jim’s talks are informative and witty and he was much appreciated by a receptive audience.
(John Appleyard)

And the Daily Trojan suggests an outing for Saturday 27th April:

Mom and Pop Up Shop
Saturday, April 27, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m
110 E. 22nd St., San Pedro
For those of you rocking a homemade beaded embroidered cuff or maybe a customized Jane Eyre T-shirt, you’ll feel right at home at the Mom and Pop Up Shop, co-hosted by Crafted and the SoCal Etsy Guild this Saturday. The one-day collaboration will feature more than 50 vendors selling one-of-a-kind art, handmade or vintage items and artisanal food. There will also be live music and food trucks on hand for those looking to do more than just shop. Etsy is based on the Finnish word “etsi,” meaning search, and the Mom and Pop Up Shop is sure to let you do that to your heart’s content. Who knows, maybe you’ll finally find that elusive specimen of jackalope feltidermy you’ve been searching for. (Jackie Mansky and Sara Clayton)

Delightful new from the Brontë Parsonage Facebook page:

The Brontë Society admitted its youngest member recently in the form of nine-year-old Emily Evans. Instead of a peaceful visit to the Museum, Emily was astonished to walk into a surprise reception and presented with her membership papers!
Emily, who lives near Llanelli, South Wales, and was named after Emily Brontë, has always wanted to visit Haworth to find out about "the other Emily" and to see where she lived. Being made a member was a complete surprise, and staff lined up to applaud as she received her membership starter pack, and a special present: graphic-novel version of 'Jane Eyre'.
As well as loving books and stories, Emily also enjoys most forms of art, going to places and seeing things. Her favourite Brontë fact: Mr Brontë firing his pistol at the church tower. Her favourite Brontë artefact: Aunt Branwell's pattens.
Well done, Emily! It's lovely to welcome you to the Society, and we wish you a lifetime of loving the Brontës!

Aneta Ostaszewska writes in Polish about the 2006 book Siostry Brontë by Ewa Kraskowska. The Brontë Sisters posts several letters by Charlotte Brontë.

Read More

Jane in Georgia, Iowa and Minnesota

Several student productions of Jane Eyre (both the Robert Johanson adaptation and the Gordon & Caird musical) are being performed these days in the US:

In Marietta, GA:

Christian Family Theatre presents
Jane Eyre (Gordon & Caird)

April 25-27, 2013 (7:00 PM)
April 27 (2:00 PM also)

The Art Place-Mountainview

In  Sioux City, IA:

West High School Music/Theater Department presents
Jane Eyre (Gordon & Caird)

April 25-27, 2013 (7:30 PM)

In Calhoun, GA:

Sonoraville High School  Thespian Society presents
Jane Eyre (Gordon & Caird)

April 25-27, 2013
GEM Theatre

And finally in Winona, MN:

Winona Senior High School
Jane Eyre (Robert Johanson)

April 26-27, 2013 (7:00 PM)

Winona Daily News publishes a picture of the rehearsals:

Winona Senior High students Alissa Lieder, left, as Mrs. Reed, and Katy Teske, as Jane Eyre, practice their roles Tuesday, April 23, 2013, during a dress rehearsal of WSHS's production of "Jane Eyre". The play runs Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and costs $7 for adults and $5 for students and children at the door. (Rory O'Driscoll/Winona Daily News)

Read More

Not resting on laurels

One more review of Patti Smith's recent gig at The Old Schoolroom in Haworth. From the Museums Journal Blog:

The doyenne of the New York punk scene didn’t seem an obvious match with a 130-capacity schoolroom in Haworth, but Smith, it turns out, is a huge fan of the Brontës and, after a visit to the museum with her sister, she offered to perform a benefit gig.
Apparently Smith had popped in when she was on her world tour and left a handwritten note with the attendant on the door, asking the museum to get in touch.
Hats off to the museum for getting straight on the case and organising the gig, which was, unsurprisingly, an almost instant sell out.
The evening was a triumph for both the artist and the museum. Smith treated the event as professionally as any paid gig but it had the added advantage of intimacy and her clear dedication to the subject matter.
She spoke eloquently between songs about the Brontë family, their literary legacy and the tragedies that had befallen them, and ended the evening by dedicating Because the Night to Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester.
The museum has recently undergone a makeover (watch out for the forthcoming review in Museums Journal) and it struck me as a good example of a smaller museum that punches well above its weight.
OK, it does have the advantage of being the home of one of the most well-known literary families in the world. But it doesn’t rest on those laurels; it has an interesting contemporary arts programme, as well as hosting artists and writers in residence and community events.
There’s lots of talk about developing the business and entrepreneurial skills of people who work in museums; but sometimes I wonder if it’s just a case of being creative, realising what you’ve got, and using it. (Sharon Heal)

Peter McMaster's Wuthering Heights is also getting reviews. From the Guardian:

Far more assured is Wuthering Heights, a thrilling series of sketches about fathers, sons, machismo, tenderness and identity. It bounces in and out of Brontë's book, preferring to describe the male lineage of Heathcliff's horse than offer a coherent narrative, and draws equally from the life experiences of the five actors. It's honest, inventive, beautifully choreographed and, even if unresolved, evidence of a bold and distinctive talent. (Mark Fisher)

From The Herald (Scotland):

Some Arches audiences will have seen a work-in-progress version of Peter McMaster's all-male Wuthering Heights at Arches Live! last September. Those of us who did will be thrilled (and relieved) that McMaster has held his nerve and tweaked his raw material with a light touch. He and his cast of four unstinting comrades – Nick Anderson, Chris Hall, Thom Scullion and Murray Wason – have intensified the sense of open-ness, honesty and personally experienced emotional maelstroms that make the work both moving and thought-provoking.
Some aspects of their rituals and exchanges square up to the Heathcliff myths and cliches found in some aggressively macho stereotypes: these men aren't out to dodge issues of anger or dominance. But Brontë's characters possess wounded souls, and it's the latent scarring, along with the supposedly feminine traits of caring, tenderness and communicating feelings, that McMaster and the others engage with, even to the point of donning frocks. Drag is avoided – instead there is genuine curiosity about the roles men assume and a wonderful degree of joyous male gusto, not least in a synchronised dance to the Kate Bush song. Volunteered moments of memory, aspiration and father/son anecdotes give voice to what so many men feel they have to leave unspoken. (Mary Brennan)

The Scotsman gives it 4 stars:

Peter McMaster’s Wuthering Heights, by contrast, is a strikingly graceful and well-shaped show, despite elements that demand an audience with a certain tolerance for the daft. Performed by a group of five fine young male theatre-makers in their twenties, Wuthering Heights is a powerful 50- minute reflection on themes suggested by Emily Brontë’s great novel, and notably on the character of Heathcliff, the damaged, violent romantic hero at the centre of the story.
It’s possible to quibble with some elements of McMaster’s work. The group dance-in to the sound and movement of Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights is too jokey to sit easily with the rest of the material, which shows a real respect for the brooding darkness of Brontë’s vision; the imagined presence of the horses, neighing and galloping around the place in some scenes, is a high-risk strategy.
Yet time and again, in McMaster’s piece, the sheer quality and focus of the ensemble performance sweeps away any reservations about the show’s content, and vindicates McMaster’s decisions. The acting, the writing and the choreography of the piece are all beautifully prepared and crafted, and the show’s quiet conclusion – a series of meditations on modern male lives, followed by a tiny, vivid final glimpse of Heathcliff and Cathy playing as children – is truly moving, as one of Scotland’s most interesting young theatre-makers moves forward, into new ground.

The DVD release of Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights is favourably reviewed by Comme au cinéma:

Ainsi, de la même manière que Sofia Coppola tirait du matériau historique de Marie-antoinette une fresque intimiste sur l’adolescence et son désœuvrement, Andrea Arnold déconstruit puis réinvestit le canevas littéraire de l’unique œuvre d’Emily Brontë, pour nous livrer une composition plus sensorielle que sensible qui s’attache moins à transposer fidèlement qu’à rendre compte par fulgurances visuelles (en témoignent les nombreux flashbacks) de la psyché d’un personnage dans son apprentissage implacable de la vie, entre violence du désir et difficulté de grandir. (Mathilde Salmon) (Translation)

Slate reports that,

This week’s Audible suggestion is Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, narrated by Michael Kitchen. (Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and June Thomas)

The Fader interviews designer Lou Dalton:

You’re always inspired by the past, too. I love contemporary design, I love forward-thinking, and all of that. But when you’re a kid and things are tough, and you don’t have holidays, and you don’t go to the cinema, and you sit and spend time at your grandmother’s farm watching old movies on repeat and listening to the radio, the world service, the past can be key. It’s like a memory box: you build a collection of things on how you would have liked life to have been, and it’s living out those things. I’ve talked heavily about Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights as an inspiration. But I don’t want it to come across as some kind of nostalgia, throwback collection or whatever. I’m quite clear about pushing it forward with the technical side and the fabrication, making it modern.
It sounds like you’re a bit of romantic. I suppose I am. (Alex Frank)

TheaterJones describes the José Limón Dance Company's latest show as

from another time, familiar yet alien.  Maybe it is the attention to structure and its overall serious purpose that makes it out of sync with newer, brash companies, but if it is dated, it is dated like Wuthering Heights is dated, or Mad Men. Each of the three words created by Limón on Saturday night’s program at The Latino Cultural Center seems embedded in a space, a time, and most of all, a clear intent. (Margaret Putnam)

The Providence Journal reviews Linda Barnes’ psychological thriller The Perfect Ghost where

Em narrates her journey from Jane Eyre-like innocence to becoming Malcolm’s eager lover as if she’s talking to her dead partner. (Carole E. Barrowman)

We Sat Down posts about Wuthering Heights. Czytam, oglądam writes in Polish about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Love of Book posts in French about Jane Eyrotica. Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book reviews Joanna Campbell Slan's second installment to The Jane Eyre Chronicles: Death of a Dowager. Flickr user Alison Christine has uploaded a few pictures of Wycoller Hall.

Read More

Rochester's Costume under the Hammer

The Orson Welles Rochester costume in Jane Eyre 1944 is in the market. The rules of the auction can be read on the RR Auction website:

#520 - Jane Eyre: Orson Welles
Jane Eyre: Orson Welles Lot #520
From Welles’s portrayal of Brontë’s Edward Rochester

Welles’s screen-worn costume from his role as Edward Rochester in the 1944 film Jane Eyre, created by Oscar-nominated costume designer Rene Hubert. Costume consists of a blue wool frock coat with black velvet collar, navy blue wool pinstriped pants, and a cream-colored dress shirt with frilled front placket. All have Western Costume Company labels sewn inside, with jacket tag labeled “Orson Welles” in an unknown hand, and pants and shirt tags labeled “O. Welles.” Pants and shirt also bear Western Costume Company stamps inside. In overall fine condition, with some soiling to the shirt. Provenance: Profiles in History, 2000; Guernsey's, 2008; Butterfield & Butterfield. RR Auction COA.

Read More

Don't flee

Many US sites report the release of Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights on DVD and Blu-ray this week. As usual, it is mostly the specialized websites that understand the film the best (or at all). From indieWire's The Playlist:

After garnering considerable critical acclaim on its full release last year, Andrea Arnold's bruisingly beautiful adaptation of the Emily Brontë classic "Wuthering Heights" will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week. Following her unsettling but highly praised Cannes Jury Prize-winner "Fish Tank" -- a fairly grimy slice of British social realism -- with a romance classic, one already well-served by high-class adaptations, the film was seen in many quarters as something of an odd choice. The result though, to quote our grade A review out of Venice, was "superb," "groundbreaking" and "Terrence Malick-like," confirmation of a serious and formidable talent in British cinema.
The film stars Kaya Scodelario as a younger-than-usual Cathy and James Howson as the fierce and troubled Heathcliff, the first black actor to take on the role. It also arguably has a third star in one of our favorite cinematographers, Robbie Ryan ("Berberian Sound Studio," "Ginger and Rosa,") who does career-best work with the windswept moors and gloomy interiors of Yorkshire and Northern England.
To celebrate the release, we've got two DVDs and two Blu-ray discs of "Wuthering Heights" to give away to some lucky readers.
How do you win? 1. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, and share/RT one of the stories we post today on our site. 2. Email us your name, twitter handle and address and let us know why you're looking forward to watching the film.
Winners will be announced via Facebook and Twitter, so keep an eye out for your name. Good luck! (Kieran McMahon)

From Television without Pity's The Moviefile:

Wuthering Heights
A stark contrast to the more traditional cinematic adaptations of Great Novels like 2011's Jane Eyre, Andrea Arnold's version of Emily Brontë's seminal doomed love story Wuthering Heights is vibrantly alive, feeling like part of our world instead of removed from it. Shot almost exclusively outdoors on the moors of Northern England, Arnold's film eschews the novel's framing device (as well as much of its dialogue) and leaps right into the action, with the orphan Heathcliff (played as a boy by Solomon Glave and a man by James Howson) being brought to a remote farm, where he develops a relationship with the farmer's daughter Catherine (Shannon Beer/Kaya Scodelario) that ventures far beyond the "just friends" stage. Arnold connects the ferocity of the characters' various passions to the wildness of the natural world surrounding them, giving the story a vibrancy that too many period pieces lack. Better still, it doesn't just slavishly parrot back the text of the book, which has its own distinct pleasures. This Wuthering Heights exists as its own entity, one that's strongly rooted in the source material but demonstrates an artistic vision that's utterly unique.
Extras: A video essay by film critic David Fear. (Ethan Alter)

The Phoenix Movie Examiner tells readers to 'Flee It!'

“Wuthering Heights” features some spectacularly picturesque settings – when you can see them. Unfortunately, writer/director Andrea Arnold not only failed to use professional actors for her cinematic adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel, she also failed to use proper lighting thereby damaging the one thing for which her drama deserved praise. Moreover, the movie is a strangely shallow interpretation of an ordinarily passionate source material, relaying the story itself but none of the emotion that goes with it. As a result, the audience feels alienated and, with no reason to remain awake, may become bored and drift into dreamland. (Flee It!) (Joseph J. Airdo)

'Fail to use' is a weird expression to use as she can't have 'failed to' if she did it on purpose. And poor Kaya Scodelario, too, who was/is a professional actress after all (and others too, of course). Also the 'failed use of proper lighting' gained Robbie Ryan several awards and nominations, so it can't have been that bad, can it?

The Mountain Xpress reviewer did flee it:

Also up is Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights, which didn't play here -- and which I turned off at the 20 minute mark when going through last year's award screeners. (Ken Hanke)

USA Today's Pop Candy shows that Kaya Scodelario is a professional actress:

- Wuthering Heights. Why watch another version of the classic? Because this one stars Kaya Scodelario from Skins. (Whitney Matheson)

More acting now, but on stage as Hackney Hive reviews Rosemary Branch Theatre's Jane Eyre.

The stage was left pretty minimal save for a few wooden chairs and some steps at the back. The entire set was painted white and all the actors were dressed in white as well. With such a simple set design, the audience has to be pulled in by the performances and I certainly felt hoisted into their world. The performances across the board were engaging and heartfelt. It was also impeccably cast with Helen Russell-Clark giving a stunning performance as Jane. Her Jane is vulnerable, innocent but also played with conviction which had me mesmerized throughout. Her connection with Mr. Rochester played by Rob Pomfret was palpable and believable. [...]
This love story made my heart beat throughout the adaptation and it conjured up the same feelings of curiosity and anticipation that kept me on the edge of my seat when I first read the novel many moons ago. It is an enjoyable, heart-warming and captivating night out at the theatre. (Melissa Palleschi)

The Edinburgh Evening News reviews the stage adaptation of The Woman in Black at King's Theatre and has writer Susan Hill tell about it and her own background.

“It took me some years to find my real voice and meanwhile, I lived from hand to mouth as a freelance book reviewer, and always, I read, not just the new books, but the things I had grown up with - Dickens, Hardy, the Brontës, everything with atmosphere and a sense of place.”
It’s that same atmosphere and sense of place that makes The Woman In Black something special in the world of theatre, so, if you only know the story from the movie, you could just be in for a treat, and the fright of your life, if you head down to The King’s. (Liam Rudden)

I.J. Miller discusses erotic literature in The Huffington Post.

The Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon also helped inspire a sub-genre: the erotic mashup...which led to my writing of Wuthering Nights, an erotic retelling of the Emily Brontë classic Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is surely the original tragic, alpha-male hero and his intense relationship with the fiery Catherine lends itself perfectly to having a few more layers peeled back through sensual lovemaking and creative BDSM.
And perhaps now, thanks to E.L. James, libraries will carry this work, my local newspaper will review it, I can someday soon go back to using my real name, and those who still prefer a paperback won't feel compelled to buy a greeting card they don't want in order to cover the erotic novel they're bringing to the cash register.

The Washington Post reviews the book The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.

Even the title of this novel is marinated in bile. Like someone scratching an infected wound, Nora returns to the phrase “the woman upstairs” again and again: “We’re not the madwomen in the attic — they get lots of play, one way or another,” she says. “We’re the quiet woman at the end of the third-floor hallway, whose trash is always tidy, who smiles brightly in the stairwell with a cheerful greeting, and who, from behind closed doors, never makes a sound. In our lives of quiet desperation, the woman upstairs is who we are, without a goddamn tabby or a pesky lolloping Labrador, and not a soul registers that we are furious. We’re completely invisible.”
This may be rage, but it’s fantastically smart rage — anger that never distorts, even in the upper registers. When Nora complains about women like herself who dutifully tuck themselves away, she ricochets from Charlotte Brontë to Jean Rhys to Henry David Thoreau to Ralph Ellison. Wherever she digs, she hits rich veins of indignation. (Ron Charles)

The New York Daily News' Page Views discusses 'Madness in the age of #madness' and thinks that

The quietly depressed characters riddling classical literature have slowly given way to the elaborately fractured figures that dominate postmodern works. Gregor Samsa and  “Jane Eyre’s” Mrs. Rochester, locked away into a room and an attic respectively, have been supplanted by the likes of David Foster Wallace’s Hal Incandenza and Philip K. Dick’s agent Fred, who suffers from a split personality. A slew of confessional works modeled after William Styron’s “Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness” have exposed the formerly private process of mental degeneration to a curious audience. (Rebecca Rothfeld)

The Staten Island Advance recommends the BabyLit books for children, which include Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

Policymic has an article on 'You Know You're Almost 30 When ...'

13. You stop caring that you haven't (and at this point, probably never will) read War and Peace, Ulysses, or Jane Eyre. Would your life really be that much different if you had? (Katie Kirnan)

Well then I'm 31 and not past caring - does that mean I'm young(er) at heart?

Dale Street News talks about last night's World Book Night celebrations in Liverpool:

• Period Drama in the Reid Room – Liverpool based theatre company, Impropriety, will be bringing their own brand of drama to a range of classic texts. Mixing readings from some of the most famous works in literature from Pride and Prejudice to Wuthering Heights with some world class improvisation, these sessions are not to be missed.

The Telegraph replies to 'City-dweller Sir Ian McKellen [who] claims that life is so boring in rural Britain that there is little to do but watch television'.

In particular, they complain, there is no Sex and the Countryside. That life here is more NFU than SJP. This is a myth that urgently needs exploding. “The countryside is the primal hotbed of sex,” says author Tara Newley, the Somerset-based daughter of actress Joan Collins. “How could it not be? It’s where we all come from, the home of our ancestral libido. Sex hangs in the air around here. You can practically smell the hormones. Look at all the sexy writing that has come out of country plots and settings: the Brontës from the Yorkshire moors, Thomas Hardy from Wessex, Jane Austen. What do you get out of the city?” (William Langley)

Speaking of country houses, The Telegraph and Argus features Croft House in East Morton.

The current owners of Grade II listed Croft House, which dates back to 1679, believe that it once had a piggery outside, while inside the bookcases in the dining room are reputed to be the original ones from the Brontë Parsonage.
“Times have come full circle as we now have ‘micro pigs’ in the back garden, although they are not very ‘micro’ now!” says Andrew Smallwood, who lives there with his wife Tracey, and daughter Hollie.
“Also, thanks to the bookcases, when we first moved into Croft House I read many of the Brontë novels and became a little obsessed with anything ‘Brontë’, but my wife drew the line when I asked her to dress up as Jane Eyre!" [...]
The owners consider it a privilege to live in a listed building. “We do feel like we are custodians as well as owners. We have kept and preserved many of the original features, such as the oak beams and the fireplaces.
“We have also added to the features by putting oak flooring throughout the downstairs and oak doors and skirting throughout the house. One of our favourite rooms is perhaps the dining room that contains the carved oak bookcases with their links to the Brontë Parsonage. The gardens were designed by the previous owners and all we have done is watch them grow and mature into the lovely gardens they are now."

And another country house as Marie Claire recommends the Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa in Helmsley, North Yorkshire. It seemed to be missing something, though:

Nestled at the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, I reasoned that if it was good enough for Catherine it was good enough for us, although a Heathcliff thrown in wouldn’t have gone amiss. (Cassie Steer)

The Northern Echo has an article on this year's Chelsea Flower Show:

The Tour De France, a rare orchid and a flock of Swaledale sheep will represent blooming Yorkshire at one of the world's most famous flower shows.
Welcome to Yorkshire is using its showcase garden in the Artisan section of the Chelsea Flower Show to celebrate the county, which is hosting the Grand Depart for the Tour De France next year.
Officials hope the new design will match last year's gold medal winning Brontës’ Yorkshire garden.

The Squeee is giving away five copies of Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. Picture Me Reading reviews Classical Comics' Jane Eyre. Les Livres de George writes in French about Charlotte Brontë's Stancliffe's Hotel.

Read More

The Future of the Brontë Society and more

1. From the Brontë Society:

The Brontë Society is visioning, seeking to develop a new strategic framework for the next five years. We want you to participate and tell us what you think!

We are considering new vision and mission statements, after a workshop with our Trustees. We will highlight key visioning themes which will inform our strategic planning.
• Excellence
• Inspirational
• Learning
• Engagement
• Conservation
• Sustainability
• Partnership. 

We will recognise that space is key to our ambitions and our success, so we can:
• Improve our visitor facilities
• Improve and expand our learning facilities
• Display our collections to best advantage
• Improve our library and reader facilities
• Improve and develop our trading opportunitiesWe will think creatively about space and improve our approach to space in the Parsonage, reconsidering the admissions process and circulation
• Re-assess the use of space in the 1960s extension
• Consider all options for housing administration offices
• Review options regarding the meadow and reservoir
• Consider another appropriate building into which to expand
• Consider a new buildWe will look at our image anew, and review our branding
• Maximise our communication channels
• Increase and target our marketing
• Raise our profile through networking
• Ensure we are a forward-looking, energetic organisationWe will prioritise what we do (recognising we cannot do everything at once), and......think strategically about where the Society will be in five, ten, twenty years, benchmarking for inspiration and forming key partnerships to fundraise, in order to ensure we are financially robust.Our immediate goals include prioritising and understanding our visitors
• Serving our Society members by responding to their feedback
• Nurturing our retail and online customers
• Engaging with our local communities through increased programming
• Building new audiences
• Displaying and interpreting our collections anew
• Driving visitor figures through our exhibition programming
• Planning for the bicentenaries of Charlotte and Emily
• Raising the profile of our collections, and expanding and improving access to them online
• Driving and expanding Society membership
• Diversification of income streams
• Prioritising fundraising and the necessary networking. 
We want to play a crucial part inn the Haworth community, West Yorkshire and within the UK cultural offer, developing audiences, driving tourism, the economy and raising our profile worldwide through academic and creative endeavours, making the most of the opportunities presented by the bicentenaries from 2016 onwards. We will be prepared for the influx of visitors and take a lead on the celebrations worldwide.
As a Society we will recognise our responsibilitiesn and seek to be sustainable and fit for purpose in our organisational structures, in order to achieve our goals.
We hope you will help us create a strategy that is meaningful to all our colleagues and members, our governing body, our visitors, our supporters, our funders and the communities we serve locally, regionally and worldwide. Your feedback on developing a new strategic framework for the future is valuable to us.

Help us shape our future together by responding online to this survey
• attending a visitor focus group
• filling in your membership survey (if you are a member)
• attending a public meeting
Thank you,

Professor Ann Sumner Executive Director
The Brontë Society

Just open the questionnaire, fill it in and send it by email here, or by post to Brontë Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley, BD22 8DR

2. Maddalena De Leo has sent us some pictures of the April 21 event in Agropoli, Italy:

Read More