Obsessed by heroes and villains

As a follow-up to the recent arrival of several Brontëana items back in the Brontë Parsonage Museum, The Telegraph and Argus has an article, a video and three images:

An example of the early writing of one of English literature’s greatest authors has been given to the Bronte Parsonage Museum.
The tiny script, praising the Duke of Wellington, was written by Charlotte Bronte in miniature book format when she was 13.
The author also produced a pen and ink drawing of a make-believe monument to the English hero.
Along with other personal possessions, the items were given to the museum by Tony Hart when he travelled to Haworth from his home in Manitoba, Canada.
They are now on show along with a gold brooch set with garnets, a beautifully carved ivory visiting card case and card and a signed engraved portrait of Charlotte Mr Hart’s great grandfather was the nephew of Mary Anna Bell, the second wife of Arthur Bell Nicholls, Charlotte’s husband who married her in 1854 and lived at the Parsonage until 1861.
Ann Dinsdale, Bronte Parsonage Collections manager, said the items, especially the written documents, were extremely valuable.
She said: “It’s very rare for such a wonderful group of items to emerge under any circumstances, but we feel extremely fortunate and grateful to Mr Hart.
“Some of these items are unique within the context of the museum’s collection and so to have them return to Haworth is very special.”
For scholars, the miniature writing was the most fascinating because it was another example of Charlotte’s early work.
“The whole family was obsessed by heroes and villains of the day– specially Napoleon and Wellington,” said Mrs Dinsdale The items are now on display at the Bronte Parsonage Museum as part of an exhibition on Charlotte Bronte. (Clive White) (Picture source)

To watch the video, go to the article or click here. EDIT: Also in the Keighley News.

The Brontë Parsonage Blog also reports the new arrival.

Anthony Cummins, from the Guardian, writes:

What's the most depressing piece of Penguin merchandising? Notebooks featuring the classic covers of much-loved titles that cost more than the novels themselves. [...]
The most recent addition to this gift range (only 84 shopping days to Christmas!) is perhaps the most depressing: a series of £14 notebooks, bearing yet more classic covers. It's depressing because the blank books cost more than the latest Penguin editions of the novels. [...] The Penguin Popular Classic's yours for £2.50, or for £6.99 have an annotated edition introduced by Brontë scholar (and Booker prize judge) Lucasta Miller.

Well, we do love these notebooks. In our humble opinion, Wuthering Heights as a masterpiece is invaluable, so you can't really measure things by how much it costs. In fact, Wuthering Heights is available FOR FREE and completely legally all over the Internet - does that make everything else that is more expensive simply depressing? Why not look at it the opposite way and find it a positive thing that a masterpiece is available to everyone? This notebook is clearly a whim for book-lovers; there are plenty of cheaper notebooks everywhere for most budgets. But there's only one Wuthering Heights and it should be available for everyone whatever their budget.

Speaking of Wuthering Heights, Country Life looks at country house ghosts.

There are much darker creations, too, such as the ghost of Catherine in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1847). (John Goodall)

Wuthering Heights is also the sibject on several blogs: The Scruffy Bookshelf, El Panteón de las letras (in Spanish) and Today, I Read. A Word to the Wise has posted a 'general chronology of the Brontë Sisters'. And Lectures et Farfafouilles reviews Jane Eyre (in French).

EDIT: An alert from the Tuscany, Italy. A dramatized reading of Jane Eyre:

Castiglione della Pescaia: Secondo appuntamento di ri-lettura creativa con gli attori del Teatro Studio di Grosseto alla biblioteca “Italo Calvino”. Mercoledì 4 novembre alle 16.30 i partecipanti “interpreteranno” il romanzo “Jane Eyre” pubblicato nel 1847 dalla scrittrice inglese Charlotte Bronte, un classico della letteratura femminile.
L’incontro fa parte del ciclo “Donne di carta” con cui la direttrice della biblioteca Patrizia Guidi ha scelto di proporre scrittori e scrittrici che trattino personaggi e temi femminili. Il romanzo, scritto in forma autobiografica, è considerato il capolavoro di Charlotte Bronte che ha approfondito l’evoluzione della protagonista sotto gli aspetti sociali, morali, affettivi ed intellettuali. Anche la trama avvincente è stata proposta in varie versioni cinematografiche.
“Ciò che viene proposto con questi incontri – spiega il Teatro Studio – non è di analizzare criticamente il testo ma di rivivere l’opera scendendo nell’emozione. Alcune tecniche di mediazione proprie del teatro vengono utilizzate come mezzi espressivi per stimolare l’ascolto e sollecitare la partecipazione al ‘gioco’”. (Maremma News) (Google translation)

Categories: Brontë Parsonage Museum, Brontëana, Jane Eyre, In the News, Theatre, Wuthering Heights