From Brontëshire to Paris

Varsity reviews the performances of Cathy: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights in Cambridge:

This musical adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel is a stunningly innovative use of the Corpus Playroom, displaying an impressive range of vocal and compositional talent. In light of these resounding successes, more pedantic members of the audience might be inclined to forgive the liberties that are taken with the original story. (...)
As a piece of theatrical entertainment in its own right, the show is a triumph of dramatic and musical talent. As an adaptation of Brontë’s novel, it leaves something to be desired: naturally, it is up to audience members to decide how much this matters to them. In fairness, the production does openly admit to being a ‘retelling’, despite the suggested prominence of Cathy being slightly misleading. She is no more prominent in this than she is in either the first part of the original text or any other adaptation that similarly cuts out the second half. Branding a production as a ‘retelling’ suggests that something might be brought to light which was previously left untold or concealed: in this case, ‘retelling’ refers to simply reorganising the chronology of events and changing the ending, not necessarily for the better.

A current (or recent, we don't know for sure) auction in Paris with a Jane Eyre first edition under the hammer:

As your Saturday breakfast is comfortably consigned, one of the greatest sales ever held is continuing à toute vitesse at the Drouot auction house in Paris.
This is the massive sale of the private stock from the bankrupt firm Aristophil, which included manuscripts of novels by Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas, a 41-page account of the sinking of the Titanic, music manuscripts by Mozart and Strauss and historic letters signed by Napoleon, Einstein and Dostoyevsky.
The dispersal will take more than 300 sales over at least six years to liquidate the collections of the French company, which purchased some 135,000 pieces over 12 years before going bust. (...)
This weekend brings treasures such as a first of Jane Eyre. In three parts, and carrying the London imprint for Smith, Elder and Co, 1847, this was Charlotte Brontë’s first novel and was formerly in the library of the English novelist Hugh Walpole.
A fine first edition, it is expected to sell for upwards of £25,000.  (Norman Watson in The Courier)

On Aguttes we read about the auction and the lot:

Livres Anciens, Romantiques & Modernes - Manuscrits & Lettres Autographes, de Malherbe à Chateaubriand par AguttesMercredi 14 Novembre 2018 14:00
Drouot-Richelieu - Salle 1

Lot 43
20 000 - 30 000 €
[Charlotte Brontë] (1816-1855)
Jane Eyre.An autobiography, edited by Currer Bell. London, Smith, Elder and Co 1847. 3 volumes in-8 (198 x 125mm), reliure éditeur en toile à stries verticales, de couleur marron foncé nuancé de rouge et de gris, couvertures décorées à l'encre aveugle d'une ligne triple en bordure, agrémentée d'entrelacs, pages de garde jaune pâle. Etui en forme de boite, dos passé.
T.1- Faux-titre, titre et 304 pp.
Catalogue de 32 pp. oct. 1847. Sans le f. Publicitaire de Calcutta Review à la fin du T.1. T.2- Faux-titre, titre et 304 pp. T.3- Faux-titre, titre et 311 pp.
Edition originale du premier roman publié de l'auteur.
Une annotation à l'encre bleue de 11 lignes, de Walpole est présente sur le verso de la garde du premier volume ("When at last, after waiting so long, I possessed you as you first appeared to the world I felt as though Rochester had given me a nod of recognition. Hugh Walpole Brackenburn Nov: 16 1938" ) Quelques pages sont légèrement endommagées, quelques feuilles un peu tachées, autres mouchetures ici et là, réparations anciennes aux mors, les charnières sont un petit peu fragiles ou commencent à l’être, les gardes du 1er volume ont été réparées et les couvertures sont quelque peu usées.

Références
Smith 2; Sadleir 346; Ashley I, p.72; Wolff 826; Tinker 379; Grolier English 83; Parrish pp.87-8

Provenance
M.E. Hindhaugh» et «P.S. Macling», signatures des propriétaires présentes sur les pages de garde; Hugh Walpole et son ex-libris typographique «Brackenburn», vente de sa bibliothèque, 1ère partie, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., le 28 mai 1945, lot 23. First edition of the author’s first published novel, half-titles, publisher’s 32pp. catalogue dated October 1847 at the end of volume 1, without the extra advertisement leaf present in some copies (no priority), original dark greyish reddish brown vertically-ribbed cloth, covers decorated in blind with triple line border enclosing decorative trellis-like border, pale yellow endpapers, preserved in green cloth chemise and quarter green morocco slipcase, a few minor paper flaws, a few leaves slightly stained, other occasional spotting, some early repairs to joints, hinges slightly fragile or starting, repair to endpaper of volume 1, some edge-wear to covers M.E. Hindhaugh" and "P.S. Macling", ownership signatures on endpapers; Hugh Walpole, with his "Brackenburn" book-label, sale of his library, Part I, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., 28 May 1945, lot 23 There is an eleven-line note in blue ink by Walpole on the verso of the front free endpaper of volume 1 ("When at last, after waiting so long, I possessed you as you first appeared to the world I felt as though Rochester had given me a nod of recognition. Hugh Walpole.

Inkstik and HG Wells and the war to end war:

Wells hoped that the end of The Great War would bring about the final consummation of this idea, which had been articulated in centuries past by the likes of Victor Hugo, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses S. Grant, Baha’u’llah, Charlotte Brontë, Immanuel Kant, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, William Penn, and Dante.

Charlotte?

We are not sure if the Brontë sisters are a good example of sibling rivalry:

Where would we be if the Mitfords and Brontës hadn’t sat in their rooms scribbling away driven by the desire to better their sisters in the novel-selling stakes? (Joy Lo Dico in the Evening Standard)

Harlequin Junkie quotes from the newly-released novel Cupcakes for Christmas by Kate Hewitt:

She reached for the card reader, unable to keep from glancing at the name on the debit card as she pushed it into the reader. Simon Blacklock. What a perfectly appropriate name—like something she’d read in an Austen or Brontë novel. Very Wuthering Heights-ish.

Gazete Duvar (Turkey) explores the figure of Charlotte Brontë through, in part, Mina Urgan's History of English Literature:

Eğer Charlotte, doğduğu yaşadığı öldüğü papaz evinin tepesindeki mucize balonlarını bu sıradan insan iğneleriyle dürtmeseydi. Miti mit olarak bıraksaydı. O zaman belki de kardeşlerini zehirlediği kurgulardan azade kalabilecekti.
Jane Austen’ları düşüncesizce bir çırpıda bitirip yoksunluk krizi geçirenler, edebiyatın bitki çayları bölümünde avuntu arayabilirler. Aşk ve Gurur’u bir de hizmetçilerin cephesinden okuyun; Malikane. Ya da Aşk ve Gurur’un karakterlerini bir de zombilerle savaşırken izleyin; Aşk Gurur ve Zombiler. Çaya çay; Austen romanlarında çay ve yanında yenen yiyecekler, Jane Austen’la Çay Saati. Yapı söküm’cü olmayan bir söküm ve yeniden dikim işlemi. Karakterleri bağlamlarından aşırıp bir de burada oyna diye bambaşka bir bağlama atıp.
Fakat Charlotte Brontë söz konusu olduğunda, romanları yeniden sökülüp dikileceğine yazarın bizzat kendisini kurgusal bir karaktere çevirip lime lime etmek daha iştah açıcı, demek ki. Korkunç Charlotte’ın ağabeyi ve iki kız kardeşini ustalıkla zehirleyip öldürdüğüne bizi santim santim ikna etmeye çabalayan Charlotte Brontë Cinayetleri. Viktoryen İngiltere’de tüyler ürpertici cinayet hikayelerine karıştırılmış hali; Charlotte Brontë’nin Gizli Maceraları.  (...)(Yelda Eroğlu) (Translation)

La Verdad (Spain) presents the performances of Jane Eyre in Murcia:

El montaje, a partir de la versión de Anna María Ricart, relata la vida de una mujer que, para la directora, «desde su nacimiento y sin tener unas circunstancias que la lleven a ser de este modo, tiene en su interior el instinto de superación más impresionante que jamás haya leído». Con una dura infancia, pasó una temporada en un internado de pobres, «donde la envían para quitársela de encima porque ya se enfrentaba a la injusticia desde muy pequeña», siempre mostrándose intolerante ante la ligera señal de maltrato, en cualquiera de sus formas: «Si todos obedecieran y fuéramos amables con quienes son crueles e injustos, ellos no nos tendrían nunca miedo y serían cada vez más malos. Si nos pegan sin razón tenemos la obligación de devolver el golpe». Estas palabras de Jane son una muestra de la insólita fortaleza de una mujer rodeada de machismo e injusticia. (Natalia Benito) (Translation)

Qué Leer (Spain) recommends Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón K. Pérez:

Otro gran sello de cómics, Panini, nos trae una versión contemporánea de uno de nuestros clásicos más queridos, Jane Eyre de Charlotte Brontë, en las manos de la guionista de El diablo viste de Prada y Crazy Ex-Girlfriend y el aclamado ilustrador —ganador de un premio Eisner— Ramón K. Pérez (Cuento de Arena). Jane es la historia de una chica que crece en una casucha de un pueblo de pescadores y sueña con escapar a una escuela de arte siguiendo el encanto de la ciudad de Nueva York. Sin embargo, cuando ese sueño se hace realidad, no pasa mucho tiempo antes de que se sienta fuera de lugar por el voraz tamaño de la ciudad y el gran talento de sus compañeros. Para poder mantenerse en la gran ciudad empieza a cuidar a una niña llamada Adele, pero todo se pone patas arriba cuando se enamora del padre de la niña, Rochester, un hombre sardónico, saturado de poder, riqueza… y encanto inesperado.
Jane descubre que en el mundo de la élite de Nueva York los secretos son la mayor extravagancia, y tendrá que decidir si debe confiar en el hombre que ama o hacer lo que sea necesario para proteger a Adele de las consecuencias de sus engaños. (Raquel Moraleja) (Translation)

Esquire (Italy) reviews Outline by Rachel Cusk:

"Stavo cominciando a vedere le mie paure e i miei desideri manifestarsi fuori da me, a vedere nella vita degli altri una cronaca della mia", dice Faye a chiusura di una riflessione sulla soggettività dello sguardo che chiama in causa una scena di un altro romanzo a scatole cinesi, Cime tempestose. Heathcliff e Cathy guardano, dall’esterno, i Linton in salotto: quello che vedono emoziona lei e innervosisce lui, ma le versioni di entrambi, così diverse, non centrano la verità. (Nicola H. Cosentino) (Translation)

The future of books in El Semanario (México):

¿Cómo será que conmemoremos el día del libro en el futuro? ¿Con un libro físico en la mano o con un visor 4D? Con toda honestidad yo prefiero leer sobre las historias de los personajes literarios sin necesidad de revivir el horror de la Segunda Guerra Mundial o de las hambrunas en África. No quisiera tener que enamorarme en una relación tóxica si leo Cumbres Borrascosas, ni deseo sentir la tristeza, dolor y angustia que vivió Ana Frank en carne propia. Ya veremos cuál es la evolución de esta industria. ¿Cómo se lo imaginan ustedes? ¿Cuál es su apuesta? (Ian Reider) (Translation)

Another Magazine, Die Welt (Germany) have articles about how Kate Bush has become an enduring icon which mentions, of course, her Wuthering Heights hit. Hello, Stargirl reviews Villette. Some local theatre awards nominations: the Williamsburg Players production of Jane Eyre. The Musical has been nominated to the Altdaily Theatre Awards in the following categories:

Best Costume Design ... Stallings & Alex Swanenburg
Best Lighting Design... Scott Hayes
Best Choreography... Dana Margulies CauthenBest Musical DIrection ...Richard Whitley
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Musical... Jeff Nicoloff
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical ...
Judy Trisk
Alexandria Grisby
Anneliese Bush
Best Direction... Marty Bussert
Best Musical

What Rachel Wrote posts a vigorous vindication of Branwell Brontë.

Finally, this week's La Lettura Magazine #363(with Il Corriere Della Sera) contains an article about the Brontës and Haworth:

Massimo Zamboni è stato protagonista di un viaggio proprio nel «Brontëshire», durante il quale ha visitato i luoghi delle sorelle Brontë. L’articolo e il reportage fotografico sono su «la Lettura» #363, in edicola da domenica 11 a sabato 17 novembre, con una sezione speciale di quattordici pagine dedicata a BookCity Milano, dove sono previsti diversi incontri sulle autrici.