Queer readings of the Brontës

Literary Hub has an article on 'A Brief History of Queer Language Before Queer Identity'.

In our modern era where sexuality is, for many, a distinct psychosexual identity, we run the risk of anachronistic projections on writers and artists from past centuries whose conception of sexuality was different. We can do queer readings of the texts of Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Bronte; the waters get a lot murkier when trying to assess how they considered their own identities. We have always been here is something queers (myself included) often say, but we have not always conceived of ourselves in the same way, using the same language. (Jeanna Kadlec)

The Big Issue interviews screenwriter/producer Russell T Davies, who broaches the subject as well.

The thing that would surprise the teenage Russell was how openly gay he could be one day. That’s why every interview I do, I mention being gay. It’s such an important thing to see you can be an open, happy, confident gay man. It’s hard to get across to straight people how massively, fundamentally straight our culture is. Pretty much every main character in every story has been straight. We can look back and add a queer slant in hindsight, but from The Bible on, every lead character for centuries and centuries has been straight. All our history, all of Jane Austen and Shakespeare and the Brontës, straight, straight, straight. I’d love to go back and show teenage Russell Queer as Folk. He’d never believe such a thing would be allowed on screen, never mind that I would write it! I think young Russell would have a great time watching that, but let’s not go into too many details… (Jane Graham)

Women.com lists the '15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer by Women', including

7. You, Me, and the Sea by Meg Donohue
Growing up in a small town on the coast of Northern California, Merrow Shaw always loved her home, despite the tragic disappearance of her mother and her sometimes-cruel brother. But everything changes for the better when her family takes in orphan Amir and they find themselves falling in love with one another. Just as Merrow finds true happiness again, she gets caught up in a situation that will upset her life and lead her to question the place she’s always called home and the reality of first love. If you’re a fan of Wuthering Heights, this book will be right up your alley. (Ashley Johnson)

New York Theatre Guide reviews the play Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard.

Gilles Geary, a fairly recent Juilliard graduate, is superb as Wesley. The role (and indeed the play) is widely held to be autobiographical and Geary definitely fits the mold. Handsome in a lanky, unconventional way, he exudes the kind of brooding mystery of a Heathcliff. With equally appealing results. (Donna Herman)

Independent looks at quite another side of Jean Rhys:

Forty years after her death, Jean Rhys is regarded as one of the great writers of the 20th century. Time magazine included Wide Sargasso Sea in its “100 best English-language novels since 1923” – but one side of her career that has been neglected is a musical one: Rhys penned a witty song about broken love for jazz singer George Melly. (Martin Chilton)

Today's blunder comes from a review of Tangerine by Christine Mangan by Le journal du dimanche (France):

Il y a John le mari, foncièrement antipathique, qui d’emblée n’aime pas cette amie lointaine et jusque là inexistante dans l’esprit de sa femme. Ce John qui n’a même pas lu Jane Eyre et encore moins Les Hauts de Hurlevent de Charlotte Brontë. (Karen Lajon) (Translation)

Newsum (India) has included a quote by Charlotte Brontë among '34 Beautiful Quotes on Happiness'. Tempest of Books writes about the impact of Jane Eyre on her life while AnneBrontë.org identifies Henry Nussey as St John Rivers's real-life counterpart and looks into what became of him after Charlotte Brontë turned him down.