Far more like experimental than the Brontës

Actor Pat Kinevane writes about the 'Culture That Made Me' in The Irish Examiner.

A rainy day in Cobh

 A book I love for its complete wildness and anti-hero stuff is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. It reminded me of Ireland when I read it at school and afterwards I re-read it so many times. The poeticism of it is pure Irish and the moors could have been up in Mitchelstown. And the pathetic fallacy in it – when I was reading the book, I could really feel the weather, especially growing up in a harbour town like Cobh. You’d hear the wind. You’d hear the rain. You knew before you got up what it was going to be like outside – squally rain, dampness and typhoons. That’s why it really hit me. She got the mood of passion and broken hearts and love and hate in it so beautifully. (Richard Fitzpatrick)

Honk News on classic literature:

The benefit of studying the different eras of classical writing is seeing the evolution of social norms throughout time. Looking at the portrayal of different social groups in classical literature helps us to better understand how far our own society has progressed. For instance, the representation of women in ancient literature, such as Homer’s epic poems, differs greatly from the role that women play in the Romantic era novels of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë.

In this case, the question of who was being written for again comes into play. In the era of Austen and Brontë, it was becoming more common for girls to attend proper school, and so more of the literature being produced was designed to allow women to reflect on their place in society. This fact brings us to one of the major reasons for which contemporary literature is so important for us to engage with.

Once again Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë were writing in completely different eras.

And Spanish writer Espido Freire comments precisely on the Romantic era thing in El Mundo (Spain).

Recientemente presentó su ensayo Tras los pasos de Jane Austen. Una mujer romántica pero transgresora. ¿Cómo cree que ha variado el tratamiento del tema romántico en el tiempo?

Bueno, yo nunca diría que Jane Austen es una autora romántica; por su época, pertenece a la Regencia. Por el género que cultiva, a un realismo costumbrista. Sin embargo es imposible sustraerse al encanto de sus tramas amorosas, en las que las protagonistas reivindican una dignidad personal y un espacio en una sociedad que les negaba, en muchos sentidos, ambas. En ese sentido, tanto ella como las Brontë han sido una constante fuente de inspiración, a veces de imitación, para las autoras de novela romántica, que han homenajeado una y otra vez sus tramas y sus amoríos. El enfoque ha cambiado de manera drástica, pero yo destacaría dos puntos. El uso del lenguaje, que ya no necesita ambigüedades, y la aparición de lo explícito en las descripciones de relaciones sexuales. (Daniel Vicente) (Translation)

The Sunday Post has a news story that would make Charlotte Brontë happy:

Staycationers looking for the ideal holiday read are turning to the great writer, according to Waterstones with the new interest in Scott and his works, which include classics like Rob Roy, Ivanhoe and The Lady Of The Lake, coming on the 250th anniversary of his birth. [...]

And, beyond his universal themes, Scott was even experimental in his approach which was closer at times to that of 20th Century artists than the formal authors who followed him. “He’s far more like experimental novelists such as Laurence Sterne or Tobias Smollett than Charles Dickens or the Brontës or Jane Austen,” said [writer and critic Stuart Kelly, Scott’s biographer]. (Stevie Gallacher)

AnneBrontë.org celebrates Branwell's birthday with a round of testimonials by people who knew him.