A Parsonage of One's Own

You can have your very own Brontë Parsonage as The Westmoreland Gazette reports that a similar building by the same architect is now for sale.

A striking country residence, echoing architectural nuances of the Brontë sisters' family home, is up for sale in Cumbria's Crosby Garrett.

Mossgill House is a property bearing a rich history and architectural symmetry with the Bronte's famous 'Parsonage' house in Haworth, Yorkshire.

The house was designed by the same architect responsible for curating the Parsonage home, with both featuring an identical entrance hall.

David Britton, managing director of David Britton Estates, said: "I love properties with a rich heritage and a tale to tell, and Mossgill House ticks all the boxes.

"The connection to the Brontë family is fascinating; parts of Mossgill are a direct replica of The Parsonage, which is now a popular tourist attraction.

"This property is substantial, with an acre of fantastic grounds.

"It’s full of history, charm, and a real touch of class."

Built around 1747, Mossgill was frequently visited by sisters Charlotte, Emily, and their father, Patrick Brontë, who was a close acquaintance of the Rev. William Fawcett, Mossgill's resident during that period. (Erin Gaskell)

Well, we don't know about those frequent visits, though.

Broadway World interviews Julie Benko who plays Jane in Theatre Raleigh's Jane Eyre the Musical.

What initially drew you to the role of Jane Eyre, and how did you feel when you were cast?  

There's a reason this story has remained popular for almost 200 years and gets a new screen adaptation every decade or so. It's timeless. I loved the idea of portraying not only a classic heroine but a deeply unconventional one. Jane is a strong, unique, complex, passionate character. But I can't deny how overwhelmed I felt when I saw the script! Jane almost never leaves the stage - we still haven't figured out where I can get a sip of water during Act 1! But, like Jane, I love a challenge. So there's a lot of joy in figuring out how to climb that mountain (or, in our case, those moors). 

How have you been preparing to portray Jane Eyre, and what aspects of her character do you find most compelling?

I've been re-reading the book and watching all the various film and TV adaptations. (So far, the 2006 BBC miniseries starring Ruth Wilson is my favorite for the Jane/Rochester relationship and the acting, but the 1996 Zeffirelli film has my favorite sets and some great scenes.) Jane is a fascinating character because she does everything on her own terms. She's quite serious. (She doesn't have Fanny Brice's sense of humor, that's for sure!) She comes from nothing and spends her childhood enduring trauma after trauma: the loss of her parents, abuse from her extended family, shaming and isolation at school. And yet she builds a good life for herself. She's honest, strong, and whip-smart, with a forthright confidence that belies her youth. She's not perfect; she can be judgmental, moralistic, and prickly. To watch someone with such a strong ethical code fall in love with such an enigmatic, flawed character as Rochester makes for thrilling drama. 

How does the musical adaptation of Jane Eyre enhance the story, and what are some of your favorite musical numbers from the production?

The book was one of the first novels to be written from the first-person point of view, so you are aware of everything that Jane is thinking. That adapts very well to the musical theater form, because the music gives voice to so much of Jane's inner monologue, which is often replaced in film adaptations with long gazes, mournful silences, and odd voiceover interjections. And because Jane's intensity of feeling is so strong, it's a natural fit for Paul Gordon and John Caird's sweeping score.

Can you describe a specific scene or moment in Jane Eyre that you find particularly powerful or moving?

We haven't even staged it yet, but every time I sing through the finale alone in my hotel room I can't stop crying. It's just so moving. When I imagine Rochester singing to the baby about how scared he is to be a parent but he'll keep trying to "be brave enough for love..." Even typing it, I'm getting weepy! [...]

How do you hope to connect with the audience through your portrayal of Jane Eyre in this production?

I'm especially excited that we are live-capturing this production, since it means that we will get to connect with audiences beyond whoever can fit in the (quite intimate) room with us. This is such a gorgeous piece and I'm ready for the world to discover (or rediscover) it.

What do you think makes Theatre Raleigh's production of Jane Eyre unique, and why should audiences come to see it?

The space is so beautifully intimate that audiences will feel inside the story with us, no matter where they sit. It's also incredible to see what this troupe of 11 actors can do. Almost everyone plays at least two roles (many play more!). It's truly a celebration of The Theatre and of what we can create using our imaginations, language, and music.

There is so much magic in the simplicity and playfulness of this kind of storytelling. Megan McGinnis is doing such a beautiful job of making this classic romance feel exciting, current, poignant, and honest. And John Caird and Paul Gordon are flying in to work on it as well. When do you get to re-develop shows with the authors?! How special is that?! This is going to be an incredible production and I'm so lucky to be a part of it! (Joshua Wright)

In an interview for The Independent, actor Rafe Spall paraphrases (freely) from Wuthering Heights.

Rafe Spall is talking about love. “I’m lucky enough to know what love feels like,” he says, “because I’m a parent. There’s a line in Wuthering Heights – I’m paraphrasing, obviously – where Heathcliff says to Cathy, ‘Don’t you love me?’ And she says, ‘I don’t love you. You are me. I am you.’ When I think about my children, I think about that, a lot. It’s that sort of indescribable love.” (Charlotte O’Sullivan)

The Film Stage reviews Andrea Arnold's new film Bird.

 The director has gestured toward magical realism in her work before (think of the white horse in Fish Tank or the elemental yearning of her Wuthering Heights) but this first foray into anthropomorphism feels strangely surface-level and does more to break the film’s spell than enhance it. (Rory O'Connor)

The Saturday Paper reviews the novel Ordinary Human Love by Melissa Goode.

The cover art may reproduce a neoclassical marble sculpture, rather than a topless male model, and the novel itself might reference canonical works – Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre – but these intertexts are like red herrings. Goode’s novel, despite being about an affair, and one that ostensibly crosses class boundaries, is unfortunately not of their league. This is a romance in the universal sense of the term. (Maria Takolander)

Financial Times reviews the exhibition Now You See Us at Tate Britain.

Tellingly, even Georgian celebrity Angelica Kauffman kept tightly to neoclassical patriarchal themes, and her female figures are unthreatening, insipid — “Andromache Fainting”, women swooning at “The Return of Telemachus”. In the 19th century, the successful Pre-Raphaelite Marie Spartali Stillman painted heroines as dreamy, passive and flower-encircled (“The Rose from Armida’s Garden”) as those by her male colleagues. How fascinating that the Victorian novel boasts pioneering feminist heroines — Jane Eyre, Dorothea Brooke — while women painters remained shackled by convention. (Jackie Wullschläger)