Jane Eyre student performances

Student theatre productions of Jane Eyre:
Picture Source
1. In Brownwood, TX, probably Robert Johanson's one-act adaptation of Jane Eyre:

Jane Eyre
One-act play.

The Brownwood High School theatre department is getting set for their upcoming UIL one act play competition.  To help them prepare, the actors are offering a sneak peek performance to the public of their production Jane Eyre.
The public is invited to see the performance of Jane Eyre Thursday, March 22 at 7:30pm in the Dorothy McIntosh Fine Arts Center at Brownwood High School. Tickets will be available at the door for a donation.
Brownwood High School students will travel to Sweetwater this weekend and perform their one act play in competition this Saturday.
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë’s magnificent Gothic love story, is brought to stirring life by the performers. In the burned-out ruins of Thornfield Hall, the adult Jane Eyre recalls the disturbing events of her childhood and young adulthood: her miserable upbringing as an orphan thrust upon unsympathetic relatives, her trials at the infamous Lowood School, and eventually her acceptance as governess at Thornfield Hall where she encounters its enigmatic master, Edward Rochester.  Jane eventually unravels the secrets of this mysterious place and finds her own personal epiphany through honesty, courage, and sacrifice. (Ray Tipton in Brownwood News)

Photo gallery and complete cast here.

2. And a few days ago, the Jane Kendall adaptation of Jane Eyre was performed in Louisville, KY:

March 16, 2012~March 17, 2012
Portland Christian School
2500 Portland Avenue
Louisville , KY , 40212 US

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A little more wild abandon

The Bucks Herald reviews the Jane Eyre DVD briefly:

Charlotte Brontë’s romance Jane Eyre (PG: Universal) has been adapted for the screen many times,the most memorable being the 1943 version starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine.
In the latest, the title role is played by Mia Wasikowska, who made a good impression in Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland.
Though looking as fragile as porcelain, she stands firm against Michael Fassbender’s fiery Mr Rochester, who employs her to be a governess at his gloomy mansion.
At times, the noticeable age difference casts him as a predator rather than a potential lover, although Fassbender cleverly conveys a deeper yearning for something pure and wholesome to cherish.
Above all, it’s a very respectful treatment, even if a little more wild abandon that originally draws Jane to Rochester would have helped. (Geoff Cox)

And the Washington and Lee University blog looks into 'what constitutes teen lit':

In this case, the questions posed to [English professor Suzanne Keen] were these: Is Oliver Twist a YA publication?  Is Jane Eyre "teen lit"?
Her response? No and yes.
From the historical perspective, her answer was no, and she wrote:

The earliest form of “teen lit” or “YA” in the English novel tradition is boys’ adventure fiction, often thought to have been initiated by Robert Louis Stevenson with Treasure Island (1883). (Though there are a few earlier precursors.) In the 1880s and 1890s, adventure fiction took off as a separate mode of fiction aimed at a younger audience.  It always had adult readers–this is not a new phenomenon!
Jane Eyre (1847) and Oliver Twist (1837) predate that development. They were aimed at an adult readership that included children.  Dickens especially wrote with his read-aloud audience in mind.  Children and illiterates heard his stories read aloud by literate friends or parents.

But, she adds, “In subsequent marketing/pedagogy: yes. Both the books [Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist] become 'teen books' when they are frequently taught to teens.  This happens even today.  Both Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time have migrated into the YA canon (taught in middle schools and high schools) after initial publications aimed at serious adult literary readerships.” (Jeff Hanna)

The Spenborough Guardian alerts readers to the forthcoming Brontë-related event at St Peter's Church (Hartshead) on March 31st. Ax.The.Universe posts briefly about Jane Eyre and What Party? and Kul Kul Kul write about the 2011 adaptation while Una solitaria como yo writes in Spanish about the 1944 adaptation. La professora d'inglese thinks Jane's clothes reveal her personality.

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Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre - A review

Our thanks to Gibbs Smith Publishers for sending us a digital copy of the book for review.

Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre
Jennifer Adams
Illustrations: Alison Oliver
Gibbs Smith Publisher (Board Book)
ISBN: 978-1-4236-2474-5

Brontëites now have the earliest possible way of introducing their children to books in general (check out the other titles in the BabyLit collection) and Jane Eyre in particular, thanks to this book born of the collaboration of Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver.

A few weeks ago we looked at Gloria Fortún and Isa Vázquez's collaboration in Charlotte Brontë, which is surely the book your children will be wanting to read if you start by reading them Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre. All steps towards the Brontëites of the future, of course.

Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre is by definition a counting primer. We can't help but wonder what Charlotte Brontë would have thought of her book being turned into such a thing but we tend to think she would have been at least slightly amused. Victorian critics would have raised their eyebrows though - Jane Eyre at the reach of babies? Impossible!

And yet there it is: 1 governess counting her way up to ten, teaching not just her own pupil Adèle, but babies all over the world. Babies will be mesmerised by the colours (and it being a cardboard book they will also bite off a chunk or two if given the chance) and will possibly learn to count.

But Brontëite parents (those who already have children and those who will have them in years to come) will be delighted at Jennifer Adams's attention to not just numbers and Alison Oliver's detailed work in the illustrations. Apart from colourful, the illustrations are easy on the eye and full of tiny details that will probably be catching the reading parents' eyes long after the zillionth read. Thornfield Hall and its 4 towers is not just the 'castle' it initially looks like: there is much more in it if looked carefully. And we dare parents who have been through it a few times already to not keep on finding new birds  - when you think you have seen them all a new one turns up that makes you admire the creators' craft in the inclusion and the development of such a representative image of Jane Eyre as birds are. And that's just one thing among many other delightful details which will show the (adult) reader that this book is much more connected to Jane Eyre than they thought.

As for Jennifer Adams's work - she teaches children more than just numbers: there are insects and even a spelling rule in there. But what is certainly closer to our hearts is the quote 'I have as much soul as you - and full as much heart', a quotation (and a grammar structure) that - to our knowledge - hasn't been 'allowed' near babies ever.

As for the numbers - which Brontëite's curiosity won't be piqued by the, for instance, '8 drawings' reference - are there truly '8 drawings' in Jane Eyre? After reading this book to their children at bedtime, many will pick Jane Eyre off the bookshelf for their own bedtime too, we know.

A wonderful little book.

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The Brontës: messing with your head since the nineteenth century

The New York Times reviews Martha Graham's Death and Entrances at the Joyce Theater.

The Brontës Are Here To Mess With Your Head [...]
The three Brontë sisters were on Graham’s mind when she choreographed this psychosexual drama, which had its premiere in 1943. To say that the central characters in this dance are conflicted is to call the Sahara rainfall-challenged. Their bodies sheathed in Halston’s jewel-toned, torso-skimming evening gowns, they wrench and heave and coil. Most everything in Arch Lauterer’s spare set manages to evoke phallic imagery (unless chess pieces were much, much bigger in the Brontës’ day). Judith M. Daitsman’s lighting is dark, Hunter Johnson’s score roils. (Claudia La Rocco)

A columnist at the Ballina Shire Advocate wonders,

What inspires you?
For me, it's reading the timeless quotes and stories by some of literature's greats such as Mark Twain, Anne Brontë or Edgar Allan Poe. (Janessa Ekert)

And the Salem Classic Literature Examiner thinks that two Brontë novels - not Anne's - are among the best book written by women:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - Dark, soulful, and deeply romantic, featuring one of literature's strongest, most passionate heroines.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - A novel about life on the untamed English moors, highlighting issues of character, class, and passion. (Erin Kahn)

Poesias Brontëanas continues translating Brontë poems into Portuguese. Also in Portuguese, Romance com Tema Sobrenatural posts about Jane Eyre. Vintage Pearl reviews the 2011 adaptation. Bumbles and Fairy-tales posts about Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre. Bitsy Bling writes about Margot Livesey's The Flight of Gemma Hardy and A Book a Day writes briefly about the forthcoming A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont. Folhas de Papel posts about Wuthering Heights in Portuguese and Feministisk Filmfasta writes about Andrea Arnold's adaptation of the novel. STPben reviews Wide Sargasso Sea. Salt & Light features the Brontë birthplace at Thornton.

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North Carolina, Massachussetts and Missouri

Alerts for today and tomorrow (March 20 and 21):

1.  In Fayetteville, NC:

The series Let's Talk About It: Mad Women in the Attic kicks off at 6:30 p.m. March 20 at the Headquarters Library with "Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Brontë. (The Fayetteville Observer)


What happens to a woman whose behavior defies social and domestic expectations? Perhaps she is locked in an attic; more often she is a woman involved in a quest to discover her identity. These works may help us redefine "mad women."

• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
• Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
• The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• Surfacing, Margaret Atwood
• Sula, Toni Morrison

 2.  In Rockport, MA:

The Rockport Public Library will host a meet the author event Wednesday, March 21, 7 p.m., in the Brenner Friends Room. Novelist Margot Livesey will discuss "The Flight of Gemma Hardy," a modern variation of "Jane Eyre" set in Scotland in the 1960s. The program is sponsored by the Friends of the Rockport Library, Toad Hall Bookstore, and the library. The public is invited. (Gloucester Times)

3. In O'Fallon, MO:

Book Discussion Club - "Wuthering Heights"
March 21, 2012, 10:30 am Middendorf-Kredell Branch Library,

There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts of passionate love than the story of the tormented Heathcliff, who falls wildly in love with Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of his benefactor, and of the violence and misery that result from their thwarted longing for each other.
Join a book discussion group at the library. Participants should read the book in advance. You can pick up a copy at the library. Sponsored by Friends of the Library.
Registration required. (Tamara Duncan on Lake Saint Louis Patch)

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Phenomenal Rochester

Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights will be released on DVD in a few days in the UK and Film News is giving away three copies.

To win just send an email with HEIGHTS! in the subject line to comp@film-news.co.uk including your name, address and telephone number. Winners will be notified by phone/email.

The Kaya Scodelario Web is also giving away two copies of the DVD among UK residents. BrontëBlog readers have it easy as they have to answer who wrote Wuthering Heights.

All you have to do is send an email with your name, address, and answer the following question to tayna@kayascodelario.net :
Who wrote the novel, Wuthering Heights?
The competition will close on Wednesday, March 28th, when the winners will be drawn at random. Only one entry per person will be accepted and this is for UK residents only. Hopefully we will have other competitions in the future for international visitors.

Forbes on Michael Fassbender:

Michael Fassbender is great. His performance in Jane Eyre was phenomenal. He wasn’t half bad as Magneto either. I look forward to seeing him in this movie [Prometheus] as David, an advanced android who may or may not be as interesting as Rochester. (Erik Kain)

The Times of India features Brontëite Sonam Kapoor and her sister Rhea:

There was really no scope for sibling rivalry because they excelled at different things. "I was happiest sitting in my room with a book by Jane Austen or The Brontë sisters, eating cookies, while Rhea had her dolls," says Sonam, who also enjoys sports.

The Collegian reviews the student production of Polly Teale's Brontë at the California State University in Fresno:

This is a play that depends upon the acting ensemble for it to be effective and moving. There are many entrances, exits and several multiple roles, which were deftly performed by all.
Matthew Schlitz played a notable role of father Patrick Brontë, Mr. Brocklehurst and Rochester (both from “Jane Eyre”), Mr. Heger (Charlotte’s French tutor), and Arthur Bell Nicholls, with a variety of accents and costume changes that was truly masterful.
Also of note were Aaron McGee, in the roles of failed brother Branwell, Heathcliff (from “Wuthering Heights”) and Arthur Huntington (from Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”).
Huntington sparked in every scene he was in, and Kia Vassiliades as middle sister Emily, whose spirited performance as well as striking make-up change in the last scenes were captivating. (Stephen Keleher)

Abigails sports several governess gowns in well-known Brontë locations and Typing Tiara reviews April Lindner's Jane.

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The Brontës in Brooklyn

Do you want to know something more about the Brontës and you live in New York? Now is your chance:

The Brontë Sisters at Brooklyn Brainery
Three Wednesdays, 3/21, 3/28, and 4/4, 8:30-10:00pm
515 Court St, Brooklyn, NY
50 $

Taught by Charlotte Bowen
Charlotte Bowen is a writer, polymath, and all around good egg who lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. She blogs about languages, history, and the joys of autodidactic learning at friendlypolymath.com.

The Brontë sisters -- Charlotte, Emily, and Anne -- are a fascinating study in contradictions: ardent feminists whose works nevertheless seem to embrace patriarchy, reclusive outsiders with a thorough knowledge of human nature, and devout Christians and royalists whose works nevertheless evince a skepticism about the established church and monarchy.
Over three sessions we'll resolve these contradictions and place the lives and works Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë within a broader historical and literary context. There's no need to have read their books ahead of time: if you're interested in history, feminism, sociology, or psychological portraits of interesting people, you're sure to find something to spark your imagination.

You can read the course preview by Charlotte Bowen here.

Some literature just shouldn't be taught in schools. Not because it's too racy or too incomprehensible, but because a two-week reading and a list of comprehension questions just go nowhere towards describing the historical and literary context needed to really understand and appreciate the real power of a great novel.
This is definitely the case with the Bronte sisters. If you're anything like me, you might have read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights in school and not gotten a lot out of them. You may never even have heard of Agnes Grey, Villette, or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Yet each of these novels has something fascinating to say about the time and place in which they were written, and the people who wrote or influenced them -- as any lucky person who rereads these books in adulthood will find.  (Read more)

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Reading Jane Eyre all day long

A nice initiative took place at the Michigan State University as covered by the Lansing State Journal:

[Rachel] Manela and a shifting group of fellow students and professors from the university’s James Madison College had been reading the book to one another for nearly 11 hours. They had just begun its second half.“It’s looking to go pretty late,” said Manela, a sophomore. She had no intention of leaving. “To experience it out loud with other people from beginning to end is just an amazing experience. It’s otherworldly.” (...)
Phillips said patterns have emerged. Books that involve quests work better than those that don’t. Books that can be read in eight or 10 hours aren’t as satisfying as those that take 18 or 20 hours. (...)
What came through in Brontë’s novel was the humor, the piquancy of the dialogue, the wryness of the narrator.Even as students who had devoted a sunny Saturday to the effort sometimes stumbled over the 19th-century vocabulary and interjections of French, they laughed a good deal. (Matthew Miller)

The Sunday Herald talks about an interesting event that will take place next month (April 2) at the Edinburgh International Science Festival:

Bertha Rochester is depicted in Jane Eyre as terrifying to all who hear her mournful cries. "What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell," wrote the novel's author, Charlotte Brontë. "It grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal." It is hardly surprising that Bertha, closeted, secret wife of the charismatic Mr Rochester, made such a lasting impact on readers.
In demonising a woman with psychiatric problems, however, Brontë was guilty of performing what is probably the greatest disservice to mental health in literature. That, certainly, is the view of writer and broadcaster Viv Parry, who has studied the way women and their mental health are portrayed in 19th-century novels, and who next month joins psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud and St Andrews University lecturer Sarah Dillon at an Edinburgh International Science Festival event titled Madwomen In The Attic. (Rebecca McQuillan)

Sequels and prequels in the Sunday Express:

Any attempt to augment or emulate an established classic will almost certainly risk unfavourable comparisons.
It can sometimes work, however: Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys’s Jane Eyre prequel, revived a decadesdormant career; George MacDonald Fraser’s hugely successful Flashman series ran to a dozen books and correspondingly massive sales. (Martin Newell)

The anonymity of reading on an e-reader is discussed on C-Net:

It seems that sales of female-targeted erotica are pointing up. One report attributes this to the additional privacy offered by tablets. Yes, people think you're reading Jane Eyre, but you're not. (...)
The more enterprising in olden times would have simply bought a paperback of "Jane Eyre," torn out the body, replaced it with "Debbie Gets Her Dues," and then glued the new body to the "Jane Eyre" cover. (Chris Matyszczyk)

frided2 posts on YouTube a stopmotion video inspired by Wuthering Heights; the Brontë Sisters posts about William Weightman.

And finally an interesting Jane Eyre challenge held by Pen and Ink...and maybe some paint...:

Anyway, as I read Chapter 13 I came across the descriptions of three strange pictures which Jane had painted. Mr. Rochester has just met her and he is examining the paintings and trying to learn more about her. I thought it might be quite a challenge for each of us to choose a painting and paint our interpretation of what it might have looked like. (...)
When you complete your painting you can come back here and attach a comment to the Jane Eyre Challenge page (the link is in my right hand column) with a link to the blog page where your painting is posted.

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Region 2 releases

Waiting for the UK release of Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights (March 26) there are some other Region 2 DVD releases available:

Of course, Jane Eyre 2011:

Jane Eyre

• Format: PAL
• Language English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2
• Studio: Universal Pictures UK
• DVD Release Date: 12 Mar 2012
• Run Time: 115 minutes

DVD Description

In the 19th Century-set story, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) suddenly flees Thornfield Hall, the vast and isolated estate where she works as a governess for Adèle Varens, a child under the custody of Thornfield’s brooding master, Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). The imposing residence – and Rochester’s own imposing nature – have sorely tested her resilience. With nowhere else to go, she is extended a helping hand by clergyman St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell) and his family. As she recuperates in the Rivers’ Moor House and looks back upon the tumultuous events that led to her escape, Jane wonders if the past is ever truly past…

Special Features:

• Director’s Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• A Look Inside Jane Eyre
• To Score Jane Eyre: Cary Fukunaga and Dario Marianelli Team Up
• The Mysterious Light of Jane Eyre

There's also a Region Free Triple play (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) edition.

Wuthering Heights (Repackaged) [DVD] [1978]

• Format: PAL
• Language English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: 2entertain
• DVD Release Date: 23 Jan 2012
• Run Time: 255 minutes

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Jane's evil brother, Ryan

Keighley News talks about Simon Warner's current project which, as we have posted before, focuses on Top Withins:

Local people will work with Worth Valley filmmaker and artist Simon Warner on an exhibition showcasing the South Pennines moorland.
The renowned photographer is the latest artist in residence on the Watershed Landscape project.
He will spend several months exploring people’s attitudes towards the landscape, particularly the literary connections of the area.
Simon is focusing on Top Withens, the ruined farmhouse near Stanbury that is thought to be the inspiration for the setting of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
The result will be a three-part exhibition combining Simon’s landscape video films on miniature screens and work in collaboration with community groups.
There will also be a photographic history showing the progressive ruination of Top Withens, showcasing iconic images by landscape photographers including Bill Brandt, Fay Godwin and Alexander Keighley.
Simon said Top Withens had a resonance of its own, not necessarily linked to the Brontës.
He said: “The more people know I’m interested in Top Withens the more they want to tell me their stories.
“It’s a special place to so many people; ashes have been scattered there and I know of at least one person who has proposed to his girlfriend at Top Withens.
“Obviously it has the Brontës link, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath both wrote poems about the site and many photographers have captured the scene over the years.(...)
The exhibition will be at the Brontë Parsonage Museum from September 28 to December 3, coinciding with a symposium at nearby West Lane Baptist Church on October 6.
Mr Warner said: “The symposium will be an exploration of how we understand landscape.
“I have invited a diverse range of presenters to the event including a local historian, geography professor, writer, landscape artist and performer.
“There will be some people there for the intellectual ideas, some there for the art and some for the landscape.
“I’m bringing them all together and then hopefully they will make connections and share their inspirations.”
Simon is the fifth artist in residence for the Watershed Landscape Project, which is funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund and managed by Pennine Prospects. (David Knights)

And also about the latest initiative of Brontë Spirit for restoring and safeguarding the Old School Rooms in Haworth:

The voluntary group leading a project to restore one of Haworth’s most historic buildings wants to develop links with the business world.
Brontë Spirit is working to safeguard the future of the Old School Room, in Church Street, which was built by the Rev Patrick Brontë.
The group is staging open days at the premises Friday and on Saturday. It has invited many members of the district’s business sector along with community leaders to see what potential the building offers.
Averil Kenyon, chairman of Brontë Spirit, said: “While we are currently discussing with English Heritage how we can restore the building to its former glory we have to consider what kind of sustainable future the building has.
“For the two open days we have invited representatives from the commercial estate agency world to come and talk to us about what kind of business or community use might most easily fit into what the building can offer.
“We have also invited companies from many sectors which could easily find a use for the building and community organisations looking to expand their operations now that the Government is asking us to embrace localism, or need extra space to house their current operations.
“We’re very optimistic that this building will adapt to a modern use and that will ensure this key structure within the Haworth historical footprint will be saved for future generations to appreciate.”
The Old School Room currently has serious problems with its roof and needs major external refurbishments.
Mrs Kenyon added: “Our discussions with English Heritage are at an advanced stage and they have been very helpful. (Miran Rahman)

John Mullan chooses then ten best literary thunderstorms in The Guardian:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
There is a thunderstorm on the night Heathcliff overhears Cathy telling Nelly Dean she is planning to marry Edgar Linton. In despair, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights, and the elements supply their descant. "About midnight, while we still sat up, the storm came rattling over the Heights in full fury."

The Liverpool Echo remembers how Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights was number one on the lists on a week like this 34 years ago:

Written by Kate Bush when she was 18, the song is based on the last 10 minutes of the 1970 film version of Wuthering Heights. She then read the book and discovered that she shared her birthday with Emily Brontë. It took just a few hours to compose but she released it as her debut single.
Record company, EMI had originally chosen another track, James and the Cold Gun as the lead single, but Bush was determined that Wuthering Heights would be the first release from the album. She won out eventually in a surprising show of determination for a young female vocalist against a major record company.
Two music videos were created to accompany Wuthering Heights. In one version, she can be seen performing the song in a dark room filled with white mist while wearing a white dress (which was the UK release); in the other, the singer dances in an outdoor environment while wearing a red dress (which was done for the American release).
The release of the single was doubly delayed as Bush changed details on the sleeve photographs and the design.
Wuthering Heights was finally released on January 6, 1978 and eventually crept into the charts on February 11 at number 42.
The following week it rose to number 27 and Bush made her first appearance on Top of the Pops – and the song became one of the most played records on radio. (Jade Wright)

And the same newspaper mentions The Sarah Millican Television Programme where the comedian said:

Millican, pictured, is cheeky, charming and deliciously daft: “I liked the BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, but there was no mention of her evil brother, Ryan.” (Paddy Shennan)

Spiked talks about Michael Winterbottom's tranposition of Tess of de D'Urbervilles to India in Krishna and says:

Filmmakers never have been able to resist indulging their love for the good ol’ English canon by churning out their own rendering of classic novels. Last year was no exception, with the likes of Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre and Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights hitting our screens. But while these were both pretty decent efforts, overall they provided little more than an opportunity for the well-versed viewer to compare them to previous outings and mull over their treatment of the source material.  (Tom Slater)

Erm... we have to disagree with that. At least Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights version was as radical as to set Tess in India.

The Daily Record talks precisely about Jane Eyre 2011's DVD:

An elegant adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s timeless romance. Jane (Mia Wasikowska) flees Thornfield Hall in tears, where she has been employed as governess for the young ward of Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). (****) (Rick Fulton)

And DI-VE (Malta) presents Wuthering Heights (2011) which has been premiered in Malta.

The Herald publishes an intriguing article that seems to be about the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup:

A year in the life. When Jordan Coghlan reflects, he does so with a smile. In the corresponding weekend a year ago he was busily preparing for a long weekend of study alongside his fellow boarders in Clane.
Wuthering Heights, Pythagoras' Theorem or Hamlet? Take your pick. (...)
Now when you talk about big sporting occasions and ask the question to a mere 19-year-old, a sense of over-statement can set in.
So with the pressures of the Leaving Certificate looming, Coghlan might have physically settled into the study hall, but mentally his mind was elsewhere as his Clongowes Wood College SJ side were shaping up to face Cistercian College Roscrea in the final of the Schools Senior Cup in the RDS.
I think it's fair to say that Brontë and Shakespeare took a back seat that weekend. (Peter Breen)

The Globe and Mail gives reasons why 'teens should read 'adult' fiction and vice-versa':

Wayne Koestenbaum (cultural critic; 13 books, including Humiliation)
Two books that “blew my mind” in seventh grade: Richard Wright's Black Boy, and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Both taught me that identity germinated from ordeal, punishment, abjection. I was moved by the plights of the first-person narrators – and by their wily, self-reliant, imaginative rebellion against the experiences of what Giorgio Agamben has called “desubjectification” – the horror of being turned into a naught, a cipher. (Sheila Heti)

Trashionista interviews the writer Elizabeth Buchan:

What is your favourite book?
What an agonizing question. Jane Eyre? Persuasion? I think I will plump for Ian McEwan's Atonement.   (...)
Who is your favourite heroine?
You would be hard pressed to match Jane Eyre - so tough and brave and impassioned. A real role model. (Elle Symonds)

The Orlando Books Examiner has gone from Jane Eyre to The Hunger Games:

Trying to not get caught up in the latest literary phenomenon is like trying to avoid laughing at something funny for me. I just can't help myself. So naturally, I have gotten caught up in The Hunger Games. Not since I read Jane Eyre last year have I been so engrossed in a book. As soon as I opened it, I became obsessed with the characters, the action, the world, and the surprises. (Catie Bloomfield)

Il Recensore interviews Juliet Gael, author of Romancing Miss Brontë, recently released in Italy:

Signora Gael, quando è nato il suo interesse per le sorelle Brontë?
Il mio interesse per le Brontë iniziò molti anni addietro, quando studiai i loro romanzi all’Università. Rimasi affascinata dalla complessa dinamica familiare e dall’atteggiamento vittoriano verso le donne, in particolare la segretezza della vita delle donne e la battaglia delle figlie per il riconoscimento in una società in cui mostrarsi pubblicamente era considerato non femminile. Dapprincipio iniziai a scrivere la loro storia come sceneggiatura, in seguito, anni dopo, vi ritornai con un romanzo.  (Read more) (Alessandra Stoppini) (Translation)

Causeur (France) talks about the Deborah Mitford:

Que serait Jules sans Edmond (Goncourt) ? Qui se souviendrait de Averell Dalton s’il n’était flanqué de ses trois épouvantables frangins ? Des sœurs Brontë si elles n’avaient été que voisines ? L’appartenance à une fratrie extraordinaire suffit à en faire entrer chacun de ses membres dans la légende. (Frédéric Rouvillois) (Translation)

Der Freitag (Germany) reviews Béla Tarr's film A Torinói ló (The Turin Horse):

Das Richtmaß für eine gut erzählte Geschichte ist die Menge weiterer Geschichten, die hinter ihr noch sichtbar werden. Das Kino und die Literatur kennen indes wenige Werke, die derart als Ableger konzipiert sind und Nebenfiguren zu Protagonisten befördern. Im Zentrum von Jean Rhys‘ Roman Saragassomeer steht die erste Ehefrau von Rochester aus Jane Eyre; Billy Wilder kam die Idee zu Das Apartment, nachdem er gründlich über David Leans Melo Begegnung nachgedacht hatte: Wie sähe das Ganze aus der Sicht des Mannes aus, der den anderweitig verheirateten Liebenden seine Wohnung überlässt? (Gerhardt Midding) (Translation)

Berliner Morgenpost (Germany) presents the novel Als die Liebe zu Elise kam by Natasha Solomon like this:

Natasha Solomons' Roman ist beeindruckend: romantisch und hochdramatisch. Solomons ist eine moderne Emily Brontë.  (Translation)

Finally some more (mainly positive) Russian reviews of Wuthering Heights 2011: НГС Relax, Фонтанка, Коммерсантъ and Газета.

Capricorn Annoymous reviews Jane Eyre; Heroes and Heartbreakers discusses the appeal of the abusive hero (like Heathcliff); henribneto reviews (on YouTube and in Portuguese) Wuthering Heights and a new update of the Brontë Weather Project.

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Brontë in Fresno

A student production of Polly Teale's Brontë opened yesterday March 16 at the California State University in  Fresno:
Picture Source:

Cary Edmondson /Special to The Bee

Alyssa Garvin (Cathy) and Aaron McGee (Heathcliff).

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/15/2762812/bronte-brilliance.html#storylink=cpy

Brontë
Polly Teale
Directed by Ruth Griffin
March 16 - 24, 2012  8:00 PM (except March 18, 2:00 PM)

The Fresno Bee says something more about the production:

Griffin describes it as combining text-based theater with such devices as dance, mask work and puppetry. In "Brontë," Griffin uses a variety of dance and movement to cater to the imagination of the audience. For example, when the sisters discuss the industrialization of the time -- one of the play's themes -- their movements take on a mechanized quality. (...)
The structure: Griffin describes it as post-modern. "I think of it as a photographic album -- you're looking at images, then you turn a page, and, wham, you're somewhere else," she says. "But there is a reason to the madness. There is a structure to how you're moved through time."
The production design: A stylized period set is inspired by the famous hearth at the Brontë parsonage at Haworth, England. The three women are wearing custom corsets, because Griffin felt it was important to show the kind of confinement women felt in their culture.
Why this play? "I felt I needed to do a play where there was a soul I could really resonate with," Griffin says. "I'm deeply moved by the Brontës. It's reinvigorated my love of romanticism, of the kind of reach for eternity within a romantic poem." (Donald Munro)

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/15/2762812/bronte-brilliance.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/15/2762812/bronte-brilliance.html#storylink=cpy

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Brontë Society Annual Literary Luncheon

Today, March 17, takes place the Brontë Society Annual Literary Luncheon:

William Etty, The Royal Academy … and Branwell Brontë?
The Bar Convent,  York
Speaker: Richard Green
 
Arrival and coffee : 11.15
Lecture : 12.00 The Bedingfield Room
Luncheon : 1.00 Entrance Hall
Sunday Morning: Chris Went, Trustee and Vice-Chair on Membership Committee, will lead a leisurely walk around the City of York. You may join the walk whether or not you attended the events on Saturday, but do please let us know if it is your intention to do so.

Complete details here.

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All three sisters

Let's begin with a statement we like. From Nouse:

Take the Brontë family for example. All three sisters were literary geniuses.

Yes! Not just two, but 'all three'.

Augustin Trapenard discusses Emily Brontë's poetry on France 24 International News and BBC Two's programme My Life in Books finds one more Brontëite: sport presenter Clare Balding chooses Wuthering Heights as one of her books.

Nola reports on the Jane Austen Festival at Old Mandeville where

A series of lectures on March 10 at the North Star Theater explored such topics as dating advice during the Regency era, the Brontë sisters, and scandalous affairs during the time of Charles Dickens. (Kenneth Mathews)

The Atlantic looks at several illustrators, one of which is Kate Beaton. And WAtoday discusses 50 Shades of Grey by EL James:

Historian Lynn Hunt even argues that romance was crucial to the development of human rights as it taught middle class readers to empathise with heroines outside of their own class.
This is not to suggest that the tedious prose or conceptual vapidity of E. L. James should be compared with Austen, Brontë, Smith or Rousseau. But romance has the potential to explore the relationship between power and intimacy, which, in relegating romantic fiction to the trivial, we seem to have collectively ignored. (Alecia Simmonds)

Bookhad and Ez melyik történet? (in Hungarian) post about Wuthering Heights. Limacine and Boas Leituras (in Portuguese) write about Villette. Priyanka's Neverland posts about Jane Eyre and Fohnhouse reviews the 2011 adaptation. Writing and Ruminating loves Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver'd Little Miss Brontë: Jane Eyre.

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Covers by Sara Singh

Splinter's Classic Lines publishes new reprints of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights with covers by the illustrator Sara Singh:

Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Series: Classic Lines
Publisher: Splinter (Sterling Publishing)
Published: March 2012
ISBN: 1-4027-8533-X
ISBN13: 9781402785337

Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
Series: Classic Lines
Publisher: Splinter  (Sterling Publishing)
Published: March 2012
ISBN: 1-4027-8736-7
ISBN13: 9781402787362

Elle interviews Sara Singh who confesses:

ELLE: Which cover is your favorite?
SS: Jane Eyre. It’s the simplest. It’s stark, and she looks so lonely, and the trees look a bit scary. It’s my favorite. (Catherine Straut)

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Mr Rochester under the covers

Metro.co.uk interviews Mia Wasikowska:

What do you think are your biggest acting accomplishments? The first thing I did in the US was HBO show In Treatment – it was one of the most fulfilling jobs I've ever had. Now, I feel that Jane Eyre is a big accomplishment for me. Jane is a great character and so many people love and connect to her story. At its core, it's still very modern: it's about a young girl trying to find a connection in a very dislocated world, and about finding love and a family. The themes have a universality and, for that reason, people can always relate to them. [...]
Did wearing those corsets help you get into character? I hated wearing them – they're so uncomfortable. But getting into full costume really helped me to understand the physical repression that women experienced at that time. The clothing they had to wear went hand in hand with the mental and emotional repression they also felt –   this was a huge part of Victorian culture. Once the corset was on, I couldn't really take in a whole breath, I couldn't eat very much and I couldn't move as freely due to the discomfort it caused. It was painful.
What's the secret to your chemistry with Michael Fassbender? He has a really fantastic energy and is very worldly and so friendly. I feel like we got on very well from the beginning. We have a similar way of working and we were able to counter the intensity of the material by being goofy in between shoots. We channelled all the positive energy that we had into   the material. (Colin Kennedy)

The Spectator Book Blog unveils the novelist and playwright Sue Townsend as a Brontëite:

2) As a child, what did you read under the covers? Comics, Mad Magazine, P.G. Wodehouse, The William books, Jane Eyre, Little Women... [...]
5) Which literary character would you most like to sleep with? Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. (Fleur MacDonald)

The writer Sreela P. Nair is also a Brontëite of sorts. She says to The Hindu,

I have no favourites but I do remember Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights as a book that stayed with me in my initial years. (Suneetha B.)

Maureen Corrigan discusses the novel Coral Glynn by Peter Cameron on WBUR (Boston):

The title character here is a private duty nurse who has recently arrived at an isolated manor called Hart House to tend an elderly woman dying of cancer. Coral Glynn is young, alone in the world, and described by other characters as "rather pretty ... in a plain way." If that phrase puts you in mind of Jane Eyre, it should; Cameron also doffs his cap to Daphne du Maurier's classic about a solitary orphan, Rebecca. 

The Globe and Mail interviews Margaret Atwood about her novel (now also a documentary film) Payback:

In other words, debt invades our decision-making on multiple levels?Atwood: Something that’s always intrigued me about the Victorian novel – which was my field of professional training long ago when I was an academic – is that most people study the front of the stage, which are the characters, the marriage or actions, without looking at the back of the stage, which are the financial arrangements in these novels. But once you start looking at the financial arrangements, you realize they are all based on that – including Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, all of George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, you name it.
How much money and how they are making their money permeates Dickens.
And Madame Bovary. The fact is that if she hadn’t been a shopaholic, she could have kept on committing adultery to her heart’s content, and nobody would have noticed. They only notice because she goes into debt and the guy to whom she owes the money turns up and says, Now I’m going to go to your husband and tell him everything. But if she hadn’t gone into debt, she would have been fine. (Guy Dixon)

TMCnet discusses the uses of Twitter as a classroom tool:

But how can that be when 18- to 21-year-old students are bound to be more interested in checking to see if their school made it into the NCAA tournament (go Cuse!), then [sic] they are with commenting on social hierarchies and feminism in “Jane Eyre.” (Carrie Schmelkin)

It's all about Jane Eyre 2011 on the blogosphere today: Death's Head & the Sickly Child, Kajsa, Pausemedia (in French), Ajmaguire and Private Filmkritiken (in German).

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The Brontë family at St Peters church in Hartshead

Imelda Marsden has sent us the following alert:

The Brontë family at St Peters church Hartshead
by Christa Ackroyd (Journalist and Broadcaster on BBC Look North)
Saturday the 31st March 2012 to start at 7.30pm

Tickets £7.50 to include refreshments all proceeds to go to the church funds.
Tickets available from Rev Richard Burge telephone 01274 873024 or e-mail ecrb@live.co.uk

Rev Patrick Brontë was parson at St Peter's, Hartshead (near Cleckheaton, now part of Kirklees) between 1811 and 1815. He met his future wife Maria Branwell in Rawdon, now part of Leeds, about twelve miles from Hartshead, in 1811. They married in Guiseley, also now in Leeds.

Photograph © Copyright Malcolm Street and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. 

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Adapting Jane Eyre

Moira Buffini writes in The Huffington Post about adapting Jane Eyre for the big screen:

It's a daunting thing, adapting one of the most beloved novels in the world. Jane Eyre is a lifelong friend to many people. Like all great classics, it reveals different things at every reading. I would not have attempted it had I not loved the novel so much myself. I thought it an irresistible opportunity to introduce the book to those who have not yet had the pleasure and to make the familiar fresh and alive to those who have.
That's not to say I didn't lose sleep, sitting down to distill its 700 pages into a hopefully vivid, actor-friendly 99-page screenplay.
Jane Eyre is the orphan who manages to sustain herself without family, without money and without love. She has been told that she is ugly and full of wickedness. Yet she values herself. She is not meekly accepting of her lot. She feels injustice keenly. She is quietly defiant. She holds, for a girl of her time, quite radical ideas about equality. It is her courage, wit and her wry humour that makes us love Jane Eyre.
This fiery, lonely spirit finds herself in the middle of a Gothic thriller. She is employed as a governess by Edward Fairfax Rochester. Thus begins one of the greatest romances ever written. All these elements must be honoured in an adaptation; the book's still urgent politics, the Gothic haunted house and the complexity of the love story. I threw myself in, relying on instinct as much as anything, trying not to get bogged down with the book's critical heritage. Faithfully adapting all the major scenes, I soon realised that the structure of the book would not translate to film. The year that Jane spends with the Rivers family is very important, but in a film it comes 20 minutes away from the end - a terrible time to start introducing major new characters. So I put it at the top. It gave me the ability to jump from her present to her past; to be selective with the way I told the story - just as memory is selective.
I wanted to honour Charlotte Brontë's poetic language. I modernised slightly but tried to keep true to Jane and Rochester's wonderful articulacy. These two people fascinate each other with words. They talk each other into love. One of the scenes I am most proud of is their first at Rochester's fireside, beautifully played by Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. Some of the lines are Brontë's and some are mine. I think the skill of the adaptor is to make the joins invisible.
But a screenplay must be more than just dialogue. I thought of Jane Eyre the artist; how vividly she sees and describes her world. I tried to give the script a strong visual flavour. This was taken up and enriched admirably by Cary Fukanaga (sic) our director and Adriano Goldman our cinematographer. I love the film's harsh winter beauty, the use of natural light and the way expression is trusted to tell the story. The shape of each character is defined by Michael O'Connor's superb costumes and the emotional journey heightened by Dario Marinelli's score. I was especially delighted that it was shot in Derbyshire, a landscape I know and love, where Charlotte Brontë wrote much of the book.
There are many omissions in this adaptation. But I hope it is true to the spirit of the book. I remember the impact Jane Eyre had on me when I first read it in my teens. It is my teenage self I was writing for. We felt it very important to cast an actress as young as Jane herself. Mia was just 19 when the film was shot. She captures perfectly that brave young mind, that undaunted spirit who manages to value herself despite the damage she has suffered and who teaches us to cry, "equal, as we are!"

Enlightening, isn't it?


HeyUGuys features the just-released DVD and links to a video by Skinny Wrist showing many of the filming locations:

Jane Eyre (2011) - Out now on Blu-Ray and DVD from Kevin Durham on Vimeo.

The Telegraph and Argus wonders whether this photograph actually shows the Brontë sisters:

Ann Dinsdale, collections manager at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, cast doubt on whether the photograph is of the three sisters. She said: “We do get contacted regularly by people who have discovered images or portraits they believe may be the Brontës. The thing you have to bear in mind is why would anyone have wanted to paint or photograph them at that time?
“They weren’t famous and were relatively poor women. There’s no reference in any surviving correspondence to a group photograph of the sisters.
“We would all love to know what the Brontës looked like and the fact that there are only a few portraits in existence makes you want to know what they look like.”

Entertainment Focus has a short piece on Jean Rhys's brand-new blue plaque in London:

Arguably most commonly known amongst ‘feminist’ and ‘post-colonial’ literary circles, Wide Sargasso Sea was written as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and centers on the marginalized and voiceless Creole character of the ‘mad’ Mrs Rochester. Rhys explores the possible life story that is denied to the character in Bronte’s original whilst raising questions over the societal constructs of such characters as female and colonial subjects.
In her article for The Telegraph, Rhys’ biographer, Caroline Angier, gives her view on the unveiling of the plaque and questions whether it marks the end to Rhys’ obscurity to which she sadly states ‘Nothing has changed’. (Samantha Feeney) 

The Guardian reviews a live show by Veronica Falls:

The Falls' songs delve into pop's tradition of death ballads typified by Ricky Valance's Tell Laura I Love Her and Terry Jacks' Seasons in the Sun. It's a beguiling mix, exemplified by Beachy Head's suicide pop and Bad Feeling, spiky pop with Brontë-esque melodrama. (Dave Simpson)

Silicon India lists '7 outstanding female investors'. Among them is Geraldine Weiss who

heeded the advice of the late Brontë sisters and sort of disguised her name. She started publishing her articles under the name of "G. Weiss." People though it was a man writing and Weiss’ newsletter soared high. It was not before the mid 70s that she revealed her identity, that too after a successful track record.

The Brontë Weather Project posts about Top Withens. STPben reviews Jane Eyre and Jellibat has drawn Jane. Boring & mundane stories which are poorly written is reading Wuthering Heights. Helen's Photomania Blog has pictures of Haworth's churchyard here and here.

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Death and Entrances in New York

1. The Martha Graham Dance Company performs its classic Brontë-inspired choreography Deaths and Entrances in New York:

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212-691-9

Inner Landscape, the latest offering in the company's innovative series of thematic performances including contextual media and narration, features the acclaimed Graham psychological works in which she laid bare the human psyche. The Joyce season includes premieres by Lar Lubovitch and Yvonne Rainer, a revival of Mary Wigman's Witch Dance and Graham's comic Every Soul is a Circus, as well as Graham classics Night Journey, Deaths and Entrances, and Chronicle.

One night-only, March 14: leading university dance groups and Graham II perform Inner Landscape works by Martha Graham, Charles Weidman and Anna Sokolow. See the next generation interpret these masterworks. All tickets $35.

PROGRAM B: Mar 15 at 8pm, Mar 17 at 8pm, Mar 18 at 2pm
Solo from Lyric Suite, Deaths and Entrances, Lamentation Variations, Group B, Chronicle

2. And a talk in Libertyville, Illinois:

Cook Park Library
413 N. Milwaukee Ave.,
Libertyville. (847) 362-2330

Morning Adult Book Discussion: Jane Eyre  10:00 AM (Libertyville Review)

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Lowood now serving pink slime

Cine-Vue reviews the Jane Eyre 2011 DVD, giving it 4 stars out of 5:

Adriano Goldman's sublime cinematography achieves an empathetic quality by framing shots of the pastoral-coloured landscape smothered in varying light, evoking a sense of a place where coldness rules and warmth struggles to surface. The film's choice of location, combined with Goldman's shot selection, is one of the major reasons why Fukunaga's film is such a respectful depiction of Brontë's text, whilst also offering up a piece of contemporary artistic splendour.
It is also thanks to an array of fine performances from Jane Eyre's largely female cast, combining with Fukunaga's fine direction, that helps to deliver such a respectful and powerful adaptation of Brontë's novel. The slight nuances of Amelia Clarkson's facial expressions as the young Jane convey enough pain to tell the story of the protagonist alone, with Wasikowska's maturing Jane naturally carrying this on, as well as adding an air of stoicism to the part.
Both actresses deliver heart-wrenching portrayals that bring a real authenticity to the role of Jane, and are supported by strong British support in the form of Dame Judi Dench as the big-hearted Ms. Fairfax, Jamie Bell as St. John Rivers, and Fassbender as Rochester. However, Fassbender's portrayal of Rochester is, on occasion, a little forced, in particular during the moments where emotions run high between himself and Jane - yet for the most part, his performance is solid. (Russell Cook)

Film-News recalls an anecdote told by Mia Wasikowska concerning the shooting of the film.

Mia Wasikowska claims she was “off [her] rocker” during a passionate scene with Michael Fassbender for Jane Eyre.
The Australian actress plays the title character in the latest big screen adaptation of the gothic novel written by Charlotte Brontë. Mia has recalled filming one scene where Jane comes close to kissing the brooding Mr. Rochester, played by Michael.
Mia has revealed she had spent so many hours on set before the sequence, she found it hard to be serious.
“It’s funny because it was the last scene [we filmed] and everyone was so tired and so silly by then. I was off my rocker that day and I remember trying to reel it in to have the seriousness to do this scene,” she told Total Film. “But the chemistry between the characters is part of the attraction of the story. [Rochester and Jane are] kind of magnetised to each other. Michael’s just so incredible, he’s so charismatic himself, we got on so well and we were able to have a lot of fun and then channel that fun into the intensity of the material.”

The Star (Malaysia) discusses English accents and uses Wuthering Heights as an example:

Here’s an example from Chapter 3 of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The dialect is that of West Yorkshire, since the Brontës lived in Haworth near Bradford, and the novel is set around there. Joseph the servant is speaking to a visitor to Heathcliff’s house: “There’s nobbut t’missis; and shoo’ll not oppen ’t an ye mak’ yer flaysome dins till neeght.” This translates into standard English as: “There’s nobody but the mistress [of the house]; and she’ll not open it [the door] even if you make a dreadful din till night.”
I should point out also that the word “wuthering” used in the title of the novel is also a dialect word of those parts, as Brontë explained through her narrator in Chapter 1 of the novel: “Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr Heathcliff’s dwelling. ‘Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather.” (Fadzilah Amin)

Wuthering Heights also serves as an example on the English and their love for houses. From the Financial Times:

The English love houses so much that literature is riddled with novels that revolve around them – Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Wuthering Heights, Bleak House and Brideshead Revisited are among those with properties in their titles. (Brian Groom)

The Sydney Morning Herald has an column on 'mature students' who apparently are

empty-nesters who have grown dissatisfied with bridge, so they embark on a course of study focusing on Roman archaeology or the Brontë sisters, the academic equivalent of a world cruise, with the distinct advantage that the government will lend them money for this but not for three months on the Pacific Princess. (Lisa Pryor)

Well, according to this press release shepherd's pie is the best they can eat afterwards:

There is no better entrée to finish off a meeting sharing the work of one of the Brontë sisters, a Hardy or Lawrence novel, or any number of Irish, Scotch or English writers who look to the countryside in their work.

It would be a good lunch for school children, too, but according to LA Weekly's Squid Ink they are stuck with 'pink slime'. The more things change the more they stay the same:

A brouhaha is currently brewing because the USDA sends the stuff to public schools, and currently is planning to ship out another 7 million pounds of pink goo for children to consume. (School cafeterias nationwide receive part of the ground beef they serve from the USDA.) Even McDonald's says it won't use the stuff anymore.
We'd wager even Jane Eyre didn't have to choke down chemical-tainted offal like that at Lowood Institution. (Samantha Bonar)

Harvard Magazine looks at Charlotte Brontë's tiny books. High School Books posts about Wuthering Heights and The Movie Review Warehouse writes about Andrea Arnold's adaptation; Flickr user Steve Swis shares a picture of Top Withens. El guionista reviews (in Spanish) Jane Eyre 2011 and Coffie and Movies posts (in Portuguese) about Jane Eyre 2006.

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The Brontës' Piano on BBC Radio 4

Today, March 13, on BBC Radio 4:

The Brontës' Piano 
Producer: Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.

Broadcasts:
Tue 13 Mar 2012 11:30
Sat 17 Mar 2012 15:30

Singer Catherine Bott explores the Brontë sisters' musical world through their newly restored piano, now returned to the parsonage in Haworth. Joined by pianist Jonathan Cohen, Catherine looks through the Brontë's family music collection - including Anne Brontë's own songbook, copied by hand - and discovers how musical life at the parsonage underscored the sisters' creative life, their work and tastes.
The Brontës' piano was originally made by John Green of Soho Square at the turn of the C19th and is thought to have come in to the parsonage sometime in the early 1830s. The sisters all loved music. Emily was described as playing 'with precision and brilliancy'; Anne preferred to sing. Charlotte's poor eyesight meant that she couldn't read the notes to play, although knowing references to music, song and piano performance figure throughout her fiction.
The piano itself has an interesting history: it was lent to Mr Grant, the curate of Oxenhope by Patrick Brontë after his children's deaths, and then sold at an auction of Brontë items in 1861. It then passed through numerous hands and was put up for sale at Sothebys in 1916, before eventually finding its way back to the parsonage. It has been recently restored - for the first time opening up the sound world of the Brontës' private, domestic musical life. Does their music-making show us a different side to the sisters - perhaps one that doesn't quite fit with how we want or need them to be?

More information on the Brontë Parsonage Blog.

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