Travelling the Moors, Jane Eyre: The Musical for Falmouth, MA., and Jane Austen and the Brontes as Medieval Scottish Freedom Fighters

News has been relatively slow this week. The wire is packed with summer reading lists. It looks like everyone is reading Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights this summer. There is another meme as well which lists 100 books one should read in one's lifetime- including JE and WH. Each blogger makes a notation next to the titles detailing, if they have read them, what they thought of them, or in some cases why they didn't finish them. This has made some interesting reading...

If you are still thinking about your summer reading list, why not try Agnes Grey or Tenant of Wildfell Hall?

There are a few items today:

Falmouth, Massachusetts is preparing for a performance of Jane Eyre: The Musical, produced by the College Light Opera July 18 to 22, according to this article about the troup's other works.

JULY 18 – 22 AT 8:00 THURSDAY MATINEE AT 2:00 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë’s classic 19th century novel provides the story for this 2000 musical tale. With an original score of twenty songs by Paul Gordon and book by John Caird, the show is perfect for an ensemble cast. The show captures the soul of this epic story of triumph and beauty and brings it to life as it was truly meant to be seen and heard.

Highfield Theatre, 50 Highfield Dr., Falmouth. 508-548-0668

I could not find a poster but there's a photo montage from the entire current season, photos of the production should be in there somewhere, although I haven't been able to pick out any (although I would like to think that the one of a man lying on the floor with a bride leaning over him is probably our dear Bertha and Rochy).

The Boston Plan for Excellence, in conjunction with Boston Public Schools, awarded the educators with travel grants from the Fund for Teachers foundation:

Another grant recipient, Danielle Murray, has taught at Brighton High School for the past five years. Her focus has been American Literature, but plans on teaching English Literature for the first time this year. Murray feels the best way to grab her student’s attention is through connecting the literary works with real world places and people. "It gives them something they can relate to," she explains.

Murray said she hopes to add a real world perspective with the help of her trek through Europe, where she will visit England, Ireland and Scotland. She said she hopes to witness the remnants of Shakespeare’s culture as well as other authors who lived between the 1400s and 1800s. Murray said she is especially excited to see the moors that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.

And lastly:

I read somewhere that you're a big Jane Austen and George Eliot fan. Some people might be quite surprised to hear that.

I've kind of outed myself recently with that. What I hate is that when we think of Jane Austen, George Eliot, Emily and Charlotte Bronte, people think about Emma Thompson and costume dramas and people talking in these stupid *CENSORED* voices. But it was *CENSORED* all like that. They're England's equivalent of Braveheart: Scots dressing in *CENSORED* tartan. It's edited exploitation for the American market. People wouldn't have talked like that, they wouldn't have looked like that, dressed like that, they wouldn't have acted like that, flounced around like that. It's *CENSORED* offensive *CENSORED* marketing, to sell to gullible Americans.

...Exceedingly diverted, that's me.

ETA: Ah, missed one. Should be family-friendly now.