tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142592012024-03-18T01:42:33.100-04:00'Brontëana' is a weblog devoted to the studies of the Brontë sisters, their family, works, lives, and times; discussing everything from their novels, to modern day criticism and adaptations.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.comBlogger635125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-69528479381168408282009-07-21T14:49:00.008-04:002009-07-21T15:16:47.470-04:00The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n50/n253941.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 476px;" src="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n50/n253941.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Firstly, I would like to thank the good people at Avon- Harper Collins for sending me a review copy of <a href="http://www.syriejames.com/">Syrie James</a>' new book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte</span>.<br /><br />I have been savoring this book for the past week, and many were the times I stopped to smile at the scenes as they unfolded. It's a delightful read, and at times the thought occurred to me that it would make the perfect companion novel to the BBC's mini series 'The Brontes of Haworth.'<br /><br />The novel does a fairly good job of guiding the reader gently through the affairs of the Bronte household from shortly after Charlotte's return from Brussels. From the start, there is no question that the crux of the story will be Rev. Bronte's curate, Mr. Nicholls and, more particularly, his relationship with Charlotte. A very interesting story, and one in which the literary repercussions of this relationship shadow the main actors without overwhelming them.<br /><br />This novel is especially appropriate for someone who is not familiar with the circumstances of life in the Bronte family as the first two chapters include enough biographical details to set anyone up for what is to come.<br /><br />The characters are all well drawn and it is interesting to see the ease with which fact and fiction merge as the novel bends situations, postpones revelation, and otherwise tweaks events to create a novel which is not quite a biography.<br /><br />The text of the book is also accompanied by substantial footnotes, maps, and an appendix with excerpts from Charlotte's letters and other important documents such as Emily's poems. The book is also suitable for book clubs: there are discussion questions included in the appendix.<br /><br />The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte can be purchased for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Diaries-Charlotte-Bronte/dp/006164837X">$10.19 from Amazon.com</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Diaries-Charlotte-Bronte/dp/006164837X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248203351&sr=1-1"><span>£6.99</span>from Amazon.co.uk.</a>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-15368188020805786272009-07-05T11:45:00.004-04:002009-07-05T12:20:16.201-04:00Fashionable Make-Over for Wuthering Heights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nylonmag.com/modules/magsection/article/uploaded_images/3215_i2_penguin-classics-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 350px;" src="http://www.nylonmag.com/modules/magsection/article/uploaded_images/3215_i2_penguin-classics-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo has designed <a href="http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=article&parid=3215">an expressive cover</a> for the newest penguin deluxe edition of Emily Bronte's <span style="font-style: italic;">Wuthering Heights.</span><br /><br />The book is available for pre-ordering from Amazon.com, and will be released August 25th.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-20651617509770629232009-07-02T20:57:00.005-04:002009-07-02T21:09:04.164-04:00Jane Eyre takes the Stage in Beijing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://english.cctv.com/20090611/images/1244703792210_1244703792210_r.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 429px;" src="http://english.cctv.com/20090611/images/1244703792210_1244703792210_r.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A new theatrical adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is taking the stage in Beijing at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Chinese born Wang Luoyong went to the United States in the 1980s and was recognized as one of the rare Asian faces in Broadway for playing the lead in "Miss Saigon". When the show closed in 2001 as one of the longest-running hits in Broadway's history, Wang had led some 2,500 performances.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The story of Jane Eyre and Rochester has inspired a variety of films and dramas. Generations of directors and actors have taken relentless attempts in translating the chemistry between Jane and Rochester. The two won't be held back, as they help each other find their true selves.</span></blockquote><br /><br />A video clip can also be viewed on <a href="http://english.cctv.com/20090626/102119.shtml">the main article here</a>, from cctv.com.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-48832785271484066952008-07-19T15:44:00.005-04:002008-07-19T16:43:55.719-04:00The Twilight Series and Jane Eyre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/921/twilightmoviepostertw1.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 401px;" src="http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/921/twilightmoviepostertw1.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Stephanie Meyers' popular teen vampire novels have a surprising connection to the Brontes, it turns out. <a href="http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24028149-5003424,00.html">This article from The Courier Mail </a>contains an interview with the author who claims Jane Eyre as an influence, although not an inspiration, for her work:<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Speaking to me over the phone from her home in rural Arizona, Meyer, 34, revealed that Twilight's vampire Edward Cullen, a literary creation set to rival Harry Potter, is a subconscious combination of her three favourite leading men _ Jane Eyre's Edward Rochester, Pride and Prejudice's Fitzwilliam D'arcy and Anne of Green Gables' Gilbert Blythe.</span><br /><br />[...]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Meyer says it was only when she finished </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</em><span style="font-style: italic;"> that she realised there were similarities with Jane Austen's </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Pride and Prejudice</em><span style="font-style: italic;">. And that Edward Cullen was a combination of her favourite romantic protagonists, especially </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Jane Eyre</em><span style="font-style: italic;">'s Edward Rochester, because the two Edwards see themselves as ``monsters''.<br /><br /></span><span><span>I am actually more surprised at the idea of a vampire with elements of Gilbert Blythe's character, and I do wonder what Lucy Maud Montgomery would think of it all!</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-40699613297582945632008-07-08T17:53:00.003-04:002008-12-11T15:47:03.165-05:00Mr.Charlotte Bronte: The Life and Times of Mr. Arthur Bell Nichols<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRvrf0Dee-AwP6oozDeMpTlLdJIEapG0ouo6DgiNd-QSxBNdq-4_AeSw6cNzjNuHcGM58d4A4LRuE1n-n7q0dEBBUixjoqCunRqArMUwnX1XHZY7FFs9stkPrmv6w0tIEGgbIlQ/s1600-h/image003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRvrf0Dee-AwP6oozDeMpTlLdJIEapG0ouo6DgiNd-QSxBNdq-4_AeSw6cNzjNuHcGM58d4A4LRuE1n-n7q0dEBBUixjoqCunRqArMUwnX1XHZY7FFs9stkPrmv6w0tIEGgbIlQ/s320/image003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220765566967082226" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;">McGill-Queen's writes to us to announce the release of an interesting new biography of Charlotte Bronte's husband:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;">McGill-Queen’s University Press is pleased to announce the release of <a href="http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=2183" target="_blank">Mr. Charlotte Brontë: The Life and Times of Mr. Arthur Bell Nichols. </a> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;">This book was written by a direct descendent of Mr. Bell Nichols and establishes him as an important, rather than ancillary, figure in the Brontë saga. It also provides fresh information about his upbringing, his family and his pre-Haworth years in Ireland while including never-before-published material from the Bell Nicholls family. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=2183" target="_blank">Mr. Charlotte Brontë: The Life and Times of Mr. Arthur Bell Nichols</a> would be an excellent addition to your collection of Brontë-related books and memorabilia. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Book Antiqua;font-size:100%;">Pricing and order information and can be found by clicking on the hyperlink above!</span></p>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-69184182068581753282008-05-10T18:42:00.003-04:002008-05-10T18:49:35.441-04:00Well, that was interesting...Apparently Natalie Portman is <a href="http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=85019&fm=newsmain,narts">out of the Wuthering Heights project</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Natalie Portman has walked out of new film ‘Wuthering Heights’.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hollywood actress has reportedly left movie bosses fuming after quitting her role as Cathy Earnshaw in the big screen adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic 1847 novel, despite having “seduced” them into giving her the part.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A movie insider told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper: “It’s fair to say we were seduced by her and we should have been on our guard.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Portman is said to have made a concerted effort to convince director John Maybury and producers Ecosse Films and HanWay Films to give her the role of Cathy, even convincing them to allow her casting approval over the choice of actor to portray her character’s lover Heathcliff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Wuthering Heights’ producers refused to comment on Portman’s decision to pull out of the project.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maybury is now looking for a new lead actress. Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley - who both star in his upcoming film ‘The Edge of Love’ - were both previously linked to the project.<br /><br /></span>That sounds pretty bizarre. If this is true, and she was so taken with the project, why give it up so soon? As an aside, I continue to find it amusing that Keira Knightley is suggested as the ideal actress- in some circles, mind you- for both Cathy and Jane. Maybe we need to have a few more actresses of substance out there to choose from? I don't know- I am still living under a pile of spiral bound notebooks.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-6167600697437298102008-05-08T11:18:00.004-04:002008-05-08T11:38:54.426-04:00No Thanks.The news of yet another adaptation of Jane Eyre is not going down well at all, if the buzz on the internet is any indication of the novel's fanbase. There seem to be very few who are looking forward to the film with anticipation, largely because it has only been two years since the BBCs hugely popular mini series. In short, it looks like fans of the novel are full and are perfectly willing to pass on seconds. In fact, a common response is to demand an adaptation of one of the other Bronte novels: Villette, or Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Villette has become a great favourite as an alternate film project. But, unless the BBC release their old Villette mini series, we probably will not be seeing one for some time yet.<br /><br />Today, the news is all about trouble in the British film industry. Like the novel's fanbase, they are none too pleased with the new film but this time, <a href="http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/people,940,ire-in-british-film-industry-as-juno-lands-role-of-jane-eyre,28468">the trouble is with casting</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"No one is doubting Ellen Page's acting abilities but why a BBC movie of Jane Eyre couldn't have a British actress in the lead is pretty hard to stomach," says a 'film industry insider' in the </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Daily Express</em><span style="font-style: italic;">.<br /><br /></span>Well, it was just two years ago that the BBC made a very nice mini with British actors in the lead roles.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-57865062195100390912008-05-07T12:24:00.003-04:002008-05-07T12:50:54.561-04:00A little recap...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/23382/20080215021531/www.variety.com/graphics/photos/_mugp/page_ellen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 167px;" src="http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/23382/20080215021531/www.variety.com/graphics/photos/_mugp/page_ellen.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Ellen Page will be our new Jane in <a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985166.html?categoryid=13&cs=1">a big screen adaptation</a> of Jane Eyre.<br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><a class="infusionLink" omd="zodJump('http://widgets.zibb.com/images/_jump.gif?tag=InfusionJS&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.variety.com%2Fprofiles%2Fpeople%2Fmain%2F33704%2FAlison%2520Owen.html%3FdataSet%3D1&gsid=4334032&entitytypeid=16&lid=33704&title=Alison%20Owen&zodid=134')" alt="Alison Owen" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/33704/Alison%20Owen.html?dataSet=1">Alison Owen</a> of <a class="infusionLink" omd="zodJump('http://widgets.zibb.com/images/_jump.gif?tag=InfusionJS&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.variety.com%2Fprofiles%2FCompany%2Fmain%2F2013480%2FRuby%2520Films.html%3FdataSet%3D1&gsid=4181560&entitytypeid=11&lid=2013480&title=Ruby%20Films&zodid=134')" alt="Ruby Films" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/Company/main/2013480/Ruby%20Films.html?dataSet=1">Ruby Films</a>, who most recently produced <a class="infusionLink" omd="zodJump('http://widgets.zibb.com/images/_jump.gif?tag=InfusionJS&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.variety.com%2Fprofiles%2FFilm%2Fmain%2F178221%2FThe%2520Other%2520Boleyn%2520Girl.html%3FdataSet%3D1&gsid=4325400&entitytypeid=15&lid=178221&title=The%20Other%20Boleyn%20Girl&zodid=134')" alt="The Other Boleyn Girl" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/Film/main/178221/The%20Other%20Boleyn%20Girl.html?dataSet=1">"The Other Boleyn Girl,"</a> is working with <a class="infusionLink" omd="zodJump('http://widgets.zibb.com/images/_jump.gif?tag=InfusionJS&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.variety.com%2Fprofiles%2FCompany%2Fmain%2F2134142%2FBBC%2520Films.html%3FdataSet%3D1&gsid=4267761&entitytypeid=11&lid=2134142&title=BBC%20Films&zodid=134')" alt="BBC Films" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/Company/main/2134142/BBC%20Films.html?dataSet=1">BBC Films</a> to develop the new adaptation of Bronte's classic 19th century romance. It's the story of a mousy governess who softens the heart of her surly employer Mr. Rochester, only to discover that he's hiding a terrible secret.</p><p style="font-style: italic;">Moira Buffini has written the screenplay. No director is yet attached, but the producers are aiming to set the project up to shoot this fall.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos.ifmagazine.com/graphics/features_movie/vforvendettaportman3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 233px;" src="http://photos.ifmagazine.com/graphics/features_movie/vforvendettaportman3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Natalie Portman will be our new Cathy in a <a href="http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=6075">big screen adaptation</a> of Wuthering Heights.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Natalie Portman is to play heroine Catherine Earnshaw in a new big-screen adaptation of </span><em style="font-style: italic;">Wuthering Heights</em><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><br /><em style="font-style: italic;">The Jacket</em><span style="font-style: italic;"> director John Maybury will helm the Ecosse Films production from a script by Olivia Hetreed (</span><em style="font-style: italic;">Girl With a Pearl Earring</em><span style="font-style: italic;">), claims </span><em style="font-style: italic;">The Hollywood Reporter</em><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Emily Bronte's 1847 novel revolves around the turbulent love affair between headstrong Catherine and her brooding adopted brother Heathcliff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Keira Knightley and Lindsay Lohan were previously reported to be vying for the role, famously played by Merle Oberon opposite Laurence Olivier in 1939. A 1989 version starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Binoche performed poorly at the box office.</span><br /><br />-From <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a93575/portman-to-play-lead-in-wuthering-heights.html">Digital Spy</a>.<br /><br />And, of course, we're still waiting on the Bronte biopic, the ITV Wuthering Heights, a touring version of Jane Eyre: The Musical, and an adaptation of <span style="font-style: italic;">Shirley</span>.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-53528338022534698562008-05-07T01:49:00.002-04:002008-05-07T01:55:09.672-04:00Ellen Page to Star in New Jane Eyre FilmThanks to Thisbeciel and Annie for the heads up. I might dig myself out of my thesis-bound semi-retirement to cover this one. I think my contacts in Los Angeles should come in handy...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://uk.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20080507&t=2&i=4153190&w=&r=2008-05-07T002348Z_01_N06522312_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://uk.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20080507&t=2&i=4153190&w=&r=2008-05-07T002348Z_01_N06522312_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-style: italic;">By Steven Zeitchik</span><span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p><span id="midArticle_0"></span> <p style="font-style: italic;">NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Jane Eyre could be taking another swoon on the big screen -- with Ellen Page playing the iconic character.</p><span style="font-style: italic;" id="midArticle_1"></span> <p style="font-style: italic;">BBC Films has signed on to develop an adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel and has attached Page to play Jane. Moira Buffini wrote the screenplay; a director has not yet been chosen.</p><span style="font-style: italic;" id="midArticle_2"></span> <p style="font-style: italic;">The role would mark the first period piece for Page, who has signed on to a number of contemporary films since her Oscar-nominated turn in "Juno," including the roller-derby comedy "Whip It!" and the dramatic thriller "Peacock." She opted out of Sam Raimi's supernatural tale "Drag Me to Hell" this year, citing scheduling conflicts.</p><span style="font-style: italic;" id="midArticle_3"></span> <p style="font-style: italic;">Bronte's 1847 novel tells the love story of a governess and her master, Edward Rochester, with Gothic flourishes. It's among the most-filmed English novels of all time, with well over a dozen productions reaching the big and small screens, including BBC-produced miniseries in 1973 and 2006. Among the actresses to play the title character over the years are Joan Fontaine, Susannah York and Charlotte Gainsbourg.</p><span style="font-style: italic;" id="midArticle_4"></span> <p style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKN0652231220080507">Reuters/Hollywood Reporter</a></p>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-79474147429701240202008-01-04T19:37:00.000-05:002008-01-04T19:52:45.925-05:00New Paul Gordon Website Launch<a href="http://web.mac.com/pauleeg/Paul_Gordon/The_Musicals_files/JE_002.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://web.mac.com/pauleeg/Paul_Gordon/The_Musicals_files/JE_002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Paul Gordon has launched a <a href="http://web.mac.com/pauleeg/Paul_Gordon/Welcome.html">new website</a> where you can catch the latest developments on his current and upcoming musical projects. Hopefully we will hear more news of the much-anticipated premiere of Jane Eyre: The Musical in Tokyo, Japan in 2009 as well as the ongoing development of a big chamber version of the piece. Visiting the <a href="http://web.mac.com/pauleeg/Paul_Gordon/Songs.html">"Songs"</a> section provides you with a small sample of music to get a taste for Jane Eyre: The Musical (along with his other projects, such as an adaptation of Jane Austen's <em>Emma</em>).</div>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-89564142203436272232008-01-03T19:09:00.000-05:002008-01-03T19:18:21.135-05:003 Rooms Bronte<a href="http://www.damelioterras.com/MEDIA/01338.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.damelioterras.com/MEDIA/01338.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />From the <a href="http://www.damelioterras.com/exhibition.html?id=409&f=h">D'Amelio Terras website</a>:<br /><br />Cornelia Parker’s work often deals with deconstruction of monuments, be it people or places. The photographic works on view are from her series “Brontëan Abstracts” in which she examines the mythology surrounding the Brontë sisters – Anne, Charlotte and Emily. Parker uses an electron microscope to scan artifacts and objects owned by the Brontës such as a lock of hair, a quill pen, a needle. The magnification both abstracts them and reveals their essence. Other photographs focus on both the conscious and subconscious marks left by the sisters — such as ink blots on the lined paper, deletions from the original manuscripts and holes in the pincushion.<br /><br />Cornelia Parker has held numerous solo exhibitions including at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Royal Institute of British Architects, London; Galleria Civica D’Arte Moderna (GAM), Turin, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Chicago Arts Club and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. She was a Turner Prize nominee in 1997.<br /><br /><br />3 Rooms - Cornelia Parker, Massimo Bartolini, Dario Robleto<br />PICK<br /><br />D'Amelio Terras<br />Chelsea<br /><br />525 West 22nd Street, 212-352-9460<br />January 5 - January 9, 2008<br />Opening: Saturday, January 5, 6 - 8PMBrontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-75723245445654306032007-12-10T01:15:00.000-05:002007-12-10T01:35:52.531-05:00I'm not quite finished yet.The thesis: it will be finished when it is finished, I think. It doesn't help matters that there is another version of the Gordon/Caird Musical in the works. A good friend of mine has a copy of a script-in progress but since it would not be fair to analyse something that hasn't even been written out yet, I am refraining from pestering her for a peek.<br /><br />The thesis hit a set back this summer when I needed to rearrange several chapters which involved extensive revisions. These are ongoing, so I will probably still be only an intermittent blogger for now. The other challenge is that I am returning to the libraries to do more research. <br /><br />I would like to thank everyone for their very lovely emails sent during my absence. I cannot possibly get caught up on everything, but I will try to find my way through them and all of the bizarre junk mail that has grown like a primordial jungle in my inbox. Half of the emails are in languages I do not understand and many are not even in the Latin alphabet. One addresses me as "dear sir" and others reference anatomy which is not owned by me, and several claim to be from extremely rich but imperiled Arabs- which is a scam I find to be in very bad taste.<br /><br />SO, a very quick round-up for Bronte news!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/lastnighttv/display.var.1891845.0.0.php">Cranford is great</a>, I guess? And I suppose Jane Eyre adaptations are generally dreary, but otherwise, I pish at dismissing the story as being about tight breeches and corsets (although, I still have to shake my head at our last BBC series. The DVD case in particular... 'heaving bodices?' *sigh*). I haven't seen Cranford because I still don't have a television! (Yes, I haven't watched television- outside of youtube and DVD sets) in... 6 years now). I also still despise Mrs. Gaskell for being so very cruel to Charlotte's family after her death. (I am joking. She was cruel, though). Some friends and I tried to read 'North and South' but gave up from boredom or frustration. But adaptations are a different thing from novels, as we know! So, the show's probably alright. And knowing how everyone loves to cry that THIS, THIS is finally what a REAL adaptation of a REAL novel is... It's probably... just like the rest?<br /><br />The writer of the article gets a tip of the hat from me for the use of the word "huzzah."<br /><br />And <a href="http://www.huntspost.co.uk/content/hunts/whatson/arts/story.aspx?brand=Cambs24&category=--WhatsonTheatre&tBrand=cambs24&tCategory=WhatsonArts24&itemid=WEED14%20Nov%202007%2012%3A23%3A13%3A837">auditions are being held </a>for a musical version of Jane Eyre at St.Ives!Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-38933651852402396652007-08-20T00:29:00.000-04:002007-08-20T00:32:52.064-04:00Jane Eyre: The Musical to get a "re-Think"Oh, you had to go and do this to me, just when I'm putting the finishing touches on my thesis!<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.playbill.com/news/article/110402.html">Playbill</a>:<br /><br /><em>Jane Eyre, the 2000-01 Broadway musical by composer-lyricist Paul Gordon and librettist John Caird, is getting a serious "re-think" by the authors, who aim to make a chamber version of what was previously seen as a 22-actor, large-set epic. <br /><br />Songwriter Gordon told Playbill.com that he and Caird (of Les Miserables fame) have been huddling with director Rob Ruggiero (Ella, William Finn's Make Me a Song) about getting back to the essence of the novel by Charlotte Bronte — and the essence of what the collaborators created in earlier versions of the show, prior to Broadway.<br /><br />Gordon said he and Caird are seeking to restore some song and book elements of the pre-Broadway Toronto version of the musical. For starters, they want to sharpen the narrative point of view so Jane is telling her own story, rather than the ensemble taking over that device. Some recitative between brooding Rochester and governess Jane will likely return, too, as will an important melodic section that linked Jane's mother to the future, Gordon said.<br /><br />Caird and Gordon will meet this fall to hammer out a new 10-actor version of the show that would require perhaps five musicians. Gordon said the largeness of the Broadway production necessitated adding some fat into the writing that isn't necessary.<br /><br />Gordon and Caird's goals now are "tweaking, shortening and clipping" and then presenting a version to Ruggiero for further collaboration. Hartford-based Ruggiero is the in-demand regional director who works all over the country (his next gig is staging 1776 for Goodspeed Musicals, followed by a New York mounting of the William Finn revue, Make Me a Song, a hit in Hartford).<br /><br />Ruggiero told Playbill.com he's in discussions with regional theatres about giving fresh life to the "new" Jane Eyre in 2008-09.<br /><br />The Broadway version of Jane Eyre is licensed through Music Theatre International and has had almost 90 North American productions since 2002, according to MTI. Its first post-Broadway staging was at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA, where Gordon's Emma, based on the novel by Jane Austen, is getting its world premiere Aug. 22. Gordon penned book, music and lyrics for it.<br /><br />Jane Eyre has had a winding journey, not unlike the character herself — the show was seen in many readings; a Wichita, KS, staging; a La Jolla Playhouse run; a production at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto; and on Broadway, where it snagged Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Lighting Design and Best Actress in a Musical for Marla Schaffel as the unglamorous orphan/governess/romantic figure/mistress of the house.<br /><br />"Since Broadway," Gordon told Playbill.com, "I don't think I've ever stopped rewriting Jane Eyre. "John and I always imagined it as a more intimate experience..."<br /><br />On the road to Broadway, there was a push — for better or worse — to make the 19th-century gothic romance bigger, better and shinier. "It lost that intimate feel," Gordon said.<br /><br />Will the re-tooled Jane Eyre be spare, lean and actor-driven?<br /><br />"Rob has interesting ideas about how to move the storytelling along," Gordon said.<br /><br />For now, for the writers, it's about experimentation and exploration.<br /><br />Gordon said, "We're going to look at every inch of the show. John calls it a 're-think.'"</em>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-44519704045505736032007-08-02T11:21:00.000-04:002007-08-02T11:30:11.780-04:00Oh, the New York Times!From <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/movies/29jame.html">an article</a> on upcoming Jane Austen films:<br /><br /><em>And however much society has changed, Austen’s heroines — unlike the Brontës’ — deal with the believable, timeless obstacles of class, money and misunderstanding, which make her works adaptable to any era. As Ms. Huff said: “Everyone thinks she’s Elizabeth Bennet; not everyone thinks she’s Jane Eyre. Everyone knows a young woman trying to decide if the guy she’s attracted to is Mr. Right. Not everyone meets a Mr. Right who has a mad wife in the attic.”</em><br /><br />This amused me greatly, dear readers. It amused me even further that the films in question adapt Austen for our age by trying to sex them up. And, flirtatous glances aside, the picture used to illustrate the article bears a striking resemblance to scenes from several Jane Eyre adaptations I could mention.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/07/29/arts/29jame600.1.jpg" /><br /><br />Poor Jane and Lizzy! Their entire lives, personalities reduced to how they sorted out with the menfolk!Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-19328561499025212282007-07-11T14:52:00.000-04:002007-07-11T15:00:03.477-04:00Eyre Apparent in Baltimore<a href="http://www.library.jhu.edu/bin/t/z/GPLbalconies_smaller.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.library.jhu.edu/bin/t/z/GPLbalconies_smaller.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><em>Go see the Eyre Apparent exhibit, which showcases memorabilia related to Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. The exhibit shows the novel's cultural significance and the different ways in which it has been interpreted. The exhibit is at the George Pea body Library, 17 E. Mount Ver non Place. Admission is free, and the library is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 410-659- 8179 or go to <a href="http://www.georgepeabodylibrary.jhu.edu/">http://www.georgepeabodylibrary.jhu.edu/</a>.</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>Eyre Apparent: An Exhibition Celebrating Charlotte Bronte'sClassic NovelThe George Peabody Library Exhibition GalleryJune 18 - October 31, 2007Hours: Monday – Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.;Sunday, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.</div><br /><div><br /><em>This exhibition celebrates the enduring popularity of Charlotte Brontë’s most famous novel. A favorite with Victorian readers, Jane Eyre became a staple of the school curriculum and remains a cornerstone of the English literary canon today. From series books to comic books, dolls to playing cards, Eyre Apparent follows the novel from the mid-19th century to the present, revealing how shifting cultural contexts have shaped the book’s meaning, and the ways in which Jane Eyre continues to inspire our imaginations.</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>Not only is this exhibit fabulous, so is the library!</div>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-72550842055580754542007-06-14T23:32:00.001-04:002008-12-11T15:47:03.459-05:00No Place Like HomeI have officially passed the minimum page-count for my thesis, and am preparing to round it off into a neat working draft. It has no introduction or conclusion; those will come later once I straighten out the argument. Tomorrow I am going to visit my thesis advisor for the last time.<br /><br />I'm going back home. The graduate powers that be have approved it, and if all goes according to plan I will be there on the 22nd. This is good news for you because once there, I will have access to my books and my scanner so I can pick up work on the Bronteana Resource site. I have come across a lot of fabulous material which ought to be available there. There were casualties... My mother tells me that my desktop hardrive was stolen. Chances are I will never relocate everything that was stored on it.<br /><br />But what remains is very shiny and interesting! For instance, there are these beautiful illustrations from Jane Eyre, an edition illustrated by F. Townsend, and dated circa 1896. In the image below, Mr. Rochester begins to regain some of his sight.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5076130748031830226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLJdiwYrRjskN4igZEesCQUiZHV7lM0b8QmVetT66r9BFq1KQSkgyQdgafysDOX2D5w_q6WK4wpwLYEW4HVVRP-XimEceiXHbdsmkIEOCXRFvD-CMIGOAThUIFMzUzy7F6TSOdA/s320/p435b.jpg" border="0" />Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-19502214934663829882007-06-09T13:30:00.000-04:002007-06-09T13:39:33.602-04:00Oh How True!<a href="http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2098816,00.html">The Guardian</a> publishes today an interesting article about portraiture in the arts. Specically, how authors seems to give readers mere 'corner of the eye glances' when describing characters. Few authors go through the trouble of expending lengthy description on faces. There seems to be a practical reason behind this:<br /><br /><em>You can see why so few authors choose to make the attempt. Listing every feature will not only fatally hold up the narrative, but may antagonise the poor confused reader who can't remember what "aquiline" means and thinks that an "almond" eye must be brown and nutty. Besides, what purpose will it serve to expend 500 words on the tilt of this particular nose and the set of this particular jaw? No, indeed. Facial detail is rarely kept in mind at all by a reader. A devotee of Jane Eyre tends to remember that, say, Mr Rochester is a dark sort of man, and that Jane is a short sort of woman, and this is quite enough to go on - especially when one's attention keeps being caught by such things as cackles from the attic and beds catching fire.</em><br /><br />This amuses me somewhat in light of how often I hear of how handsome Mr Rochester is. Oh, there are dozens of reasons why he is not ugly, believe me. Charlotte didn't really know that her character was handsome all along, or that she is just showing that Jane really didn't know what real love was until later and then he sort of prettifies. Or that she doesn't actually describe him as ugly at all ("He was rather an ugly man"), or... Nevermind the long sections of the novel concerned with how worthless is valuing people based on their appearance. <br /><br />Mr Rochester is a darkish man, and Jane is kinda short. I can live with this.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-82875343123663262992007-06-07T19:22:00.000-04:002007-06-07T19:23:43.353-04:00Wuthering Heights at York Theatre RoyalThe following article is from <a href="http://www.thisisyork.co.uk/whatson/theatre/display.var.1427478.0.preview_wuthering_heights_york_theatre_royal_june_2_to_23.php">The Press</a>.<br /><br />SUE Dunderdale surveys the task of directing Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte's windy, wild tale of ill-fated love and vengeance.<br /><br />"It's a fantastic story and it's a Yorkshire story," says Sue, whose production of Jane Thornton's adaptation opens at York Theatre Royal on June 2.<br /><br />"All the cast, the stage management and me, we all went up to Haworth, walking up to Top Withens, which they say may be the site of Wuthering Heights, though it's now a ruin.<br /><br />"It was the first time I'd been there in 20 years; the last time I was there, there was a French film crew making a film about the Brontes. Isabelle Huppert was in it, of course; she seems to be in every French film."<br /><br />Revived by Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy, Sue returned to the work in hand: staging Thornton's compact adaptation of the tragic story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, first performed on the much smaller Hull Truck stage in 2003. "Damian Cruden the Theatre Royal artistic director had already decided on using this version, partly because it has a cast of only five, which has its advantages and disadvantages and we're focusing on the advantages," says Sue.<br /><br />"I've gone for a young cast because it's very much a teenage love story. They feel that if they don't marry, they will die. Cathy married at an extremely young age; she was 17 when she married Edgar, and once she dies, Heathcliff feels dead too. He may be walking around, but he feels dead inside. Cathy died partly because she stopped eating, and so did Heathcliff."<br /><br />advertisementRecords show the average age of death in Haworth at the time the Brontes lived at the Parsonage was 26, the same age as the cast's average age. "I think that makes it right that it's a very young company," says Sue.<br /><br />Among her casting selections is Joel Fry for the mixed-race role of Heathcliff.<br /><br /> <br />Sue Dunderdale <br />"I think he's an extraordinary actor. I spotted him at RADA three years ago, when I was working on a course on acting on camera.<br /><br />" I was doing various film scenes, and one was from Neil LaBute's In The Company Of Men, and there was this extraordinary-looking young man, who didn't stop moving before we started, but once he was on camera he had this incredible stillness about him. That was Joel.<br /><br />"I then saw him playing Abraham Lincoln in The American Play, and again he was remarkable in that."<br /><br />No doubt she will be looking to bring out the intensity in Joel Fry that she found in the book. "It's the intensity that strikes you. When I read the novel again, it was like reading one of the Russians. It's like reading a Yorkshire version of Dostoevsky. It's not Jane Austen," says Sue.<br /><br />"It's the expression of her soul. When you read that all Emily Bronte's life was an interior life, where all she did was walk on the moors, you realise her freedom was in her imagination and in her spirit, and that's what draws you in.<br /><br />"No two people should be more together than Cathy and Heathcliff, but she makes the major mistake of her life and that destroys them as they miss out on each other.<br /><br />"We may all like to pretend that we've never done that in our lives, but in her writing Emily has no such pretence. Cathy's decision destroys her life and lives around her."<br /><br />What Emily did was to frame the story in her inner being and in the world she knew, says Sue.<br /><br />"Edith Wharton wrote about the same subject, so did Henry James, and they were very different from Emily's spirit, which was close to Dostoevsky, but they all deal with missed opportunities - but Wuthering Heights is more cruel than the rest, extremely cruel.<br /><br />"There's a grimness and a dryness that make it so Yorkshire," Sue says.<br /><br />"It's all about being thwarted and thwarted is such a Yorkshire word, isn't it!"<br /><br />Wuthering Heights runs at York Theatre Royal, June 2 to 23. Box office: 01904 623568.Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-85169030146666026582007-06-02T01:36:00.000-04:002007-06-02T01:40:19.418-04:00Second Edition Life of C.B. Goes on Sale<a href="http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/YPOS//TH1_16200735BRONTE.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/YPOS//TH1_16200735BRONTE.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>According to the <a href="http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/news?articleid=2922139">Yorkshire Post</a>, an exciting auction is in the making this weekend:</div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div><em>A RARE copy of a biography about the life of Charlotte Brontë which created a scandal in 19th century society is to go under the hammer tonight as a part of a weekend of activities celebrating Yorkshire's most famous literary family.<br />The second edition print of Elizabeth Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë is the prized item among a collection of 90 books which are being auctioned off at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.<br /><br />The book, which dates back to 1857, triggered two threats of libel action when it was printed and is expected to fetch hundreds of pounds.<br /><br />The threats came from a woman who was said to have had an affair with Charlotte's brother Branwell Brontë and from the family which ran a school near Kirkby Lonsdale which the biography claimed had been the inspiration for Low Wood in Jane Eyre.<br /><br />Now Brontë fans can get their hands on a 19th century copy of the book which was part of a collection bequeathed to the Brontë Parsonage Museum by Arthur D Walker, a librarian at Manchester University.<br /><br />Museum librarian Ann Dinsdale said: "It is very rare to find a second edition copy of the biography. The book resulted in libel actions being threatened and was very controversial at the time.<br /><br />"The rest of the collection includes scholarly editions and literary criticisms of the Brontës."<br /><br />The auction opens the Brontë Society's annual weekend which runs until Tuesday. Tomorrow night four Brontë biographers will explore some of the stories which surround the family at a panel discussion in West Lane Baptist Chapel (7.30pm).<br /><br />Juliet Barker, Edward Chitham, Rebecca Fraser and Lyndall Gordon will take part. Brontë Parsonage Museum deputy director Andrew McCarthy said: "It promises to be a fascinating evening."</em></div>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-56249609332783265002007-05-18T22:42:00.000-04:002008-12-11T15:47:03.794-05:00Bronte Birthplace on the Auction BlockThe following news is courtesy of Richard Wilcocks, chairman of the Bronte Society and editor of the <a href="http://bronteparsonage.blogspot.com">Bronte Parsonage Blog</a>:<br /><br />Barbara Whitehead, owner of the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, wants it<br />to be known that it is to be auctioned by Eddisons on 21 June. She<br />apologises for the short notice. The auctioneer's website is at<br /><a href="http://www.eddisons.com">www.eddisons.com</a><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066097100503275922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U9QJjl2iY9zHWggWm4Z5TVK7fk0MTNwLqK-J7YU8LSeRgINTqDevcxKTLMt38GhfjfleiI0FxglX8IOQLK-zkcXcEFyrf4mwzfI59YTAWx5vAoRSpCIOzeWt1kVj_zoAz8x48A/s200/birthplace.jpg" border="0" /><br />The auction will be held on 21 June 2007 in the Banqueting Suite of the<br />Leeds United Football Club at Elland Road in Leeds. I am told that the<br />catalogue is still being prepared. If you want one, phone Eddisons at<br />the Leeds office with your details: +44 113 243 0101<br /><br />The guide price is 200,000 poundsBrontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-74561488314736575922007-05-16T20:54:00.000-04:002007-05-16T20:58:25.057-04:00Bronte's Back...<a href="http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/23382/20070425045629/www.variety.com/graphics/photos/_mugw/williams_michelle_01.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/23382/20070425045629/www.variety.com/graphics/photos/_mugw/williams_michelle_01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />According to <a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117965055.html?categoryId=13&cs=1">Variety</a>, the 'Bronte' biopic is back on track and due to start filming in September:<br /><br /><em>Michelle Williams, Bryce Dallas Howard and Evan Rachel Wood are lining up to star in "Bronte," a biopic written and to be directed by Charles Sturridge.<br />Pic is set to shoot in September.<br /><br />Icon Entertainment Intl. has picked up foreign sales for "Bronte," with ICM representing the project in North America. Alastair Maclean-Clark and Basil Stephens of AMC Pictures are producing. Sturridge's screenplay is based on an original script by Angela Workman.<br /><br />The Bronte sisters and their brother Branwell grew up in isolation on the Yorkshire moors and went on to write some of the most enduring novels in the canon of English literature -- Charlotte's "Jane Eyre," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."<br /><br />As children, they created epic fantasy worlds to entertain themselves, led by the charismatic Branwell, but when he descended into alcohol and opium abuse, the sisters had to find their own way in a world dominated by strict patriarchal conventions. This initially forced them to disguise their identities by publishing under male pseudonyms.<br /><br />Sturridge commented, "My family comes from Yorkshire, and I grew up with five sisters, so this is a story I have always wanted to tell."</em>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-20142083059324019482007-05-14T21:31:00.000-04:002007-05-14T21:36:50.370-04:00Costume Show at Haddon Hall<a href="http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/MM//TH1_145200713eyre.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/MM//TH1_145200713eyre.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />From <a href="http://www.matlocktoday.co.uk/news?articleid=2874599">Matlock Today</a>:<br /><br /><em>HADDON Hall is currently home to an exciting collection of costumes from last year's BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre filmed in the area.<br /><br />Eight outfits are on display throughout the hall placed in rooms where they would be most appropriate.In the banqueting hall Jane's governess dress takes pride of place next to Rochester's everyday outfit.</em><br /><br />(...)<br /><br /><em>Designer Angela Galer said: "The important thing is the script, I look for what will fire me up.<br /><br />"When you meet the actors you get a better idea of what to do. The actress who played Blanche was very blonde and suited light colours, while Lady Ingram suits darker, more dramatic colours."</em>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-87715824866921119472007-05-07T16:30:00.000-04:002007-05-07T16:50:09.014-04:00Adaptation: the Cage Match<div>Forgive the silliness of this post but the news today is a little silly, and having just finished the coursework for my master's degree, I am ever so slightly giddy this afternoon. The MA colloquium at Dalhousie University was last friday. I presented a paper on 21st century adaptations of Jane Eyre on a panel about 18th and 19th century constructions of gender, authorship, and identity. It all went well, after the equipment arrived for the video clips... During question period, comments came simultaneously from the Victorian moderator and one of the ph.d's about- of all things- the elements of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea which they claimed were obvious in the clips I had chosen! This is the beautiful thing about conferences - getting a totally new perspective on your work. I always take notes during question period, but I had to ask them to slow down so I could get everything.<br /><br />This brings me to a bit of silly from <a href="http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/lastnighttv/display.var.1381312.0.0.php">The Herald</a>:<br /><br /><em>Perhaps TV bosses feared the wrath of Wellsian literary purists, who have consistently complained that Lee Evans, playing the drama's underdog hero, Alfred Polly, is much too much the knockabout prole.<br /><br />Then again, no TV exec ever paid any heed to literary purists, as the latter are mostly blinkered, vinegar-faced, nit-picking plonkers who do nothing but complain - as I know from having incurred such folks' wrath in reviewing Jane Eyre (at this point, allow me to wave two fingers at all the blinkered, vinegar-faced, nit-picking plonkers who run the website bronteblog).</em><br /><br />(You will probably find a retort from said <a href="http://bronteblog.blogspot.com">BB</a> here, or at the sidebar link). I am quite glad that I didn't get into criticising critics in this case. I do enough of that as a graduate student. I must say, I'm not enjoying writing academic papers on adaptation simply because most of the critical writings go something like this:<br /><br />It's unfaithful! It's corrupt, and debased, and sacriledge!!<br />Hey, adaptations can't be just like the book. In fact, adaptation is a hugely complicated issue which leads absolutely nowhere.<br />It's the best version evaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!<br />That means absolutely nothing.<br />Yeah, well, so does saying that it's hugely complicated.<br />Touche.<br />Sacriledge!! </div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/audiovisual/slideshow/slideshow29/gladiatr.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>It might be better if we adopted an American Gladiators sort of forum to settling the matter, at least then it would be entertaining.</div>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-63567428499932089232007-05-04T18:04:00.000-04:002007-05-04T18:08:11.816-04:00Theif Makes off With Tsunami Aid LaceLast year we were thrilled to learn that the then upcoming BBC production of Jane Eyre was creating jobs for tsunami survivors by helping to rebuild the lace industry. Unfortunately, there are <a href="http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/content/camden/hamhigh/news/story.aspx?brand=NorthLondon24&category=Newshamhigh&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newshamhigh&itemid=WeED04%20May%202007%2014%3A14%3A48%3A003">some really low people in this world</a>:<br /><br /><em>Fashion raiders leave aid project in tatters<br /> <br />Ed Thomas<br /><br />A FASHION designer from Belsize Park is distraught after thieves stole an entire collection of clothes that were going to raise funds for tsunami survivors.<br /><br />Andrea Galer, who famously tailored Richard E Grant's overcoat for the film Withnail and I, has lost months of work and thousands of pounds following the break-in at her studio in Haverstock Hill.<br /><br />Burglars entered on Friday night and made off with unique samples due to be marketed to leading fashion stores and sold to aid Sri Lankan survivors of the 2004 tsunami.<br /><br />"Every single item in the collection has gone, about 20 pieces of clothing," said Ms Galer, who set up the Power of Hands Foundation to help Sri Lankan lace makers.<br /><br />"It constitutes everything I have been working on for the past four months. I have financed this entire project by myself and built it up over two years.<br /><br />"The clothes were just getting ready to be presented to the big fashion stores.<br /><br />"Now the whole collection is lost. This project was designed to save lives. It makes me very sad."<br /><br />Ms Galer's clothes have graced the silver screen for productions including Jane Eyre, Mansfield Park, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Spooks.<br /><br />Having started out her career 30 years ago in a shop in England's Lane, she has become a leading designer highly sought-after by film and television directors.<br /><br />As well as designing for the big screen, she is also passionate about helping the traditional Sri Lankan lace makers rebuild their lives following the tsunami disaster.<br /><br />"I am the only person in the world who is helping this group of people," she added.<br /><br />"The Power of Hands Foundation is a huge project, and these were the first samples aimed at helping the lace makers rebuild their lives.<br /><br />"The whole collection has been taken by someone who either doesn't know what they've got their hands on or who is deliberately trying to sabotage the project.<br /><br />"It looks like a professional job. The door wasn't forced open but may have been opened with a special key."<br /><br />Police have launched an investigation into the burglary.<br /><br />A spokeswoman said the break-in took place around 11pm, just at the time when the nearby pub would have been closing up.<br /><br />"Given this was on a Friday night, there is a strong chance that witnesses might have seen something suspicious.<br /><br />"All the ladies' items were made from Sri Lankan silk. No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are continuing."<br /><br />If you have information which might help the police, call 020-7404 1212.</em>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14259201.post-61044795086890413282007-04-29T22:31:00.000-04:002007-04-29T22:35:30.870-04:00Please, tell me more.<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/04/30/do3005.xml">This reviewer</a> has a most interesting opinion of Jane Eyre: part genius, part 'drivel.' Indeed?<br /><br /><em>Rereading Jane Eyre confirms memory's hunch that the first half is wonderful and the second half is drivel.<br /><br />That said, it deserves a prize for both its opening sentence and its last. "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day" should be studied by anyone who wants to write a novel. It is a sentence that is quiet, modest, matter-of-fact, but that draws you in immediately. By the end of the second sentence, we have met Jane's odious aunt Mrs Reed, and the wretchedness of Jane's orphan childhood and her lovelessness among the Reed cousins begins to unfold.<br /><br />advertisementProbably as many people believe that the novel ends "Reader, I married him" as there are who think Sherlock Holmes was always saying: "Elementary, my dear Watson." In fact, the closing words of the book are, "Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus!" You can't get further over the top than that, and I love to think of a modern novelist trying to make a hit by imitating the Jane Eyre formula and copying this device.</em><br /><br />That sounds like a challenge- don't tempt me!<br /><br /><em>As with so many Victorian novels, the best bits of the book are not in fact concerned with the man-woman relationship but rather with childhood. I was surprised, on this reading, to discover that Jane's horrible experience of tantrums with the Reeds, her being locked in the Red Room, and her being sent to Lowood, the hateful evangelical school, are so short. They are the bits that had stayed most vividly in my mind.<br /><br />When interviewed by Mr Brocklehurst for her place at the school, Jane is asked, " 'And what is hell? Can you tell me that?' 'A pit full of fire.' 'And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?' 'No, sir.' 'What must you do to avoid it?' I deliberated a moment; my answer, when it came, was objectionable: 'I must keep in good health, and not die.' "<br /><br />Nothing in the book - not the midnight prowlings of Mrs Rochester nor the drama of Jane's interrupted wedding - quite exceeds the brilliance of this exchange. But, though the second half of the story is so unsatisfactory and in parts so boring, it is not unrelated to Jane's talk with Mr Brocklehurst. Jane Eyre is not merely a justly popular novel. It is also one of the great documents of 19th-century Protestantism.</em>Brontëanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871588304265056120noreply@blogger.com0