These clips are from the first public version of Jane Eyre: The Musical as performed in Wichita, Kansas in 1996. Marla Schaffel is Jane, Anthony Crivello is Mr Rochester.
Secret Soul
'Oh God' A piece cut from the show (and new to me!)
The Proposal
This month the Eagle Intermedia Bronte Country website celebrates its 10th birthday.
Launched back in February 1997, the Bronte Country website was originally set up by Eagle Intermedia Publishing Ltd. as an initiative to help promote theBronte Birthplace and its environs in Thornton on the outskirts of Bradford. However the site quickly expanded to include tourist information on Haworth, Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale, as well as other places in the West Yorkshire and East Lancashire Pennines having associations with the Brontes. The area was of course already world famous for its literary connections, but the internet has proved a highly effective medium in communicating interest and helping visitors plan their travel arrangements.
Today Eagle Intermedia's Yorkshire websites attract hundreds of visitors a day from all over the world. Says Roger Poultney (Internet Marketing Consultant): "The Bronte Country website has gone from strength to strength, and several spin-off sites covering specific places within the region (including Haworth, Bradford and Saltaire) have subsequently been developed, as well as separate websites for the nearby Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and Yorkshire Coast. I have no doubt whatsoever that Eagle Intermedia's online marketing efforts have made a significant contribution to local tourism in raising the profile of the area at home and abroad, not only to the benefit of clients who advertise on the Bronte Country website, but also to the West Yorkshire tourism economy as a whole..."
This view is backed up by the website's advertising clients, which include hotels, guest houses and self-catering holiday cottages in the area. Says David Sisley, of the Apothecary Guest House in Haworth:
"I am delighted with the bookings and interest which I have received since joining the Bronte Country website. Bookings have increased, and I am receiving enquiries from all over the world because of my listing. Congratulations on the 10th anniversary, and looking forward to seeing how the site develops over the next ten years !"
These links will also be available shortly, once I have reconstructed our links, on the left-hand sidebar of this blog.
Bronte Country
http://www.bronte-country.com
Haworth Village (in Bronte Country)
http://www.haworth.yorks.com
And thank you to Dr.Poultney for contributing this news item.
I would like to welcome the latest Bronte blog to join us online. The Brussels Bronte Blog has just started publishing this month. Be sure to add it to you lists!
http://www.brusselsbronte.blogspot.com/
The Brussels Brontë Group was originally formed by Brontë Society members in Belgium and the Netherlands to bring together people interested in the Brontës and in the Brussels places with Brontë associations. It soon grew to include members of many different countries and nationalities: British, Belgian, Dutch, French, German and others. We welcome anyone in any country who is interested in the works and lives of the Brontës (and 19th century literature in general) and would like to know more about the history of the Pensionnat Heger (the school where Charlotte and Emily Brontë stayed in 1842-43 and which inspired Villette and The Professor), the Quartier Isabelle where it stood, and the city of Brussels in the 19th century.
The Blog provides a forum for members to keep in touch with one another, and we welcome contributions by anyone who is interested in our Group.
From Yorkshire Today:
THE Brontës' lives and their books have been inspiring writers, They will look at the remarkable power of the Brontës' writing and its influence on their own work.
The event, organised as part of the Brontë Parsonage Museum's contemporary arts programme, will bring together a number of writers who have acknowledged a debt to the Brontës, including Booker Prize nominated novelist Michele Roberts.
Rather like the Brontës', Roberts's writing has often been referred to as "feminist", although she has stated that it is primarily about "food, sex and God". She has won many literary prizes and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999. Other panelists will include Patricia Duncker and Stevie Davies.Andrew McCarthy, deputy director, Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: "The Brontës' influence on other writers has been profound and it's wonderful to have contemporary writers of such prominence here in Haworth to talk about the Brontës in relation to their work. The writers who will be joining us are hugely talented."
In an effort to catch up on recent news, I have compiled one of my Bronte Digests. This should also save stress on those who receive Brontëana post through a feed (and especially Livejournal).
The Acting Company's production of Jane Eyre at Ball State University.
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Emens Auditorium
Cost: $5 for Ball State students
And in North Carolina:
JANE EYRE: An adaptation by Polly Teale of Charlotte Bronte's novel; 8 p.m., Farthing Auditorium, Appalachian State University, Boone. Presented by The Acting Company. Admission $16, $14 for seniors, $8 for students. Call 800-841-2787 or 828-262-4046.
See this post for other scheduled performances.
A glowing review of the North American DVD release of Jane Eyre 2006, praising its non-canonical approach:
[Jane]'s damaged, and this makes her undemonstrative to a fault – a bit of a pain, actually. She has to go on a journey to find her true character.
...
This Rochester is wrestling with a highly-developed dark side, losing, and rather enjoying it.
This article on muses is remarkable for mentioning dear Monsieur Heger:
A muse is used regularly by many well-known male artists. However, there are few instances where female artists have turned men into muses. The few examples include Charlotte Brontë's unrequited yearning for the married Monsieur Constantin Heger, her tutor, who became the model for Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre and for Paul Emmanuel in Villette, and Emily Dickinson's passion for her unidentified "Master" to whom she addressed some of her most fevered poems.
The times, they are a changin'? Apparently people are less interested in love nowadays:
Heather Schell, an assistant professor of writing, picked up similar attitudes when she taught a course called "Love, American Style" at George Washington University. Her female students loved to discuss the chick-lit book "Bridget Jones's Diary" and the sexual follies of Jones and her boss, Daniel Cleaver. But they were not enthralled with Edward Rochester's lengthy courtship in "Jane Eyre." Quick flings, or hookups, were okay, "but love was rarely mentioned in class discussions," Schell says.
Their favorite assigned reading? A poetry anthology called "The Hell With Love."
Science (and literature?) show that money can't buy love:
And there are precedents. Jane Eyre could only have Mr Rochester after he had lost his money and been blinded. Cathy's passion for Heathcliff deepened as he went mad and destroyed everything about him. Scarlett only loved Rhett when he was down on his luck. Could it be that there is something seriously damaged in the feminine psyche?
When a classic novel is brought to life on the silver screen, things change. One such great book gets a through examination of its media conversions at a captivating lecture.
Plymouth State University's Dr. Gaye Gould is presenting a multimedia exploration of Charlotte Bronte's classic romantic novel, "Jane Eyre." This popular novel has been adapted to the screen several times, each with its own distinct perspective. Delve into the story and its renditions on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Bartlett Library.
Gould has chosen clips from a variety of these movies to compare them with the novel. A movie never seems to do justice to a book, yet with over a dozen media renditions there is something that is fascinating about capturing the essence of a book on film.
The "Jane Eyre" media exploration is at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
For those of you reading Bronteana without benefit of feeds, you should have noticed some changes to the format. Blogger has finally made a beta big enough for this journal, but switching over to the new system hasn't gone smoothly so far. I've managed to wipe out all of the links along the side of the page, including all of my vain attempts to provide some order to the anarchy of the archives (which are still a hopeless mess). I hope to find the time to restore the links list and etexts before long. In the meantime, there is a new visitor map, which should be fun. If you scroll to the bottom on the blog you will now see a map showing where some of the visitors are from!
Performance Schedule for Jane Eyre: The Musical
Thanks to Mrs. Dionysius O'Gall:
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
CHARLOTTE, NC US From 3/8/2007
Until 3/10/2007
HIGHLANDS RANCH JR SR HIGH SCH
HIGHLAND RANCH, CO US From 4/12/2007
Until 4/21/2007
HOMESCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS
ALTO, MI US From 4/26/2007
Until 4/28/2007
NIAGARA-WHEATFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
SANBORN, NY US From 3/29/2007
Until 3/31/2007
NOCCA/RIVERFRONT
NEW ORLEANS, LA US From 3/14/2007
Until 3/18/2007
VIEWMONT HIGH SCHOOL
BOUNTIFUL, UT US From 3/9/2007
Until 3/17/2007
WATERTOWN LYRIC THEATER PRODUCTIONS, INC.
WATERTOWN, NY US From 5/3/2007
Until 5/5/2007
WESTMINSTER ACADEMY
FT LAUDERDALE, FL US From 3/16/2007
Until 3/17/2007
Win a DVD of Jane Eyre 2006
Digital Spy is giving away three copies of the region 2 version of the new BBC mini-series:
Charlotte Bronte’s novel is brought to life in this lavish and complex adaptation. Newcomer Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre) and Toby Stephens (Edward Rochester) head up an all-star cast including Francesca Annis, Tara Fitzgerald and Pam Ferris.
After a wretched childhood as an orphan and two years of being a teacher, Jane Eyre yearns for new experiences. She accepts a governess position at Thornfield Hall, where she tutors a lively French girl. She soon finds herself falling in love with the brooding owner of Thornfield, the dark and impassioned Mr Rochester. Jane gradually wins his heart but first they must overcome the dark secrets of his past before they can find happiness as man and wife.
When Jane saves Rochester from a fire, which he claims was started by a drunken servant, she begins to suspect that she has not been told the whole story. Her fears are confirmed when Rochester’s secret past is revealed, forcing Jane to flee Thornfield. Penniless and hungry, she finds shelter and friendship in the shape of a kind clergyman and his family, but she is soon shocked to uncover the hidden truth of her own past.
Adapted by Sandy Welch (North and South), produced by Diederick Santer (Much Ado About Nothing) and directed by Susanna White (Bleak House).
As well as all four 50 minute episodes, this 2-disc DVD includes extras such as interviews with cast and crew, commentaries on episodes 1 and 4, deleted scenes, photo gallery and BBC trails.
A Brief Note About Emails Etc.
I have only just begun to tackle the emails that have built up inside my inbox (there's only 841 new messages now!). It's slow going. I hope that no one's message gets lots but if you have sent word to me and I have not replied, remind me please. I am also aware that I am behind in replying to comments as well. It is more difficult to keep up with those.
This week is going to be quite hectic. I will be readjusting my Bronte thesis proposal. I've met with my advisor who has advised me to trim it down to two adaptations. The reasoning behind this decision is that I have such a huge amount of new material I could contribute it seems wasteful to retread adaptations which have already been studied. These two adaptations will be the 2006 mini-series and the 1996-2001 musical by Paul Gordon and John Caird. (Which reminds me, Anthony Crivello, if you're reading this, I have been carrying the package I prepared for you in my backpack for months now. I WILL post it! I feel like the world's worst fan...).
To make matters more interesting, I am once again in the middle of marking essays (some of which make my brain feel like bursting and not in a good way), I have a paper of my own due monday, and I will be presenting my first lecture on thursday (it is on Dickens, monomania and class tensions in Victorian England. I only briefly contemplated throwing in a Wuthering Heights reference but I've been good about sticking to Mr. D's work).
Film Adaptation of Shirley?
From today's News and Star:
40k Euros to develop screenplay
A CUMBRIAN-educated lecturer has been awarded 40,000 Euros to develop her screenplay of Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley.
Dr Jo Baker, who attended Queen Elizabeth School at Kirby Lonsdale and now lectures in English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University, won the funding from the Irish Film Board.
The screenplay is now in development with the independent production company Green Park Films.
Dr Baker said: “It was a great sense of satisfaction to be taken seriously for my screenplay because I’ve never done anything like this before and it’s very exciting.
“I have my own dream wish list of who I’d like to be in the film but it’s early days yet. But the fact that we’ve got investment makes me feel more confident.”
Published in 1849, the novel is set the industrialising England of the Napoleonic wars and Luddite revolts of 1811-12.
Illustration from the Bronteana Resource Site. Other illustrations can be found here.
The Unexplainable
It is true that PBS aired the BBC's Jane Eyre 2006 the other day. I can only tell you that it is also true that this was accompanied by an event so unexpected that it can only be one thing: spookiness. Yes, spookiness. For it is winter and I have seen the Snow Toby. The Snow Toby was not there when I went to my office hours today, it was not there when I returned. Neither was it there when I went to class, but then I returned again that was when I saw it. If only I had brought my camera! Tomorrow I start off early for the class I teach, and then I hope no one has defiled him in my absence.
Okay, enough. What's a Snow Toby? Well, it's rather like a crop circle only in the snow and instead of a circle it is shaped precisely and spookily like "TOBY." It was spooky in an extra spooky way because I could see no footprints leading up to the Snow Toby. Ravens and red squirrels are the only other creatures in the area and they don't get PBS.
So, tomorrow I go hunting for the Snow Toby. If I succeed, I will post a picture of it here. If I don't return it is best not to send a search party unless you direct them into the library somewhere (might want to check in British Lit under 'B').
ETA:
Jane Eyre (by Polly Teale) Touring Schedule
Belatedly, here is the revised performance schedule for The Acting Company's production of Polly Teale's Jane Eyre.
Thanks to Paula Raymond, design and communications coordinator for sending this in:
Jan 18, 2007 Rockville, MD Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center
Jan 20-22, 2007 Flushing, NY Queens Theatre in the Park
Jan 27, 2007 Purchase, NY Purchase College Foundation-The Performing Arts Center
Jan 30, 2007 Ogdensburg, NY George Hall Auditorium - Ogdensburg Free Academy
Jan 31-Feb 1, 2007 Manchester, NH Dana Humanities Center - St. Anselm College
Feb 2, 2007 Burlington, VT Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Feb 3, 2007 Durham, NH Johnson Theater - Univ. of New Hampshire
Feb 6-7, 2007 Pittsburgh, PA Byham Theater
Feb 8, 2007 Houghton, NY Houghton College Chapel Auditorium
Feb 10-11, 2007 Hampton, VA Hampton Arts Commission-American Theatre
Feb 13, 2007 Charlottesville, VA The Paramount Theater
Feb 14, 2007 Fairfax, VA Center for the Arts - George Mason University
Feb 16, 2007 Boone, NC Farthing Auditorium - Appalachian State University
Feb 17, 2007 Spindale, NC West Auditorium - Isothermal Comm. College
Feb 20, 2007 Muncie, IN Emens Auditorium - Ball State University
Feb 21-22, 2007 Holland, MI DeWitt Center - Hope College
Feb 23, 2007 Greenville, MI Greenville Area Community Center
Feb 24, 2007 Elyria, OH Stocker Fine Arts Center - Lorain County Comm. College
Feb 26, 2007 Cincinnati, OH Aronoff Center - Jarson-Kaplan Theater
Feb 27, 2007 Notre Dame, IN O'Laughlin Aud. - St. Mary's College
Feb 28, 2007 Flint, MI The Whiting
Mar 2, 2007 Toledo, OH Valentine Theatre
Mar 3, 2007 Windsor, ON Capitol Theatre & Arts Centre
Mar 5, 2007 Decatur, AL
Mar 6, 2007 Starkville, MS McComas Hall Theatre - Miss. State University
Mar 8, 2007 Arkadelphia, AR Arkansas Hall Auditorium - Henderson State Univ.
Mar 9, 2007 Pine Bluff, AR Arts & Science Center - Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Mar 13, 2007 Natchitoches, LA Northwestern Theatre - Northwestern State Univ. of LA
Mar 15, 2007 Ruston, LA Howard Auditorium - Louisiana Tech. Univ.
Mar 16-17, 2007 Baton Rouge, LA Magnolia Perf. Arts Pavillion - Baton Rouge CC
Mar 19, 2007 Tupelo, MS The Link Centre Concert Hall
Mar 20, 2007 Wesson, MS Rea Auditorium - Copiah-Lincoln Comm. College
Mar 22, 2007 Thomasville, GA Cultural Center Hall
Mar 23, 2007 Jacksonville, FL Wilson Center for the Arts - Florida Comm. College Jacksonville
Mar 25, 2007 Newberry, SC Newberry Opera House
Mar 26-27, 2007 Talladega, AL Antique Talladega - The Ritz Theater
Mar 30-Apr 2, 2007 West Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Apr 10, 2007 Lakeland, FL Florida Southern College-Branscomb Auditorium
Apr 11, 2007 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
Apr 15, 2007 Jefferson City, TN Gentry Auditorium - Carson-Newman College
Apr 17, 2007 State College, PA State Theatre
Apr 18, 2007 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY Bard College - Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
Apr 20, 2007 Duxbury MA Duxbury Performing Arts Center
Apr 23-May 5, 2007 New York, NY Baruch Performing Arts Center Full Rep
The Return of Jane Eyre
With the American premiere of the BBC's newest version of Jane Eyre imminent, the wires are again buzzing (slightly) with news. Not exactly news, but articles of some interest. I especially like this one which includes a few snarky comments about adaptions:
That's Edward Rochester. Bronte uses such words as "dark," "stern," "heavy brow" and "ireful and thwarted"; filmmakers prefer cute.
There's also this odd little tidbit from Matlock Today:
The shop has also bought the bed featured in the recent television series Jane Eyre. The bed is burnt during one heart stopping scene and will be displayed at the shop too.
Remember, it may be all well and good to watch Jane douce the raging inferno on Rochester's bed but please do not try it at home.
The Commercialism of the Local Library
In a new cost-savings measure the local libraries of Fairfax county, Virginia are using computers to target books which have not been circulating in the last two years. One of the victims of this 'purge' which has taken a heavy toll on classic literature, is Jane Eyre:
The Fairfax libraries are now using new computer software programs to identify titles that have not been checked out in 24 months. Victims, to date, include the speeches and writings of Abraham Lincoln, The Education of Henry Adams, poems of Emily Dickinson, and, according to the Washington Post's Lisa Rein, "thousands of novels and nonfiction works" that were swept up in the computer vacuuming.
Other books that have been "weeded" from the shelves of various branches of the Fairfax County Public Library system or haven't been checked out in 24 months and could be discarded include: The Works of Aristotle, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
Other selections expunged from various branch libraries are Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and Virgil's The Aeneid.
Among the more contemporary authors excluded from some libraries are the likes of Kate Millett, Jack Kerouac, and Maya Angelou.
The top 25 books checked out in December, from Fairfax County libraries, were best-sellers by John Grisham, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Stephen King and Alice McDermott, among others. Most are entertaining, but only a few will be considered classics in 25 years.
I have mentioned here before that the school board in my hometown (in southern Ontario) had a policy of destroying books which had not circulated in the last four years. The librarians covertly ignored or otherwise circumvented these rules. They were appalled, but also had practical reasons for not complying. Circulation of books in these libraries does not rely on interest alone. Knowing that bookstores are increasingly slashing their stock (Chapters cut 3 000 titles from their catalogue this year while they have all but obliterated independent bookstores across the country where readers might otherwise obtain the books they want), it is especially alarming to hear that another venue for reading less popular works might be closing. Remember my quest to find a copy of Agnes Grey? I eventually had to order it online. It was not in the library system for the entire county- and my hometown, while not a major city, is still larger than Halifax which is a provincial capital! None of the bookstores carried it: neither Chapters nor the poor remnants we have of second-hand and independent shops.
What if I had been unable to afford such a luxury? What if I had not been computer literate?
Back at Last?
I hit a wee snag a few days ago. I've moved three times in as many days. Moving back to my old dorm room I found the ceiling had suffered serious water damage and had sprouted black mold. I moved back to my lovely little Annex, then here:
The interior is very fine too:
Hopefully I can now get back to my normal schedule of bloggery and graduate toils. Speaking of which, the time has come for me to begin work on my Bronte thesis!
