Bronte challenge: The Professor by Charlotte

This book wasn't on my initial selection, but I found it as a recorded book at our local library. THEN I went to a bookshelf where I have the books I received as prizes at school, and then found it there too! As you can tell from my blog I love stitching, so I decided to listen to the recorded book while stitching.

I can see why Charlotte had a hard time getting this into print. It just doesn't have the special something that Jane Eyre has. In fact I think that this is because you can't really get close to the main character, in fact you hardly find out much about his character. I did persevere and finished it last night, but I wouldnt really recommend it as there isn't a lot of plot and the characters aren't people who seem real either. Anyway I'm glad I read it as its good to see how authors began even if there wasn't the magic of a classic.

Now I'll have to see what to do next on the challenge.

Finished Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey

I've read this as part of Laura's challenge, the version I borrowed from the library was the Penguin Classics version "with a memoir of her sisters by Charlotte Bronte".

It was a nice gentle read and I picked it as I hadn't read it before. Amazing to think that she while waiting for Agnes Grey to be published, she started writing the much wilder Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which was published only a year later.

You can really sympathise with poor Agnes, volunteering to work as a governess and then having such awful disobedient children to manage. They ended up telling Agnes to work for them leaving her no time of her own. Then when she meets Mr Weston, the elder daughter of the family tries to add him to her collection of men. Luckily good trumphs and the story ends happily.

Throughout the book, I kept realising how autobiographical the book was about governessing from the Brontes' own real life experiences. This made it all the more poignant. In the introduction, one critic in the past said: "The heroine is a sort of younger sister to Jane Eyre, but inferior to her in every way". I agree with this sentiment.

After finishing the book, I then read the introduction and another section "Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell" by Currer Bell dated September 19, 1850. Charlotte wrote beautifully about her sisters, revealing their true identity.

All in all, a pleasant, gentle read.

All About the Brontes Challenge 2010!!

Great, another challenge for more of my favourite authors! Laura is being great and setting this up for us.

I'll list the following items, of course I may have to change them depending on what the libraries have available.

1. Agnes Grey (by Anne) - book
2. Shirley (Charlotte) -book

I've included these as I think I read or tried to read them a few decades ago, so need to refresh myself.

3. Wuthering Heights - DVD (not sure which version, will update later, depending on what I can borrow)

4. The Bronte Yearbook (book)

5. The Bronte letters

6. Regarding Jane Eyre by Susan Geason - book

I also read a great book on Charlotte by Mrs Gaskell (I love her books too!) many years ago, might be time to re-read that too.

Thanks Laura for the opportunity

regards
Julie in Australia