Review of Jane Eyre

Just finished watching a new version of Jane Eyre on DVD made in 2011, with Mia Wasikowska who I had never seen before as a brilliant Jane, just perfect for the role, and Michael Fassbender as a terrific Rochester. Even Judi Dench appeared as the housekeeper.

I think it is good if you know the story, as it starts with Jane leaving Thornfield Hall, very upset and running away through boggy land. So it starts in the middle, then goes back to her childhood. If you didn't know the story already it might have been slightly confusing, but later it goes back to Jane walking through the boggy fields and so it would all have fallen into place.

I think one of the best features was the lighting! It really looked like the rooms were lit by huge fires, or by the actual candlelight, throwing up shadows. So many times someone lights one candle, and the whole room seems to light up. I've tried reading by a candle and its extremely difficult!

Great film which I recommend, one reviewer wrote: A love story, as fiercely intelligent as it is passionate".

The costumes seemed to be quite authentic, near the end she has the sweetest bonnet which looks all lacy around the brim, her wedding apparel was lovely too.

I can't seem to stop discovering Bronte things this year, even though I've moved on to the following month's author!!

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

What a terrific book, just recently published in 2010 by Juliet Gael. I couldn't put it down!

Here's an excerpt from the website for this book:

In this masterful novel of historical fiction, Juliet Gael skillfully and stylishly captures the passions, hopes, dreams and sorrows of literature's most famous sisters–and imagines how love dramatically and most unexpectedly found Charlotte Brontë.

The book starts from the time of Arthur Bell Nicholl's arrival in Haworth and is a mixture of fact and fiction. Of course as we know, he was patiently waiting to propose to Charlotte for many years, while he was her father Patrick's curate. In fact Charlotte did make fun of curates in her books, but he seemed to be a very hardworking and steadfast man and protective of Charlotte. Quite different in size from the petite Charlotte too being a big man.

The book describes Charlotte's time being feted in London by her publisher George Smith who was quite an eligible bachelor, but 6 years younger than Charlotte. His mother was a good friend to Charlotte through her nerve racking times when forced out in public when she suffered from nervous illnesses and headaches. Sounds like Charlotte was quite attached to him but things didn't go so smoothly when he realised he was the basis of a character in one of her books and the letters diminished.

Eventually Arthur plucked up the courage to propose to Charlotte, without asking Patrick Bronte first. Patrick was incensed with rage thinking Arthur wasn't good enough for Charlotte who was now famous. (Even Thackeray was a fan of hers!!). Even Charlotte's best friend Ellen Nussey wasn't happy with Arthur proposing and their friendship suffered because of this. Charlotte didn't accept him at first, she didn't love him then, but after he persisted and she saw how much he loved her, she stood up to her father and they eventually got married. The author describes Charlotte becoming more and more attached to Arthur as she saw all his good qualities and how much he loved her. As we know, she became pregnant shirtly after her marriage but suffered from the most debilitating morning sickness and wasted away and died. What a shame the medical people couldn't do anything for her.

Arthur did inherit from her, but he remained in Haworth and looked after her father until his death a few year's later. Then Arthur went back to Ireland and became a farmer, as even though he had worked as Patrick's curate for so long, he missed getting the job after Patrick's death. Arthur later married his cousin Mary Anna who was housekeeping for him (she was disabled, but they shared separate bedrooms.). He preserved Charlotte's wedding dress, had the watercolours that were on the walls at Haworth and also the grandfather clock that Patrick wound faithfully every night on his way to bed (after Patrick went to bed Charlotte, Emily and Anne kept writing their books without their father's knowledge). Arthur lived to 90 years old, he bequeathed Charlotte's wedding dress to his niece, with instructions that it be burned before she died so that it wouldn't be sold. Interestingly at one stage Patrick cut bits of Charlotte's letters up and sent strips of her handwriting all over the world. He did this secretly as Arthur wouldn't have approved of people making money from his wife's writings.

All in all a fascinating book, very easy to read, and hard to put down. Its not often you read a book like that.
I heartily recommend it to any Bronte fans.

Review of "Emily" by Dilys Gater

I borrowed three books from the library about the Brontes for the January Challenge. I just finished "Emily" by Dilys Gater which told the story of the Brontes from childhood, including their Gondal and Angria writings, their trials and tribulations at trying to live outside Haworth, illnesses, time abroad in Belgium, and the death in September of Branwell followed by Emily's decline late in the year. What a crying shame that the reviewers didn't appreciate Wuthering Heights during her lifetime, it was altogether too dark for the reviewers to commend it. Sad too, that Charlotte (who had the trustworthy and pleasant publishers) got such great reviews for Jane Eyre (and 500 pounds at least for it), while Anne and Emily's publishers gave them a pittance. For the last challenge I read a book on their father's life, amazing fellow too, he spent most of his life in his study, even had his meals solitarily there, and went to bed early while the girls did their writing unbeknownst to him. Amazing too how he had cataract surgery so long ago, but how sad it must have been for him to lose all his children so young.

It was an easy book to read, and I enjoyed reading it even though I knew the ending would be very sad!!

Now I'm trying to decide on the February challenge: Charles Dickens. I have read a few of his books (e.g. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield) but it would be nice to read one of his less famous books. Perhaps Bleak House, but I do have this on DVD to watch too. I'll keep you posted!