Help keep new Charlotte Bronte find in public sphere: Museum requests support to purchase Bronte miniature book

Update: December 2011: Mixed news on the disposition of the “new” Charlotte Bronte manuscript. At auction, it was won by a museum, so it will still be available to the public. Though, instead of the Bronte Parsonage Museum in England, it went to a literary museum in France. Story at “The National”: here.

KW writes: For all of us Jane Eyre and Charlotte Bronte fans, this tiny book is a rare find! Written when Bronte was only 14 years old, it is a brilliant piece of satire. Bronte created this tiny work in the format of a men’s magazine. It includes a witty ad (see below), which observes economics and social justice in her usually insightful, though aloof, manner. It’s a kind of Mad Magazine for the 19th century. And, it contains a hint into her future sociological writing, such as her reflections on charity schools in Jane Eyre, and her novel, Shirley.

Bronte manuscript. Image from: i.dailymail.co.uk

(excerpt from) The Telegraph & Argus
[Brontë] Parsonage Museum in Haworth [England] is eager to ensure ‘national treasure’ is not lost to the public
UK/November 14, 2011

An appeal has been launched to help fund the purchase of a rare Charlotte Brontë manuscript.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum is appealing for financial support from the public and funding bodies.

It needs to raise up to £300,000 to cover the expected cost of buying the work at an auction next month.

The unpublished manuscript contains three works written by Charlotte – author of Jane Eyre – when she was 14.

Charlotte’s Young Men’s Magazine Number 2 contains 4,000 words set in a fictional world created by the famous literary siblings.

The book, until now in private ownership, is believed to have never before been seen by scholars.

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Austen vs. Brontes (and Esther vs. Vashti)

Since I enjoy Jane Eyre in all forms, so much, I have an e-mail news alert for “Jane Eyre”. Found this interesting article on a blog devoted to discussion among Jewish women. The full post is: here.

(excerpt from) The Jewish Daily Forward/the sisterhood
Esther vs. Vashti, Austen vs. Brontës
By Sarah Seltzer

As I prepared for the beginning of the perennial Purim question of “Esther vs. Vashti” at the same time as I delved into Jane Eyre-mania, I began to think about how women are always pushed into dichotomies. I wondered cynically how soon someone would write about the new Brontë films by declaring Jane Austen passé…

It always seems to me that when it comes to women who take different paths there’s a meme out there that there’s only room for one. Virgin or whore, Esther or Vashti, Austen or Brontë. Yes, the two most famous Brontë sisters, Charlotte and Emily, and Jane Austen took divergent approaches to writing about the “woman question.” Austen was sort of an Esther, using her brilliant wit to dazzle readers but containing steely critique of the system under her perfect prose, while the Brontës, Vashti-like , seethe with rage at women’s unfortunate lot and churn with a desperate desire for escape…

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Video: Review of Jane Eyre movie, 2011

About the video:

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Jane Eyre: New video and 2011 movie trailer

Photos and report back from my trip into NYC to see the premier of Jane Eyre. Video Review by Stephanie and me: here.

Note! The Jane Eyre movie is coming out in select theaters. More to follow over the next few weeks. See list: here.

While author Jane Austen, and the character Jane Eyre, both lived after the time of Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Circle readers may know I love works by Jane Austen, and works based on Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte’s character) very much.  My favorite Jane Eyre so far has been the 2006 BBC miniseries. And, I am so excited to hear that the new movie, with Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, is coming to American theaters in March 2011. And, the movie trailer has just come out…

Link to 2o11 Jane Eyre movie trailer:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/11/10/jane-eyre-trailer-charlotte-brontemia-wasikowska-michael-fassbender/?xrs=share_twitter

And, here is my new video on the subject of Jane Eyre:

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Finally! First photos from Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre

The new Jane Eyre movie is due out in March. There is a FaceBook page, where they have released two photos of Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre, in fashionable 19th century garb. The movie is directed by Cary Fukunaga, of Sin Nombre fame. Reports are that Mia Wasikowska read the Charlotte Bronte book and asked her agent if there were any movies of it being made.

I am so excited about seeing another version of one of my favorite book!

Two stories below:

Story at I Am Rogue

Story at Cinema Blend

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Jane Eyre/Ellen Page news

Fall 2010 Update: The news has shifted greatly. Haven’t heard anything about Ellen Page and Jane Eyre in months. The new Jane Eyre movie will be coming out in March 2011 with Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre. Story and link to video clips: here.

There had been rumors that celebrity actress Ellen Page would be part of a new Jane Eyre project. Though, two reports say she has definitely separated from the project.

The good news is, the project is moving forward! Reports say that this project will focus on the gothic elements in Charlotte Bronte’s book.

(excerpt from) We Are Movie Geeks
SIN NOMBRE Helmer Stepping to JANE EYRE

The director behind SIN NOMBRE, Cary Fukunaga, is in final negotiations with UK’s Ruby Films to helm a new adaptation of JANE EYRE…Fukunaga, whose SIN NOMBRE tore up audiences around the world on this year’s festival circuit, is an up-and-coming director who is quickly making a name for himself…

Ellen Page was attached to star in the adaptation, but she left the project some time ago.

And another story: here.

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19th century comedy, and a WWJED bracelet…

Kimberly writes: I long to blog more here at Georgiana Circle. Time and other blogging responsibilities get in the way.

I am still exploring Jane Eyre. Which, I feel somewhat guilty about. I enjoyed promoting Georgiana of Devonshire as a real-life, woman political figure. Though, I suppose someone should promote Charlotte Bronte, real-life woman author.

Anyway, for the Jane Austen fans among us, and the Jane Eyre fans, too, I stumbled upon a very interesting comedienne. She does a whole shtick about 19th century literature. Then, she sends the audience away with WWJED bracelets. (What Would Jane Eyre Do?) Now, that is cool. (Though, while I like Jane Eyre, I am not sure I would follow her lead. I think several times, she should have forgotten about the patriarch, handsome as he was, and set up a co-op business with one of the other women from the story.)

(excerpt from) Spoonfed UK
We Need to Talk Bonnets with Grainne Maguire
September 1, 2009

There is a slight air of desperation in the small Camden Head theatre.  Desperation of various Bennet sisters looking for a suitable husband, desperation of the Brontes trying to make a living by their pen while keeping their anonymity and the more immediate desperation of comedian Grainne Maguire who has realised that the ten-person audience won’t be growing and it’s time to start the show.

We Need to Talk Bonnets is a comic monologue in which Maguire converts her obsession with 19th century literature and happy endings into a lens through which to view the real, and often much less happy, world. Tonight I am a sizable percentage of the lit geek audience that has come to Camden to hear Maguire’s performance running for three nights as part of the Camden Fringe.

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