The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Please post any background information in this thread.

Frances, if you want my background info, here it is: I am a retired teacher, married, with two married daughters, one five year old grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. I love to travel and enjoy going to classical music concerts and plays in small theatres. I have lived in Toronto for 30 years. I have a B.A. in
French and German literature and a Master's degree in German language and literature. I was born in Germany. My family emigrated to Canada in 1958. My mother's family is from Transylvania. My husband is a Canadian(of Irish, English, Scottish and German background),

Interesting background, Rosemarie! But I think what is meant by “background information” here is info about the book and about Charlotte Brontë—articles, history, biography of the author, etc. that you might find to share. Goodreads code can be impenetrable sometimes! I was confused a lot about things when I started.

Sorry, that probably wasn't clear from my somewhat terse posting. Thanks Abigail for clarifying. Welcome, Rosemarie, I'm in Ottawa so in goodreads terms we're practically neighbours!

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I read an interesting book about the Brontes called The Dark Quartet by Lynn Reid Banks. The section about their school days is harrowing reading.

Hi Abigail and Frances, thanks for the info.
For all of you:
Which Bronte books have you read? The last Bronte book I read was The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne. Have any of you read the Jasper Fforde books? The first one is called The Eyre Affair. They are a lot of fun.

Rosemarie wrote: "Hi Abigail and Frances, thanks for the info.
For all of you:
Which Bronte books have you read? The last Bronte book I read was The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne. Have any of you read the Jasper ..."

Rosemarie you should continue this discussion in the chat thread, croissants

Thank you Deborah

Hi,

In reference to a book on the Brontës, I would suggest The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker.

A biography of Charlotte was also written by Elizabeth Gaskell (The Life of Charlotte Brontë) soon after Charlotte died. Although very interesting, Gaskell gets some facts wrong.

Hopes this helps.

Hi Rosemarie,

I've read all the Brontë books. I'm somewhat of a Brontë fanatic. I lived in Haworth, home of the Brontës, for a year working on a research project. (I've also read Jasper Fford's The Eyre Affair. :)

Lori

I'm Cay. I absolutely love the brontes, charlotte and anne both have had an immense impact on both myself wholly and my writing. Charlotte is my favorite author, I tend to see her as my academic mother haha. I read every bronte novel except I have not yet finished villette which I look forward to reading, as for now I'm halfway through Shirley. I haven't finished wuthering heights either but ill manage to endevour. thank you for having me!

Hi Lori, I recently joined and found out that the croissants has many Bronte fans using it. We can continue there, but I think that it's amazing that you had such an opportunity.
Hi, Cay, I would love to continue the chat on Croissants, the latest version of the thread.

Where is the Croisssants thread?

Lori

The croissants thread is in the list of general discussion topics that appears when you open the group site. It's whole name is Croissant, Coffee and Tea. The most current thread is the part 11, I think. I only joined on Friday, so I'm still finding my way, but everyone so far has been helpful. Hope this helps.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Drive-by linky:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I have a theory that the Brontes tend to be much more appreciated by women than by men. I'm not sure why that is, and I've never done a scientific study, and of course there are men who appreciate them and women who don't, but overall from the many book discussions of them I've been engaged in over the years they seem to appeal much more strongly to women than to men. Will be interested to see whether that holds true in this group and discussion. I have to say that I am not a fan of either Jane Eyre (as my Goodreads essay on her probably makes pretty clear!) or of Wuthering Heights. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall I found meh. I couldn't finish The Professor. I haven't read Villette, will be interested to see whether I find it any better.

Overall, though, I think the Bronte women are much stronger and better developed characters than the men, who are usually either insipid or outrageous, which may reflect the girls' relationship with Branwell, who wasn't, from what I understand, a very credible male role model. And why women celebrate a female character allying herself with an adulterer who would, if not stopped at the altar, have committed the moral sin and serious crime of bigamy has always puzzled me. But perhaps the strength of characterization of their female characters is what appeals to female readers. I don't know; will see what happens in Villette.

Everyman wrote, “I have a theory that the Brontës tend to be much more appreciated by women than by men.”

I would add a corollary to that—by younger women. Of course, these are generalizations, but I certainly enjoyed the Brontës’ works much more when I was in my teens and twenties. I reread Jane Eyre in my fifties and thought to myself, “What a potboiler!” Ducking now to receive incoming fire. . . .

I'm not a Bronte fan either. I started Villette a few years ago and was unable to stomach the first several pages (ended up deleting it from my kindle). I'll give it another try and see how it goes.

I prefer George Eliot to the Brontes, but I enjoy reading both. I have just begun rereading the Jasper Fforde book called The Eyre Affair. It is a whole new take on
Jane Eyre. Part of the action takes place inside the book. The books are light reading and a lot of fun.

I have a theory that one part of at least Charlotte Bronte's appeal to women is that her heroines are often plain and sometimes downtrodden, and yet they inspire admiration and ultimately love in their men because of their intelligence and spirit and some degree of independence. For many of us it is hard to see ourselves in those innumerable female heroines who are celebrated mainly for their exceptional beauty and (usually) frivolity (Elfiride, Bella and even Lizzie from out most recent reads). Men in literature are generally celebrated for their deeds or their intelligence or wit, so any male reader can imagine himself in that role.

Good thoughts, Frances!

I also agree with you Frances. Jane Eyre, the person, has a realistic view of the world. She knows she will have to earn a living by her wits, brains and spirit.

Frances wrote: "Men in literature are generally celebrated for their deeds or their intelligence or wit, so any male reader can imagine himself in that role. ."

Love it!!

You're welcome!!

I thought this was an interesting addition to our discussion; there are no known photos of the Bronte sisters but could this be them?
http://www.brontesisters.co.uk/

I personally love Wuthering Heights but I think that may be because I love the Yorkshire Moors and relate to the bleakness and yet wonder of them. Wuthering Heights is a classic of it's time and place. I love Emily's poetry.

That’s very intriguing, Tracey! Thanks for sharing the link.