Bonnie Greer resigns from floundering Brontë Society after months of infighting

The author Bonnie Greer has quoted Jane Eyre’s calm assertion that “I will be myself” in the wake of a dispute over the future of the Brontë Society that saw her resign from her position as president this weekend. The clash, which dates back to last summer, centres on how the organisation is being run, with one faction calling for the society, founded in 1893 and one of the oldest such literary groups in the world, to be modernised. It runs the Brontë Parsonage Museum, in the Yorkshire village of Haworth where the Brontë family once lived, and is also responsible for “promoting the Brontës’ literary legacy within contemporary society” . There are bicentenaries for Charlotte Brontë in 2016, told the Telegraph that trustees of the society “have become divorced from the local community”. He added: “They say they do not want to be seen as the snobs on the top of the hill, but they are. We have not enjoyed watching them implode. But the Brontë legacy is just bumbling on. It is not like the Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare [organisations]. The society needs to get its act together.”

Emily Brontë in 2018 and Anne Brontë in 2020. But John Huxley, local parish council chairman,
At an annual general meeting on 6 June, where Greer used a Jimmy Choo shoe as a gavel to bring order – and, she later said, “levity” – to proceedings, a report by consultants on the society’s future recommended “draw[ing] a line under past conflict”, bringing in more committee members with museum management experience and healing the “growing rift” with the village, reported the Yorkshire Post. Read more on: theguardian/bonnie-greer-resigns-bronte-society-yorkshire

Haworth church

Jack Hargreaves‎Haworth and the Brontes

Virginia Rushton

bronteparsonage:
Virginia Rushton, who died recently, was a well-known and very hard-working member of the Brontë Society who will be greatly missed. A singer, she was also well-known in the world of music, and was largely responsible for an extraordinary operatic project for schools in 2006 entitled The Wind on the Moor. It was featured on this blog and can be accessed here:
bronteparsonage/wind-on-moor

She was also the moving force behind the restoration of Emily's piano:-rhinegold/music_teacher/news/music

This obituary appeared a few days ago:  voiceforarran

Does an Award Like the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Help or Hurt the Cause of Women Writers?

In August 1849, Charlotte Brontë wrote a letter to her publisher, W. S. Williams, in response to a review of her wildly successful novel, “Jane Eyre.” Like her sisters, Emily and Anne — both of whom, along with their alcoholic brother, Branwell, Charlotte had just lost to tuberculosis over the course of one terrible year — the eldest Brontë sister published her work under a gender-­ambiguous pseudonym. The runaway success of “Jane Eyre” — published the same year as Emily’s and Anne’s novels “Wuthering Heights” and “Agnes Grey” — had sparked a broad debate about the identities of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. Were they one individual writing under several names — a rumor that was, at one point, deliberately circulated by Emily and Anne’s publisher in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of their sister’s best seller? Most of all, speculation raged about the Bells’ gender. One smitten woman wrote Brontë’s publisher wishing to know if Currer Bell was a man — if so, she confessed, she must surely be in love with him.

 

“Much of the article is clever,” Brontë writes of an essay on “Jane Eyre” in the North British Review, “and yet there are remarks which — for me — rob it of importance. . . . He says, ‘if “Jane Eyre” be the production of a woman — she must be a woman unsexed.’ ” This conditional objection to the novel’s bewitching narrative power — if a woman wrote this, then either she, the book or both must be somehow unnatural — stands as an invaluable example of Victorian-era mansplaining. But in their presupposition that male writing and female writing occupy two separate and circumscribable domains, Brontë’s indignant critics also betray an essentialist logic that’s arguably still present today (if reversed) in the rationale for gender-specific prizes like the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Read on nytimes/does-an-award-like-the-baileys-womens-prize-for-fiction-help-or-hurt-the-cause-of-women-writers
 

Museums at Night event.

Keighley News reports on the recent Museums at Night event.

Meanwhile a host of Brontë fans took the opportunity to visit the Parsonage Museum in Haworth after-hours as part of the annual national festival. [...]  Literature fans were able to experience the Brontë Parsonage as the famous siblings did, when the building was lit by candlelight.  The Brontë Society’s museum opened for separate events on two evenings as this year’s contribution to Museums at Night.  On the first night visitors were treated to a glass of wine as they arrived, then they viewed some of the museum’s treasures by candlelight.  Collections manager Ann Dinsdale invited visitors into the library, where she talked about some of the interesting items and artefacts belonging to the Brontë family.  

On the following night visitors were able to have a chat with Charlotte Brontë’s friend Ellen Nussey, played by a costumed actress, while looking around the museum.  Among the visitors were the Routh family, Francesca, James, Angela and Michael, from Pudsey, who had travelled to Haworth specifically for the event.  James said: “It’s the first time I’ve visited for many years, but it’s been a fantastic evening. “Seeing the museum like this is a unique and atmospheric experience, and the live interpretation brought it all the more to life.” Rebecca Yorke, marketing and communications officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, was delighted with the response to the evening openings.  She said: “It felt very special being in the museum as darkness fell and the candlelight definitely added to the atmosphere. “Our visitors agreed it was a very intimate event and we look forward to offering more opportunities to experience the museum after hours.”(David Knights)

photo's:
bbc/haworth_bronte_museum
telegraph//Bronte-Parsonage-Museum-Haworth
 

Feminist Heroines in the Novels of the Brontë Sisters

Nineteenth Century Women Writers and the Challenge of Gender Roles: Feminist Heroines in the Novels of the Brontë Sisters
Tinna Sif Sindradóttir
Advisor: Ingibjörg Ágústsdóttir
2015
University of Iceland

This essay explores the challenges that women writers faced in the nineteenth century, as well as women in general. Therefore, the concept of gender roles is examined, along with the restrictions that women faced. In addition, the notion of separate spheres that were dominant in this period is briefly outlined to exemplify the male-dominated society that these women lived in. However, the main issue focused on is how women writers were able to speak out against this patriarchal society and the traditional gender roles that women were subjected to. Indeed, by becoming professional writers, they challenged the notion of the domestic sphere and the idea that women were mainly supposed to be wives and mothers. As a result, women writers had the ability to empower other women and influence the course of history.  In particular, the Brontë sisters will be discussed to illustrate women writers that challenged the patriarchal society of the nineteenth century. Through their novels and their heroines, the sisters addressed issues that their society faced and they did this in their own unique ways. Special emphasis is placed on Charlotte Brontë and Anne Brontë, as well as their novels. Charlotte and Anne concerned themselves predominantly with problems such as gender roles and equality between the sexes. However, they were also concerned with the education of women and issues concerning the domestic sphere.  The novels discussed are Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. In addition, the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is briefly outlined. The novels in question can be considered as feminist novels. Indeed, the key aspect discussed in Jane Eyre is the empowerment of women through the heroine, Jane Eyre, as well as her demand for equality. Moreover, the battle for women’s rights and independence is explored in the The Tenant of Wildfell Hall through the novel’s heroine, Helen Huntingdon. Finally, it can be argued that Emily challenged gender roles through the way that she wrote, as well as through the heroine, Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights.

Oxenhope church is to receive a £37,500

Good news for the Oxenhope Parish Church as reported in Keighley News:

An historic Oxenhope church is to receive a £37,500 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant.
The money for St Mary the Virgin Church, in Hebden Bridge Road, will support a project to undertake much needed restoration to the church tower walls.
The scheme is costing £120,000 and the announcement of the latest funding will allow custodians of the Grade II listed property to complete the work. (...)
The church’s history includes a link to the world famous Brontë family.
In 1845, the Rev Patrick Brontë, father of the famous novelist sisters Charlotte, Anne and Emily, and their brother Branwell, appointed the then curate, the Rev Joseph Brett Grant, to take charge of the newly formed ecclesiastical district.
That district is now known as Oxenhope village parish.

Timmy Feather & his home, Muffin Man bread drying on airer

 

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Timmy Feather & his home, Muffin Man bread drying on airer

7 reasons to love Haworth

yorkshirelife/7 reasons_to_love_haworth

Jenny Skelton‎I love Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage

Patrick Brontes pistol nightcap, and watch, it's thought he took to carrying a pistol,in a pocket specially made in his greatcoat, at the time of the Luddite troubles in his parish.

 facebook/ pistol

Quilt made by the Brontë sisters

 

Bronte Parsonage Museum Yesterday, some experts from the Quilters' Guild came to examine this quilt made by the Brontë sisters. It's extremely fragile and hasn't been on display since the 1980s, but we're considering giving it an airing in the Museum for a limited time. What do you think?

Elizabeth-Gaskell-and-her-Manchester-Home

 

 

From: facebook/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Gaskell-and-her-Manchester-Home

Busy getting the programme ready for our forthcoming conference at Cober Hill Hotel and Conference Centre. Visited on a recce last month and saw Whitby at its best in spring sunshine. Hope it's as sunny in July. We will see the farms which we believe are those that Elizabeth Gaskell used as locations in Sylvia's Lovers, as well as other places featured in the novel. Here are two prints, one of Whitby, the other Scarborough, from the Geoffrey Sharps Collection - we may use one for the Conference programme.

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lussostyling/haworth-1940s-weekend

BBC to dramatise Brontes' lives

The home life of the Brontes will be brought to life in a new BBC1 drama about the literary sisters, written and directed by Last Tango In Halifax author Sally Wainwright. ( I love this series.)

The one-off, two-hour drama will follow Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte's relationship with each other and their brother Branwell, who in the last three years of his life was plagued by alcoholism and drug addiction. To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters will be filmed in and around Yorkshire, where the most famous sisters of English literature lived. Casting is yet to be announced for the drama, described as "an original perspective on the Bronte sisters". BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore said: "The Bronte sisters have always been enigmatic but Sally Wainwright's brilliantly authentic new BBC1 drama brings the women behind some of our greatest literary masterpieces to life.
"It's an extraordinary tale of family tragedy and their passion and determination, against the odds, to have their genius recognised in a male 19th century world." Bafta-winning writer Wainwright, whose other credits include TV series Happy Valley, said of the drama: "I am thrilled beyond measure that I've been asked by the BBC to bring to life these three fascinating, talented, ingenious Yorkshire women." The drama explores the siblings' relationship with each other and their self-educated father, who grew up in an impoverished home in rural Ireland and encouraged his children - irrespective of their gender - to become passionate about literature. It also portrays their "increasingly difficult relationship with their brother Branwell, who in the last three years of his life - following a tragically misguided love affair - sank into alcoholism, drug addiction and appalling behaviour". Charlotte, arguably the most talented of the three sisters, died at the age of 38. Her most famous novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and was an instant success. Emily wrote Wuthering Heights, while Anne, the youngest of the three , penned The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall. expressandstar

The Brontë Society has announced on its website the subject of the 2016 conference.

The Brontë Society is pleased to announce that the 2016 conference will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 19 – 21 August 2016 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.   In 1837 Charlotte Brontë wrote to the Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, for advice on a literary career. He replied that ‘literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life: & it ought not to be’. Our conference in 2016, the first of the three Brontë bicentenaries, takes up the challenge of what might be the ‘proper business of a woman’s life’. The many facets of this subject present a wide range of possible papers both academic and literary, including:

Women’s position in English culture and society in the nineteenth century
Contemporary writing on ‘The Woman Question’
Charlotte Brontë’s own writings on the matter
Her relationship with other women writers
Her literary reputation
Her influence on later feminist movements.
The Keynote Speaker will be Jenny Uglow, OBE.

 The conference weekend will include an optional excursion to The Gaskell House, the home of Charlotte’s friend and biographer, Elizabeth Gaskell, which has recently been opened to the public.
Abstracts for papers (no more than 300 words) should be sent by 28 February, 2016, to:
The Conference Organiser, The Brontë Society
The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley BD22 8DR
Successful speakers will be notified by 31 March, 2016.