Brussels events

Over the weekend of 21-22 April the newly-formed Brussels Brontë Group organised a day of events to coincide with Charlotte Brontë's birthday, for which we were joined by a small group from the Society's London and South-East group led by Margaret McCarthy.

Our members Eric Ruijssenaars, Selina Busch and Maureen Peeck O'Toole (all in the Netherlands) helped to organise similar events for the Society's 1993 and 2003 trips to Brussels.

This time we were guided round the Brontë places by Derek Blyth, a British writer living in Brussels who has written some of the main guide books on the city (his Brussels for Pleasure - 13 walks through the historic city includes a Brontë walk) and is fascinated by some of the unanswered questions about the Brontë places.

The weekend marked an interesting departure from previous Brontë Society events in Brussels. Although the 1993 and 2003 trips were able to benefit from Eric Ruijssenaars' findings on the Pensionnat Heger and Isabelle quarter, this was the first event organised by members actually living in Brussels who could offer our visitors an insider's view and insights.

To his main Brontë walk centred on the site of the Pensionnat, Derek Blyth added a second one, a mystery tour devised especially for our visitors. As soon they arrived we were all whisked off by him to see some spots with lesser-known or speculative Brontë connections, such as the building in front of which Derek thinks Lucy Snowe may have fainted after her visit to the cathedral.

Next day, after lunch on the roof terrace restaurant of the Museum of Musical Instruments with its fabulous view of Place Royale, so often crossed by Charlotte Brontë, and a visit to Chapelle Royale where she worshipped, came the Brontë walk proper. The territory for this one was more familiar but some novel features were incorporated: readings from Villette and from letters by an obliging "Charlotte" in the group, visual aids (old street views, pictures Charlotte saw in exhibitions during her stay), and, again, Derek Blyth's own theories about some of the routes taken by Lucy/Charlotte.

Concentrating in fascinating detail on what is geographically a smallish area, in two hours we covered a lot of ground in terms of the history of Brussels and the background to the Brontës' visit: not only where their English friends lived but the wider British community of the time and its amenities in and around Place Royale, for example.

After a "birthday" tea party and a dinner, the day was rounded off by some Brontë activities: a quiz and readings from Villette by Selina Busch and Brian Speak, introduced by Maureen Peeck.

It was wonderful to have Margaret McCarthy's group with us for this event. We are planning to make this April Brontë weekend an annual event and would love to invite more groups of members to join us in between the big excursions organised by the Society. Is anyone interested for next year?

Helen MacEwan

Below: Reading Villette in a Brussels restaurant and the whole group in front of the Cathedral.

From the Visitor's Book

It was a poem last time - see the archive. This time, here are some of the comments made by visitors in February and March. Thanks to Liz Walton for compiling them. If you wish to add your belated comment after a visit, please email it to hevelius@poriruacity.com

FEBRUARY


NICE COMMENTS:
Still feels like a family home
Very good exhibits and good value
Very professional
This will help me with my school work
The letters were very well presented
Liked the leaflet for children
Family tree was the best bit, it helped with my school work
An amazing, emotional place – not least because Daniel proposed to me upstairs
Well explained and maintained and a wonderful balance of information and preservation
The amount of seats was good – most museums make you tired and you fall down with exhaustion
Kids enjoyed upstairs activities
Best bit – virtual tour
It has inspired me to find out more about the Brontës, and read their books

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
Would have liked more linked arrows to the place – got lost twice
I loved it, but there were too many noisy schoolchildren
Very interesting and enjoyable, but would have been nice to have a proper tour
Liked it, but could be bigger
Short but interesting
Show a film of the Brontës' lives
It was great fun, but would have been nice to dress up (young girl from Leeds)

OTHER COMMENTS
I am about to read Wuthering Heights at school – seeing Heathcliff and Cathy’s gravestone have kind of ruined it, but I know how Emily was inspired.
The house is big, but the beds very small – why?

MARCH

NICE COMMENTS:
Really interesting, excellent displays and friendly staff
People who work here are friendly and lovely
The numbered rooms are a good idea
I was amazed at how talented as artists they were
Great collection of letters
A wonderful place to show the children (teacher from Huddersfield)
Friendly Pam
I thought there was really good info and liked the Bonnell Collection
Very enjoyable to wander at one’s own pace
Nice and cheery
Exhibition panels clear and readable. Liked layout of rooms and items in them – airy (Visitors from the Wordsworth Trust)

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
You need to have loos!
More on laptop would have been useful as I cannot always see clearly
Need more text in Spanish
The atmosphere is wonderful – shame some parts have to be ill lit
Original artefacts should be here, with reproductions in the National museums
Would have appreciated guides to answer questions (American visitor)
Bit of classical music/piano?
I was shocked – came many years ago & it was the Brontës' home. The Brontës wouldn’t recognise it. It was stark and cold like the moors – such a disappointment. Where are all the little books, soldiers and Emily’s paintings?
Very impressed by its presentation. Would like to have some interactive presentations to show my students in Pakistan
Poor signs to get here (confusing)
It was great but too short

In the Blood

A large and appreciative audience listened to Andrew Motion yesterday evening in Haworth. In the first half, the Poet Laureate read a number of his poems, one or two dating from his early twenties, others more recent, and extracts from his recently-published In the Blood, subtitled 'A Memoir of My Childhood'.

In the Blood is about growing up in post-war England, and is an evocation of family life, school life and country life. It also tells the story of how these worlds are shattered when his mother suffers a terrible riding accident. It is written from the point of view of a teenager, without the benefit of adult hindsight, capturing the pathos and puzzlement of childhood with great freshness of memory.

The main extract read out in Haworth was about a cricket match in which his father played, against a team called 'The Gentlemen of Essex'.

Questions from the audience occupied most of the second half: Motion spoke about the poets he reads ('More great ancients than great moderns nowadays'), about his opinions on how classic texts are poorly treated in schools and on what he does with the butt of sack given to him each year as payment. Apparently, he hates sherry.

Andrew Motion at the Parsonage

Yet another reminder that Andrew Motion will be coming to Haworth on Wednesday 18 April at 7.30pm, at the invitation of the Parsonage. Contact Andrew McCarthy by phoning 01535 640194 or by emailing andrew.mccarthy@bronte.org.uk if you intend coming.


Here are some preliminary comments:


'Compelling, simple and mysterious' Sean O'Brien Sunday Times


'His voice is unlike any other' Lavinia Greenlaw New Statesman & Society


'Motion is a beautiful lyricist unpretentiously and precisely describing those things worth having even as he casts unsettling shadows across them' Robert Potts The Guardian


Andrew Motion was appointed Poet Laureate in 1999. ‘I see myself as a town crier, can-opener and flag-waver for poetry’ His work has received the Arvon/Observer Prize, the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize. He is Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway and recently co-founded The Poetry Archive.


During the evening he will introduce his acclaimed autobiography In The Blood A Memoir of my Childhood (Faber), poems old & new and his work as Laureate.


‘Andrew Motion’s childhood memoir In the Blood is funny and spare and honest and clear. He captures perfectly the anxious yet optimistic incompleteness of being young.’ Julie Myerson Independent on Sunday


‘The great value of a memoir such as this is not only its revelation of someone else’s experiences, someone else’s consciousness, but the realisation of how much we share. He does write beautifully, of course, but I expected that; what’s given me even more pleasure is the amber-like quality of his memory, and the things I found myself recalling in sympathy.’ Philip Pullman


‘Deeply engaging … the innocence and the hardness of childhood are beautifully put together ... it’s a strikingly good book, framed by tragedy but full of intense life.’ Helen Dunmore


His website is at www.andrewmotion.co.uk

John Brown's for Easter?

Visiting Haworth at Easter or after? Need a place to stay? In February, this blog gave news of the refurbishment of John Brown's House. Perhaps February was a little early, so here is the item again:

The Brontë Spirit blog - www.brontespirit.blogspot.com - has an item which might be of interest to you: John Brown's House, aka The Sexton's House aka Haworth Church Cottage, can now be booked. Could you get any closer to the Parsonage without camping on the lawn?

Visit the blogsite to find the whole story and the phone number.

Thanks for supporting us

The Friends of the Bronte Parsonage would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported the St.Patrick's night Ceilidh, their first fundraising event.

Over seventy-five people enjoyed a lively evening of great music from local band Northern Comfort, a tasty supper provided by the Friends and good company. Many local businesses donated prizes for the raffle for which we are very grateful.

The Ceilidh was a great success raising over five hundred pounds for Museum projects and is already being spoken of as becoming an annual event. If you missed it we look forward to seeing you there next year!




Pat Berry
Chairperson, The Friends of the Bronte Parsonage.

What's in a name?

Richard Wilcocks writes:

The last few days have been so hectic that I have not had a moment spare to sit down and put new material on the blog. The new material uppermost in my mind is the news release which I had sent to the local and the national media on Monday, which to my surprise brought more responses than my pessimistic mind had imagined.

It was timed to coincide with the posting of the individual (mail-merged) letters to the managing directors of a selection of companies which use the Brontë name. The response from the locals was immediate: soon I was talking to Clive White from the Keighley News (who did plenty of ringing around and googling for us), chatting on the Radio Leeds breakfast programme, answering emails and grabbing phones with not much space in between.

Today was similar, but I did reserve some special time for my son in London, because this morning I became a grandfather for the first time.

I have browsed through the write-ups so far, and I am generally pleased. I quite liked the Independent's article today in spite of the faces which went with it, but I am not sure what Mr Nevin is getting at. I shall look at a copy of the Keighley News soon.

To date, I have had one reply from a company and it was friendly. I shall make a personal visit in the near future. Readers of this blog will be updated. Meanwhile, here is the original media release:

MEDIA RELEASE

Date: 19 March 2007
For Immediate Release

What’s in a name?

The Chairman of the Brontë Society in Haworth is more than a little irritated by all those companies which use the name Brontë in their names.

“Very few of them have ever been in touch, and even less than that have given us anything by way of sponsorship or financial help,” he said.

“There are dozens of them in Britain alone, making or supplying a range of products, from stone to spring water and from outdoor clothing to cooked chicken. I decided to write to their managing directors”

Here is the letter:


Dear (name of Managing Director)

I am writing to you for the simple reason that your company uses the name Brontë in its title. I am guessing that this was chosen because it confers a certain prestige upon you, associating you in the public’s imagination with the Brontë family and perhaps the Brontë Parsonage Museum as well. Bronte is both the name of a town in Sicily and the Greek word for thunder, and it was chosen by the Reverend Patrick Brontë (with the addition of the diaeresis) as a new version of his family name of Brunty early in the Nineteenth Century, mainly because of its associations with Lord Nelson, a national hero at the time.

I hope that «Company_Name» is currently prospering. I am wondering whether you have recently visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, which is run by the Brontë Society. If you have, you will know that the home of the Brontë family, the Georgian house where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë wrote the books which made them world famous, is lovingly preserved by a dedicated staff in spite of a tight budget.

There is a programme of special events at the museum which runs throughout the year, which includes special exhibitions, talks, day-schools, courses, children’s holiday workshops, film, theatre and musical performances. Its education programme is ‘inspired’ according to the Judges’ Citation for winners of the prestigious Sandford Award.

The Brontë Society possesses one of the most important collections of Brontë items in the world, housed in the Parsonage, an invaluable resource for the many researchers seeking to shed further light on the Brontë writings, the Brontë family and the social, political and economic history of the Brontë times. Thus, there will always be a demand on the Society’s financial resources as newly-discovered and existing Brontëana come on to the market. There is also a considerable cost in the professional care, conservation, storage and management of the Society’s existing collection.

The Brontë Society gets no direct government assistance, so it is reliant on the generosity of its supporters and visitors to the museum. This is where you come in, because I believe that you could help. I am inviting you to make a donation to us, which would be gratefully received and publicly acknowledged.

Your company could sponsor an appropriate artefact, a special event, an exhibition, a children’s workshop…….the list is long. Or, you could contribute to our Acquisitions Fund, with a focus on a particular item. Your company’s name would feature in our publicity.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by letter or email, or by ringing me directly on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I would be very happy to meet you personally to discuss how you could help us.

Best wishes,

Yours sincerely,


(signed)

Richard Wilcocks

Chairman of the Brontë Society

Wuthering Heights at the BFI

The image below is from Emily Brontë at Haworth - A Personal Impression by Beryl Bainbridge (1973)

Simon McCallum writes:

I am a curator at the British Film Institute working on the Mediatheque, a resource in our new BFI Southbank venue where members of the public can access a range of material from the BFI National Archive.

I would like to let readers of the Brontë Parsonage Blog know that one of our opening collections, in a regular strand called The Book Group, is this month featuring Wuthering Heights. Users will be able to watch five TV and film adaptations of the novel and a range of documentary material on the Brontës. See below for the full listing of available titles - and I should stress that these will be available in their complete form, not just clips:

Wuthering Heights (BBC 1962) (starring Claire Bloom and Keith Michell)

Wuthering Heights (BBC 1967) (4-part dramatisation starring Ian MacShane)

Wuthering Heights (BBC 1978) (5-part dramatisation)

Wuthering Heights (ITV 1998)

Wuthering Heights (1970) (feature film starring Timothy Dalton)

The Brontës Lived Here (1973)

Emily Brontë at Haworth - A Personal Impression by Beryl Bainbridge (1973)

The Brontë Business (1977) with Joan Bakewell

The Brontë Connection (1979) - 'an investigation by Mary Butterfield'

Top of the Pops 78 (featuring music video for Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights)

The Mediatheque opened to the public today, and is open to everyone, free of charge. Some viewing stations can be booked in advance by telephone, or visitors can turn up on the day and book themselves in for a session.

Here are some useful links:

http://www.bfi.org.uk

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/southbank

http://www.bfi.org.uk/mediatheque

A full Mediatheque website will be up and running soon but in the meantime there are some basic listings and information documents available.

This is a great resource for any Brontë fans or fans of the novel, and should be of interest to Brontë Society members and visitors to the Parsonage.

Vote Brontë Parsonage

Above - host Alan Titchmarsh

This year the Brontë Parsonage will be involved in UKTV History’s Britain’s Best campaign, which aims to find the nation’s favourite historical site.

Hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, the campaign will involve two television series and a final programme presenting the winner as decided by you and the British public.

As someone who values the Parsonage, please take the time to vote for it! You can do this from 5 April to 27 August in any of the following ways:

• visiting www.uktvhistory.co.uk and registering your vote

• texting BEST BRONTE PARSONAGE to 83222 (texts cost 50p plus standard network charges)

• calling 09011 31 2007 and quoting Bronte Parsonage (calls cost 50p)

• or visiting us and posting your vote into our voting box.

• For those of you who have Sky, you can also vote using your Red Button.

UKTV History is also launching a Britain’s Best directory on www.uktvhistory.co.uk that will help you find some of the best historical locations to visit across the UK, as well as reviews, pictures and videos for each place from people who have actually been there.

Britain’s Best will be on UKTV History (Sky channel 537, Virgin TV 203 and Freeview 12) from 9 April to 20 May and from 23 July to 27 August. Don’t miss the final result on 17 September to see if we’ve won!

New website

Congratulations to Brontë Society members who have set up a brand-new website with a focus on the city of Brussels.

It looks superb, and can be found at www.thebrusselsbrontegroup.org/

In particular, check out the Secret Mission collection in the Picture Gallery for a record of the direct action taken in 2004 by Selina Busch and Elle Vaessen to put up an appropriate blue plaque in the rue Terarcken. This exploit was featured in Brontë Society Gazette at the time. The plaque is there to this day.......

Parsonage people

Two members of staff have left the Parsonage recently - Curator Polly Salter and Weekend Manager Bill Dinsdale.

Polly (featured on this blog in October 2006) has moved to live by the banks of the River Derwent in Malton, North Yorkshire and is planning for consultancy and freelancing work.

Bill currently lectures in guitar construction on the Musical Instrument Technology course at Leeds College of Music and design and builds his guitars at his River Street workshops in Haworth. He is now concentrating on this. His website is at www.billdinsdale.com

Jane Eyre in Jeans

Are you “breaking the ice in the morning, scared what the references say?”

David Scott Crawford, Chicago singer-songwriter has penned a new genre of music for his album Belle Époque. He calls it ‘Pop Nouveau.’ It gives him the opportunity to combine music with literature - two things he knows well. As an independent artist, Crawford finds his song themes from extraordinary places or, as in this case, remarkable people.

In “Jane Eyre in Jeans” Crawford weaves Charlotte Brontë’s beloved heroine through a pop/ballad melody of piano, bass, drums, guitar and even mandolin. Lines such as “You swallowed the storybook ending in a Styrofoam cup full of tea” paint a vivid picture of Jane’s world meshed with our own modern-day dilemmas. The result is what Chicago writer and art critic Lucia Mauro calls, “racy, maudlin and romantic.”

Belle Époque, meaning “Beautiful Era,” refers to the glorious late ninetieth/ early twentieth century period of France. The album hosts an array of literary references from the start of track one, including Millais’ Ophelia model Lizzie Siddall, portrayed in “A Merry Little Afternoon.” Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt and Jim Morrison make an appearance in track thirteen entitled “Père Lachaise,” the setting of France’s famous City of the Dead Cemetery. But it’s not all about death.

The sweeping poetic images we see when listening to this album, in part, stem from Crawford’s own experiences, living and traveling to several countries including Scotland, Libya, South America, Australia and England, combined with his passion for literature in historical context. His improvisational, compositional, and piano playing skills are all self-taught. Belle Époque was recorded at the Chicago Recording Company & Beachaus Studios in Chicago with Crawford on Steinway and Böesendorfer grand pianos.

The album was mixed in England by David Hentschel and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London. It boasts collaborative artists such as string arrangements by Paul Buckmaster and guitar solos by Mark Goldenberg. Lisa McClowry provides gutsy backing vocals for “Jane Eyre in Jeans.”

For more information on Belle Époque and to listen to “Jane Eyre in Jeans” visit: www.davidscottcrawford.com or http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dscrawford.com

Belle Époque = Literature with Rock!

Kim Crawford

Jane Eyre - The Musical - in Dorset

One of the South’s largest youth theatre companies has embarked on its most ambitious project yet, and it’s leaving nothing to chance. The Big Little Theatre School brings new levels of professionalism to its production of the Broadway show Jane Eyre - The Musical Drama with West End directors and state-of-the-art stage effects and set design.

John Caird (Les Miserables) and Paul Gordon’s musical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic tale of passion, tragedy and forgiveness won the show no less than five TONY award nominations on the occasion of its Broadway premier in 2000.

Now, some of the West End stars of tomorrow are bringing Brontë’s Gothic romance to life in one of the first performances to be staged here in the UK.

Directing is Graham Hubbard whose impressive achievements include directing West End productions of Amadeus, Sweeney Todd and Mack and Mabel. “The challenge of producing Jane Eyre - The Musical for Big Little was irresistible,” says Graham. “The company’s talent belies their age, and who better to bring Charlotte Brontë’s classic love story to a new generation than performers from that generation itself."

Musical Director Colin Billing of the London School of Musical Theatre has long been associated with The Big Little Theatre School. His professional credentials include musical direction of Beauty And The Beast, Beggar’s Opera and Creatures of The Night. “Forget everything you ever feared about youth productions," says Colin. “The huge vocal talent and natural acting ability of the cast is more than a match for the moving lyrics and sumptuous musical score.”

Natasha Barnes from Ringwood plays Jane Eyre. Now 17, she has progressed through the ranks of Big Little since the age of 6 and is no stranger to lead performances both amateur and professional. Her credits include the title role in The Diary of Anne Frank, Laurel in The Chalk Garden, Cosette in Les Miserables in Concert with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Hope in her school production of Anything Goes, Marta Von Trapp in The Sound of Music and the title role of Annie in Fastlane’s Touring company for the National Youth Music Theatre.
Natasha is operatically trained by Jon Andrew and works locally with him and the Silhouette Opera supporting local charities.

The part of Rochester is played by John Sandberg from Bournemouth who also has worked through the ranks of BLTS, becoming a prominent member of their ‘Vision’ Cabaret group. John recently performed as the lead, R.P McMurphy in One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and has also received operatic training with Jon Andrew. John also played Seth/Shem as one of the few selected to perform in Children of Eden, the Steven Schwartz Broadway hit as produced and performed by BLTS in 2006.

A total cast of 45 young people, selected through auditions from the 250 strong main company are involved in bringing Jane Eyre – The Musical to the stage, and the production will benefit from 21st Century imagery and sensory set design to create an authentic feel for the period. The set has been designed to transport the audience seamlessly from the cold dormitories of Lowood School, through bleak English moorland, to the interior of a Gothic mansion. Superb costumes reflect the fashions of the 19th century by recreating authentic colours and fabrics from the Brontë era.

Broadway and West End musical theatre pedigree, soaring melodies, imaginative sets and contemporary innovation, lavish costumes, prodigious young talent and a classic love story by one of the most popular English writers of all time. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The Big Little Theatre School’s production of Jane Eyre – The Musical Drama is being staged at the Regent Centre, Christchurch, Dorset from April 11th – 14th. Tickets are available from the Regent Centre box office on 01202 499148.

Julie Barnes

Parsonage Ceilidh

This is the poster for the fundraising ceilidh on 17 March. It is being organised by the Parsonage staff. Please come if you can. If you can't, please remember to raise your glass of whatever you fancy to the Brontës and all their ancestors on the Irish side.

Inspired - a reminder

We've told you about this before. Here it is again in slightly more detail. On Wednesday 7 March 2007 at 7.30pm in the West Lane Baptist Centre in Haworth, a panel discussion entitled Inspired - The Brontës' Influence will take place.

The Brontës’ influence on writers has persisted through to the present day and this event will bring together a number of established authors who have acknowledged a debt to the Brontës. A panel discussion will be led by Patsy Stoneman and will include;

Stevie Davies: Novelist, literary critic, biographer and historian. Her first novel Boy Blue (1987) won the Fawcett Society Book Prize and Closing the Book (1994) was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her fifth novel, Four Dreamers and Emily was published in 1996 followed by The Web of Belonging (1997) which was adapted for television by Alan Plater. Her most recent novel Kith and Kin was longlisted for the Orange Prize 2004 and The Eyrie will be published in February 2007. Stevie Davies is Director of Creative Writing at University of Wales, Swansea.

Patricia Duncker: Patricia Duncker’s first novel Hallucinating Foucault (1996), won the Dillons First Fiction Award and the McKitterick Prize. She is the author of two further novels, James Miranda Barry (1999) and The Deadly Space Between (2002) and two collections of short fiction, Monsieur Shoushana’s Lemon Trees (1997) and Seven Tales of Sex and Death (2003). Her most recent novel is Miss Webster and Chérifiss. She is Professor of Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) at the University of East Anglia.

Michele Roberts: Michele Roberts is the author of twelve highly praised novels including The Mistressclass (2003) and Reader, I Married Him (2005). She has also published short stories, poetry and essays. She was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize and won the WH Smith Literary Award in 1993. Michele Roberts is a former judge of the Booker Prize and is a regular book reviewer and broadcaster. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.

Patsy Stoneman: Patsy Stoneman is an Emeritus Reader of the University of Hull. She has published widely on the Brontë novels, including the introduction to the Oxford World’s Classics edition of Wuthering Heights and essays in both the Oxford and Cambridge companions to the Brontës. Her major monograph is Brontë Transformations: the Cultural Dissemination of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. She has recently completed an illustrated edition of eight hitherto unknown Victorian stage plays based on Jane Eyre scheduled to appear in 2007.


Tickets for this event are £6.50 and should be booked in advance. For further details and bookings please contact the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, 01535 640194/ andrew.mccarthy@bronte.org.uk

John Brown's house

Visiting Haworth? Need a place to stay? The Brontë Spirit blog - www.brontespirit.blogspot.com - has an item which might be of interest to you: John Brown's House, aka The Sexton's House aka Haworth Church Cottage, can now be booked.

Visit the blogsite to find out more.

A poem for Valentine's Day

Visitors' Book

Up to Haworth for the early spring –
As was our brief custom – to see
The snowdrops pester out the winter grief
Of the Parsonage and retrace songlines
In the slab bleak churchyard. A half-starved
Plath, you’d drawn all this in, drinking
Greedily an unworded recognition,
With the thirst of the thwarted, the held-back
And terraced; like the time in El Prado
When I found you weeping before Goya
Unable to say why. I pay my fiver
And go inside. A circus family, really,
In their freakishness; with their tiny
Feet and tiny books. A puff of wind
Could blow them down permanently
And did. You said you felt at home
Here, though you couldn’t say how.
On a table in the hallway, I see it now
And cannot resist the urge of recollection,
Leafing back through the neutral years
Until, sure enough, there they are
Witnessed by a motley decade
Of subsequent strangers: our signatures
In the Visitors Book. The giddy roll
Of my stomach at seeing your hand
Once more, the blinking out of reason
Then the slow, haunted smile to a spring-melt
Of memory. ‘MM’ and ‘MM’: the rapid
Pulse of a small creature short of breath.
You told me on the night of our first
Coupling that I’d be pushed away and
You were as good as your word. But
Before the madness and separation,
Before the Wide Sargasso Sea of your
Dark history opened up between us
An unbridgeable gap, we strode the wild moors
As right and wrong as any lovers.
Later, in the guesthouse, the landlord
Leads me to the same Room 7,
The chipper undertaker of blind ironies.
Our ghosts, aroused, turn to greet me:
A naked threesome splayed and open,
Lashed to the bed of unlinear time
In the room where you were last joyful,
In the space where last we were beautiful.

Martin Malone

A memento for Charles Lemon

A number of tributes to the late Charles Lemon MBE (see blog archive for January) have been made by those who knew him. A display which includes some of them, together with selected photographs, will be put up for Brontë Society members who attend the annual June Weekend in Haworth which begins on Friday 1 June. This one was sent by Maddalena de Leo in Italy:
Charles Lemon – a personal memento


I’ve just heard of Mr Charles Lemon’s death and although I never knew him in person, I would like to bear a personal witness of this wise man whose kindness and culture were evident even through paper.


In Autumn 1980 as a young student at university, my greatest dream was to have an article of mine published in Brontë Society Transactions, as the current Brontë Studies journal was then called. I had been a BS member since 1975 but nobody at Haworth knew me besides Mr Norman Raistrick, the Parsonage custodian, to whom every year I sent money by letter to renew my subscription. Being already interested in Charlotte’s Juvenilia and having read by chance the short tale Albion and Marina – at that time there was no popular edition of her early writings, let alone in Italy – I enthusiastically wrote a short article in English on the topic with my impressions and promptly sent it by mail to the editor, Mr Charles Lemon.


From that day, even if I was an unknown young student, I eagerly waited for an answer from him and surprisingly, after some time it came. In the letter Mr Lemon, who then lived in Bognor Regis, told me he needed to ‘refresh’ his ideas on Albion and Marina to be able to judge my writing so he kindly asked me to wait for a few weeks.


Meanwhile, the southern area of Italy where I then lived was hit by a terrible earthquake on 23 November and all changed around me - what a sad period! Also, John Lennon was shot in New York some twenty days later ….


Mr Lemon’s opinion came, as promised, with his moving concern on that Italian earthquake and I still keep his letter among my most treasured papers, hand-revised by him in many parts and with his own signature at the end. It contained a veiled refusal for the publication of my article but, I dare say, with a so kind and articulated discussion on Albion and Marina that it seemed to me better than an appreciation!




Maddalena De Leo
11th January 2007






















Here’s the complete text of Mr Charles Lemon’s letter:

24 Burnham Avenue
Bognor Regis, West Sussex

19 December 1980

Dear Maddalena De Leo,

Since writing to you on 20th November I have been able to obtain a copy of ‘Albion and Marina’, but before writing on that subject I must express the hope that you have come safely through the dreadful earthquake which recently afflicted your part of Italy.

Having re-read ‘Albion and Marina’ I have been able to appreciate your comments which are both observant and well expressed. It is remarkable what a wealth of knowledge the young Brontës amassed through the teaching received at home (before they went out to school) and through the access they were permitted to the periodicals and newspapers at the Parsonage.

You have drawn attention to the way in which Charlotte in this little piece foreshadows some of the events in her novels – in particular the remarkable message from Rochester to Jane Eyre which travelled simultaneously across so many miles. Some Brontë scholars as you probably know argue that all the materials used in the Brontë novels are to be found in the Juvenilia.

The present story is, as you say, a fragment of Angria, an episode of relative tranquillity – abounding in human tension but at the same time without extremes of violence. This is an interesting point because you will see in this year’s Transactions a poem by Charlotte, hitherto unpublished, written on the back of a letter from Roe Head. The letter was written in 1832 but the poem was probably written when Charlotte was engaged on that part of the story when Zamorna was conquering the country.

The Byronic influence is clear but ‘Albion and Marina’ has other points of interest which would not be apparent to those unfamiliar to England. In particular attention can be drawn to Charlotte’s remarkable achievement, at the age of 14, in describing the country in the south of England, when she had scarcely ever left the limits of her remote village in Yorkshire. The result may not be entirely accurate but it reads very well! One is also entertained by the rapid transformation of the Duke of Strathelleraye’s residence from a ‘magnificent villa’ to a palace and then to a castle, all within the space of a few pages.

The difference of rank between the Duke and Sir Alured Angus is probably exaggerated by Charlotte. Both are gentlemen of title and the physician to a Duke is clearly someone highly placed in his profession who would have a number of equally important patients. His daughter therefore would have some claim to a place in society and her outstanding beauty would support such a claim.

I hope you will enjoy reading Transactions. With best wishes for the New Year,

Yours sincerely,

Charles Lemon

Meeting in Milan

In Italy and reading this? Why not meet some of our Italian members on 24 February? You would be more than welcome!