Jane Eyre

 Year:  2011

Director:  Cary Joji Fukunaga

Screenplay:  Moira Buffini, based on the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Starring:  Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins

Running Time:  120 minutes

Genre:  Drama, romance

19th Century England:  A tearful Jane Eyre (Wasikowska) runs away from Thornfield Hall, and lost, cold and hungry, she eventually collapses on the moors.  Jane is rescued by St. John Rivers (Bell) and his two sisters, Diana (Holliday Grainger) and Mary (Tamzin Merchant), who nurse her back to health.  As she recuperates, Jane remembers her unhappy childhood, as an orphan, treated cruelly by her aunt Mrs. Reed (Hawkins) and cousins, and later the brutal conditions at Lowood School for Girls. When she leaves school, at the age of 18, Jane gets a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall, and finds herself increasingly drawn to her brooding, enigmatic employer, Edward Rochester (Fassbender).

There have been many screen adaptations of Charlotte Brontë's beloved classic novel,  and this version, scripted by Moira Biffini and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga is, more or less, a faithful adaptation.  However, while the book tells it's story in a linear fashion, the film opens with a scene that occurs late in the book and much of the story unfolds as a flashback.  Also a lot of sequences of the book, necessarily, had to be cut, this is notable in the scenes in Jane's childhood that seem kind of rushed, and the ending which feels quite abrupt, I was quite surprised when the end credits rolled because I was sure there was at least another scene to go.  Although I am saying that as someone who is a huge fan of the novel, it's one of my favourite books.  The film includes most of the book's important plot points and characters, and the omissions didn't spoil the film as far as I was concerned.  It is beautifully made, with the moods of wild, unforgiving nature; gothic gloom and mystery; as well as sun dappled romance all being perfectly conveyed.  Mia Wasikowska gives a great performance as Jane, capturing Jane's strong will, and conveying a lot with a passing look or the way she carries herself.  Michael Fassbender makes for a magnificently brooding Rochester.  It is an impressive production, and should satisfy devoted Brontë fans, as well as those unfamiliar with Jane Eyre.

Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre

 

"The Diabolical Bones" by Bella Ellis

Year of Publication:  2020

Length:  340 pages

Genre:  Mystery

Haworth, December 1845:  Aspiring writers and amateur detectives (or "detectors") Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë are shocked when the bones of a child are discovered sealed up inside the walls of the nearby Top Withins Hall.  The prime suspect is immediately assumed to be the brutal Clifton Bradshaw, owner of Top Withins.  However, the Brontë sisters investigate and find themselves plunged into a murky world of occult rituals, human sacrifice, and a horrific orphanage, as they find themselves up against their most dangerous enemy yet.

This is the second in the "Brontë Mysteries" by Bella Ellis (the pen name of author Rowan Coleman), following The Vanished Bride (2019), which reimagine the famous literary sisters as detectives, investigating mysteries in and around the village of Haworth in Yorkshire.  As with its predecessor, The Diabolical Bones has an intriguing story, with an effectively creepy mystery at its centre.  Ellis writes with real skill, keeping the plot moving at a good pace and she has a strong feel for character and location.  Despite obviously being fiction, the book still ties in well with the known facts about the Brontë's lives and personalities, and is written with obvious love for the sisters and their work.  Even for readers unfamiliar with the Brontë's work, it's still a hugely enjoyable period mystery.

  

"The Professor" by Charlotte Brontë

Year of Publication:  1857

Length:  223 pages

Genre:  Romance

 William Crimsworth escapes a miserable job working as a clerk in a Yorkshire mill owned by his cruel brother, to work as an English teacher at a girl's school in Brussels.  He soon captures the attentions of the school's headmistress, Mademoiselle Reuter, who determines his burgeoning romance with the penniless Frances, who is both a teacher and student in the school.

This was the first novel written by Charlotte Brontë and despite her many attempts to get it published, it wasn't available until 1857, two years after her death.  The novel was inspired by Brontë's own experiences as both a student and teacher in Brussels. This novel starts strongly, but falls down towards the middle, however it improves immensely towards the end.  While I did not like this as much as other Charlotte Brontë novels, I still believe it to be a very good book.  This is the only Charlotte Brontë novel narrated by a male character, and the main problem that the novel has is the deeply unlikeable lead character.  William Crimsworth is deeply prejudiced snob, who looks down on women, Catholics and pretty much anyone who is not English, although he does become slightly more bearable as the novel goes on and he begins to lose some of his prejudices.  The novel does have some rich supporting characters such as the mysterious Frances and Crimsworth's cynical "frenemy" Hunsden.  The story is engaging, and packed with incident, and Brontë's prose is as vivid and poetic as ever.  Charlotte Brontë's experiences in Brussels also formed the basis for her 1853 novel Villette, which is told from the point of view of a female teacher.