How To Tell If You Are In A Brontë Novel

Mallory Ortberg put together a fabulous series at The Toast. There are several fictional worlds you might find yourself relating to.  My favorites are the Brontë Novel and the Austen Novel.

I highly recommend this film if you've ever imagined stepping back into the past.

Saint John or SIN-jin or SIN-jun?

Whenever I see a screen adaptation of Jane Eyre, the name of St. John, Jane’s cousin, is pronounced as one word. And I feel ignorant. It doesn’t match how I hear it in my mind. Why is it confusing for American audiences? Go to howjsay and enter “St. John” and you’ll hear the pronunciation in American and British English. But there are actually two ways to pronounce this British name: Wikipedia. So the next time you re-read Jane Eyre or read my upcoming re-release of Jane Rochester, you can decide if St. John is Saint John, SIN-jin or SIN-jun.  

 You can hear how the British say St. John in the clip below.

Photo Credit: Masterpiece Theatre

Jane Eyre #5 Movie CLIP - Is This How You Perceive Me? (2011) HD

New Review over at Collage: Book Reviews

Please check out my most recent review: Laurie Loewenstein's debut novel, Unmentionables.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë

This is my favorite image of Charlotte Brontë.  She looks average, approachable, and respectable: an every day Victorian woman with a secret genius behind that pleasant smile.

With the upcoming re-release of Jane Rochester, a novel inspired by Jane Eyre, I am reminded of how important the biography of Brontë was to my research.  I relied on the very readable, Charlotte Brontë: A Passionate Life by Lyndall Gordon. 

It was essential for me to understand the psychology of Jane Eyre's author as I tried to blend my ideas with hers for the sequel. I had the attitude that Charlotte and I would be co-authors. I like to think that I grew to know her as much as her character, Jane Eyre.

Choosing to write a derivative work has its risks and it either enrages or excites readers—which I think is fair enough when dealing with a beloved classic. Contemporary reviews of Jane Eyre were mixed. 

It's almost Charlotte's birthday (mine two days after hers!), so what will I do to celebrate?  I'm thinking of making a Victorian dessert: Apple Tart. The recipe is more complicated than my typical crumb-topped apple pie—I'll let you know if it's worth the trouble.

Welcome to the blog of writer, Kim Loomis Bennett.

Updates coming soon.