Keighley News features the forthcoming temporary exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum: The Brontës and the Wild, opening on February 1st.
A main element of the exhibition will be the Bronte family's annotated copy of A History of British Birds, by Thomas Bewick, which was recently acquired by the museum from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library.Other highlights will include poetry manuscripts by Emily and Charlotte, early printed works by Patrick Bronte, two wood blocks on loan from the Wordsworth Trust, and first editions of Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell and Wuthering Heights.Ann Dinsdale – principal curator at the museum, who is co-curating the exhibition with Sarah Laycock – says: "The parsonage leads directly out onto the moor and its closeness and the wild freedom it offered were instrumental in the lives of the young family."In the paintings, drawings, poetry and fiction of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne, we see their escape into the landscape – and The Brontes and the Wild will highlight the influence it had on their lives."Alongside the exhibition, the museum’s wider programme for next year will also draw on the natural world.Sassy Holmes, programme officer at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, says: "The exhibition is a catalyst for us to consider the dramatic landscape that was such an important feature of the young Brontes’ lives – and highlight our own environmental responsibilities, as well as the role of nature in our wellbeing."Throughout the year we will be working with artists, writers and partners to complement the exhibition."From February, the museum will display an exhibition of woodcuts and charcoal drawings by Angie Rogers, depicting the flora and fauna of the local landscape.In April, an installation – Hardy and Free – by award-winning Bradford-based photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn will tell the diverse stories of a selection of women, through photography and audio.Environmental artist Winston Plowes will lead four seasonal outdoor workshops exploring the connections between creative writing and land art.And there will be a display of items from the this year's hit Film Emily, including a copy of the screenplay signed by actress and director Frances O'Connor. (Alistair Shand)
Claire O'Callaghan has written an article on Emily's death for The Conversation.
Because there is no writing by Emily about her illness, Charlotte’s account has become the dominant one. In letters from October to December that year, she documented Emily’s decline in detail.Accepted at face value, they suggest that Emily was stubborn in sickness. Charlotte describes trying to persuade her sister to permit medical assessment and treatment and writes of Emily’s consistent refusal.From left to right: Anne, Emily and Charlotte. Branwell used to be between Emily and Charlotte, but subsequently painted himself out.Besides a “mild aperient – and Locock’s cough wafers” (a product that claimed to offer “instant relief” to “all disorders of the breath and lungs”), Emily rejected all other forms of medical intervention, dismissing at least one proposed treatment (homeopathy) as a “form of Quackery”. She declared that “no poisoning doctor” should come near her.To many biographers, Emily’s behaviour has not only been interpreted as stubborn, but as evidence of a “violent display of denial” about her illness and as “brittle contempt” for her sister tantamount to “a subtle emotional blackmail”.But there is another way to understand Emily’s resistance to aid and refusal to speak with Charlotte.
It's sort of one of those "Charlotte did everything wrong" kind of articles. And she may well have, but we have to bear in mind that as the eldest she felt responsible for her siblings and she wanted to try and save Emily at all costs. That may not justify what she did but might well explain it. She was only human.
The film Emily is one of '5 best costume drama films of 2022' according to Sportskeeda (India)
5) EmilyEmily is a biographical drama film which marks the directorial debut for British-Australian actress Frances O'Connor. The film stars Emma Mackey in the titular role alongside Oliver Jackson Cohen, Fionn Whitehead, Amelia Gething, Alexandra Dowling and others in supporting roles. The biographical drama is a fictionalized recollection of celebrated English author, Emily Brontë, and an imagined romance.As the synopsis for the film reads, Emily has followed the titular author since her early years, a misfit and rebel in a "normal" society. It imagines and follows her journey as she penned the celebrated novel, Wuthering Heights. The film also focuses on the many pivotal bonds and relationships that inspired her in her literary works. The film is a brilliant piece of period drama which received praise for the care and love O'Connor put into the film. (Sajujya Ray)
It's also one of the second 'Best British Movie' according to The Digital Spy Reader Awards 2022
