Friday, July 9, 2010

All About the Brontes Challenge Wrap-up


I'm finally getting around to writing my wrap-up post to the All About the Brontes Challenge. I enjoyed the challenge and I hope all of the participants enjoyed the challenge as well. Feel free to post whether you would enjoy the challenge again next year and any ideas for changes within the challenge.

I wish a bit disappointed with my morning sickness and subsequent getting behing in my blog this year that I wasn't able to go as full force on the challenge as I would have liked. I also was reading all reviews until I got sick, and now I have about 90 entries in the challenge to take a look at. I will comment on all of your reviews one of these days . . . slowly, but surely!

I did manage to complete seven items for the challenge as follows:

1. Music Inspired by the Bronte Sisters
2. Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler
3. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (audiobook)
5. Jane Eyre's Daughter by Elizabeth Newark
6. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
7. Jane Eyre (1970)

I was definitely focused on Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre this time! I feel at one with Charlotte as I often think about how she likely died of Hypermesis Gravidum (super bad morning sickness), which is what I was suffering from this spring. Unlike Charlotte, modern medicine has IVs and medication to allow women to survive.

I didn't stick to my original list, but went with the flow of what I found. I think of the books I read, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys were my favorite. The Secret Diaries as I loved the the romance between Charlotte and Arthur Bell Nichols. I really enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea as it gave me a different point of view of Bertha Rochester.

I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get to The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte by Daphne Du Maurier, but I will have to try again next time!

Feel free to keep posting your final thoughts and reviews for the All About the Bronte Challenge! I will keep the icons up for the next month or so. Thank-you to all who participated!






4 comments:

  1. I didn't get to the Branwell Bronte book either. It was a fun challenge! Thank you so much for hosting it!

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  2. Laura, I didn't finish this wonderful challenge but I was able to learn about the Bronte sisters and posted about their poetry, something I knew little about. I hope you will host this challenge again next year.

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  3. Dear Laura, I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the romance of Charlotte and Mr. Nicholls in my novel, "The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte." It was such a joy to research, write, and bring to life. I'm sorry I didn't have more time to participate in your Challenge. I've just written 3 novels back-to-back and have come up for air for the first time. I'm excited about them all. "Dracula, My Love" is due out July 20 and I've been so gratified by the advance reviews. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it! (I promise it's very romantic.) Maybe you can host a Dracula or Vampire Challenge! :) Syrie James

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  4. I would love to join in with this if you do it again.

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