A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry (audiobook)

Title: A Christmas Homecoming
Author: Anne Perry
Read by: Terrence Hardiman
Publisher: AudioGO
Length: 4 CDs (unabridged), 4 Hours, 45 minutes
Source: Review copy from AudioGO through Audiobook Jukebox

A Christmas Homecoming is a short Christmas mystery set during the Victorian period. The main character, Caroline Fielding, is the mother of Charlotte Pitt from Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. I’ve read a few of those novels, but it has been quite some time. This novel was an excellent stand-alone story.

Caroline is married to a much younger, handsome man named Joshua Fielding. Joshua is a famous actor and he has arranged to produce a stage adaptation of the new novel, Dracula, at the home of a wealthy patron, Charles Netheridge, over the Christmas season with his acting company. The play was adapted by Netheridge’s daughter, Alice, who has much enthusiasm for the project, but not much experience or skill. As Joshua’s company grows frustrated trying to bring life to a lackluster script, a mysterious stranger arrives during a winter storm.

Mr. Ballin has a great knowledge of vampires and helps to inspire the actors and Alice to bring life to the script. As Joshua and company start to hope that the production might actually be able to amount something, Caroline stumbles over a corpse in the hall in the dark of evening. And just as suddenly, the corpse disappears before it can be moved. Where did the corpse vanish? As no one can leave or enter the house due to the blizzard, who murdered the victim? Caroline puts all of her detective skills to use to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed this story immensely. I loved the Victorian County House setting and was intrigued at the behind the scenes look at putting together a theatrical. It was interesting to see how Bram Stoker’s Dracula could be interpreted as a very sensual novel for the time period, and what interest this novel raised in people of the era. Caroline, Joshua, and all of the characters were very interesting. I loved the murder mystery, but I think my only complaint was that it happened at the very end of the book and didn’t have much build-up to the resolution. The novel centered much more heavily on the stage production, which was then put aside and never finished after the murder. I was a bit disappointed in that, I wanted to “see” it carried out to its conclusion.

Although this book was set during the Christmas holiday season, with its Dracula theme, it seemed much more a Halloween type book. The audiobook I listened to was read by Terrence Hardiman. I love a good British accent and I think he did an excellent job reading the book. I enjoyed listening to it and his voice really seemed to bring the page to life.

Overall, A Christmas Homecoming is a very enjoyable Christmas Victorian mystery, especially with the story centering on the stage production of Dracula. This is my fourth item in the Victorian Challenge 2012, second item in the 2012 Audiobook Challenge, and third item in the 2012 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Bronte Edited from Manuscripts by C.W. Hatfield

I’ll admit that I really wanted to read Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte), but I couldn’t find a copy in my library system anywhere. Has anyone else read the first publication of the Bronte sisters? Searching through the system, I noticed a lot of different versions of Emily’s poems, but none by the other sisters. I chose to read The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Bronte edited from Manuscripts by C.W. Hatfield. After reading The Brontes: A Beginner’s Guide by Steve Eddy, I discovered that critically, Emily’s poems are the most beloved of the sisters’ as they are the most original. Thus the reason why I had troubles finding poems by Anne and Charlotte.


I will tell the truth, I am not the world’s greatest fan of poetry. While I appreciate a good poem, and especially loved learning about them in school, I don’t make a habit of picking up books of poetry to read. I enjoyed reading Emily’s poems, but I am unable to offer a great critical review of them myself.

While the poems were enjoyable and beautiful to read, the most fascinating part of the book to me was the Introduction by C.W. Hatfield. In this introduction, Hatfield discusses his process of tracking down and finding Emily’s original poems. After the death of all of the Brontes, Charlotte’s husband, Arthur Bell Nichols, moved to Ireland and eventually remarried. Over the years, the manuscripts of the sisters in his possession and then his wife’s, were parceled and sold off, especially after Bell Nichols death in 1906. As the Bronte sisters and their brother Branwell had very similar handwriting, some poems were attributed to the wrong sister when they were published. Words and grammar were also changed through the years by different publishers. Hatfield worked to track down the original of all of Emily’s poems and to put them back together in the way they were when originally written. Over the years he was able to find many different poems never published before that were scattered around the world on original manuscripts. I found it all to be fascinating.

Many of Emily Bronte’s poems were written for the fictional world of Gondal, an island that Emily and Anne invented and wrote stories and poems about from children to adults. Sadly, none of the Gondal stories have survived, but Fannie Ratchford has a section in this book where she tries to put together as much about this world has she can using their poems, a short journal fragment, and letters exchanged between Emily and Anne. Ratchford has an outline of the reconstructed epic of Gondal and gives a brief description that makes the heading of the poems make more sense.

Irene Taylor wrote a great introduction and obviously loves the work of Emily Jane Bronte and thinks that Wuthering Heights is also a masterpiece. Curiously she also calls Villette Charlotte Bronte’s masterpiece. While I enjoy Villette, I think myself and most people consider Jane Eyre her masterpiece. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

It was interesting reading Emily Bronte’s poems. I found myself wishing often that I knew more about the Gondal epic so that I could really understand the background of some of the characters, but the prose itself was beautiful. The poems often touch on sadness and despair, loneliness and heartache. Emily was not one to write cheerful poetry, but isn’t poetry often melancholy? I found that I preferred her non-Gondal poems and found them to be much more powerful.

I liked many of the poems, but I’ll conclude with one that I particularly enjoyed, labeled A26:

O thy bright eyes must answer now,
When Reason, with a scornful brow,
Is mocking at my overthrow;
O thy sweet tongue must plead for me
And tell why I have chosen thee!

Stern Reason is to judgement come
Arrayed in all her forms of gloom:
Wilt though my advocate be dumb?
No, radiant angel, speak and say
Why I did cast the world away;

Why I have persevered to shun
The common paths that others run;
And on a strange road journeyed on
Heedless alike of Wealth and Power –
Of Glory’s wreath and Pleasure’s flower.

These once indeed seemed Beings divine,
And they perchance heard vows of mine
And saw my offerings on their shrine –
But, careless gifts are seldom prized,
And mine were worthily despised;

So with a ready heart I swore
To seek their altar-stone no more,
And gave my spirit to adore
Thee, ever present, phantom thing –
My slave, my comrade, and my King!

A slave because I rule thee still;
Incline thee to my changeful will
And make thy influence good or ill –
A comrade, for by day and night
Thou art my intimate delight –

My Darling Pain that wounds and sears
And wrings a blessing out from tears
Be deadening me to real cares;
And yet, a king – though prudence well
Have taught thy subject to rebel.

And am I wrong to worship where
Faith cannot doubt nor Hope despair
Since my own soul can grant my prayer?
Speak, God of Visions, plead for me
And tell why I have chosen thee!

This is my third item for the Victorian Challenge 2012.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Winner of Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker

The lucky winner of Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker is Petite.  Petite was chosen using random.org and I notified her via email.  She has one week to respond with her mailing address, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.  Congrats to Petite!

Thank-you to all who entered this great giveaway, and a special thank-you to Jeanette Baker for writing a fantastic guest blog about America's love affair with Ireland.  Another special thank-you to Sourcebooks for providing the copy of Irish Lady for this giveaway and a review copy for me.  I really enjoyed this book!

Sad you didn't win?  I still have one giveaway currentlying going on for Dreaming of Mr. Darcy.  Please see my right sidebar for details!

Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker

Once I started reading Irish Lady, I had a hard time putting the book down. It’s been a busy week, but I still managed to sneak the book open on odd minutes here and there and probably stayed up too late a couple of nights to read it. It was a riveting story. A blurb on the front cover from one of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon, says “Wonderful . . . it grips from the first page to the very last.” I would have to agree.

It’s 1994 and Meghann McCarthy has come as far as she can from her poor Irish Catholic roots. After her family was killed during riots in Northern Ireland when she was a child, she vowed to make a life for herself somewhere where she wouldn’t have to worry about death constantly knocking at her door. A smart student, she first attended Queens College in Belfast and then went on the Oxford. After graduation, she promptly got a job at a prestigious firm and just as promptly, married the much older senior partner, David Sutton. Now the widowed Lady Sutton, Meghann is known as a top-notch lawyer. She thought she has left the past behind her, until she gets a call from Annie, the woman that raised her. Annie’s son Michael, Meghann’s first and true love, has been arrested for the assassination of a politician that was critical to the peace process in Northern Ireland. As Meghann takes on the case, she soon discovers that the stakes and danger are high as someone does not want Michael to get off the murder charge.

As she delves into the case, Meghann also has a mysterious woman that helps her during times of trouble. Through the help of this mystery woman, Meghann “time slips” back and sees the past of her distant ancestors. Nuala O’Neill knows that she wants to marry Rory O’Donnell who is pledged to her sister. After making her father see that her sister wants to be a nun, Nuala is allowed to marry Rory. They have a great passion for each other, but they live in troubled times. Queen Elizabeth of England wants to possess Ireland and rid it of its troublesome lords. Together and apart, Nuala and Rory have to stand strong to try to save their beloved Ireland. When the two face personal turmoil will they cling to each other or find their own life apart?

I loved both the story set in the nineties as well as the story set four-hundred years earlier in the 1590s. The 1990s story held more intrigue, but the 1590s story was more passionate. I really wanted to know how both story lines would resolve. Many time travel or time slip novels with parallel story lines suffer from one story being stronger than the other. Irish Lady did not suffer from this dilemma and had two very strong storylines.

I thought the 1990s story was very intriguing as I don’t know much about the IRA and troubles in North America. I remember it being in the news when I was a teenager, but this book really brought the issues to light for me. It also showed how this is a conflict with roots that go back hundreds of years. I love to read historical fiction novels about Queen Elizabeth, but this put her in an entirely new light. A vain and selfish woman, Elizabeth will do anything to expand her territories and to maintain the image of being a young and beautiful woman.

SPOILER ALERT

While I loved Nuala and Rory’s story line, I’ll admit that I wanted her take her child and leave with Niall. His love for Nuala was twisted, but it was true. When he said that he would love her even when she couldn’t have any more children, I was ready for her to ride off into the sunset with him and their baby. Did anyone else feel the same way?

SPOILER END

Overall Irish Lady is a wonderful Irish tale with intrigue, romance, historical fiction, ghosts, time slips, mystery, and grand passion. In other words, it is a riveting story. I highly recommend it.

Want to read Irish Lady? The giveaway for one copy of the book ends tonight at midnight! Leave a comment at this link for a chance to win this fantastic novel!  Also at that link is a wonderful guest blog by Jeanette Baker about America's Love Affair with Ireland.

Irish Lady is my second item in the Historical Fiction Challenge 2012.

Book Source: Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!

The Brontes: A Beginner’s Guide by Steve Eddy

I bought The Brontes: A Beginner’s Guide in 2004 while I was perusing the shelves at the downtown Milwaukee Border’s Book Store. That bookstore is sadly gone, but I still have many fine books that I discovered there amongst its shelves. My Milwaukee book club at the time was focusing on the Bronte sisters for the month, so I thought this book would be a quick reminder of what to focus on while I reread the works of the Bronte sisters.


The Brontes: A Beginner’s Guide, is indeed a very helpful book for one who wants to get a bit more out of the works of the Bronte sisters and has either never studied them in school, or can’t remember what was emphasized. The chapters include “Why Read the Brontes Today,” “How to Approach the Brontes’ Work,” “Biography and Influences,” “Major Themes,” “Major Works,” “Contemporary Critical Approaches,” “Modern Critical Approaches,” “Where Next.” At a slim eighty-two pages, this book packs in a lot of good information in a short amount of space. Pictures are included and it is written in a way that is easy for any reader to pick up and understand.

I really liked how this book discussed the Bronte sisters’ keen interest in women’s rights and how they incorporated this into their novels. All three sisters wrote about strong heroines that did not bend to the will of men and searched for meaning in their lives. I find it very interesting.

I’ll admit that I did get a bit lost in the modern critical approaches chapter. It was interesting that as time as passed, critics have come to rate Emily above Charlotte in their reviews. Charlotte is much beloved by feminist critics, and there has been an increase in interest in Anne. Contemporary critics hardly reviewed Anne’s novels, which is a shame as I would rate Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall right up there with Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights. It’s also interesting that contemporary critics of Charlotte Bronte said this of Jane Eyre, “ the plot is most extravagantly improbable.” I disagree. While there are some fantastical elements of the plot, so much of it is based on Charlotte’s real world experiences growing up that it has a deep sense of truth to it.

The major works chapter focuses on Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Shirley (by Charlotte Bronte), Villette (also by Charlotte), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne), and their poems. I thought that since Agnes Grey by Anne and The Professor by Charlotte were the only two novels left out; maybe they just should have included them. I’ve read all of their collected works and I think those two novels are worth reading and discussing as well. I know the chapter was titled “major,” but if that were the case, I probably would have left out Shirley and Villette and just focused on the most famous work by each sister.

The collected poetry of the sisters is only discussed briefly, but overall it states that by far, Emily’s poems are the best and most original of the three sisters.

While not as extensive as a full biography of the sisters, The Brontes: A Beginner’s Guide is a great quick read packed full of great information about the Bronte sisters and their major works. It gives great themes and symbols to look for when you read their works.

This is my second item for the Victorian Challenge 2012.

Writing Charlotte Bronte's Love Story an interview with author Syrie James

Syrie James, hailed by Los Angeles Magazine as "The queen of 19-century re-imaginings," is the bestselling author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë (Great Group Read, Women's National Book Association; Audie Romance Award, 2011); The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (Best First Novel 2008, Library Journal); and the critically acclaimed Nocturne and Dracula, My Love. Translation rights for Syrie's books have been sold in sixteen languages. An admitted Anglophile, Syrie loves all things 19th century. She lives in Los Angeles and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America.

What inspired you to write The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë?

I have always adored Jane Eyre. I felt compelled to know and understand the woman who wrote that remarkable book, which is still so beloved all over the world more than 160 years after it was first published.

As I researched Charlotte's life, I was astonished to discover how many parts of the novel were inspired by her own experiences. I was also captivated by the engrossing saga of Charlotte's family.

Charlotte lived in Victorian England in a tiny village in the wilds of Yorkshire. Her brother became an alcoholic and a drug addict. Her father, a clergyman, was going blind. Her sisters Emily and Anne were also very talented writers. All three sisters, despite the difficulties of their circumstances, became published authors at the same time. Emily's novel Wuthering Heights is considered one of the greatest masterpieces ever written in the English language, and Jane Eyre is required reading in many high schools, and has been filmed 27 times. I can't think of any other family in history who've achieved a similar literary feat, and I wanted to explore that and show how it happened.



Add to that the true story of Charlotte's romance! Her father's curate, the tall, dark, and handsome Irishman Arthur Bell Nicholls, lived next door to the Brontës for more than seven years, and carried a silent torch for Charlotte all that time, before he had the nerve to propose. Charlotte disliked him for many years, but her feelings eventually changed, and she grew to love him. I knew that would make a fabulous story—and it had never been told!

How did you do your research?

First, I poured over countless Brontë biographies. I read all their poetry, their published novels, the juvenilia, and Charlotte's voluminous personal correspondence. I studied the art of the Brontës. (Quite remarkable!) I read everything I could find about the life of Arthur Bell Nicholls. Then I went to Haworth, England. The stone buildings in the village's narrow main street still look very much as they did in Charlotte's day.

I made an extended visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which has been preserved to reflect the way it looked when the Brontës lived there, and is furnished with many of their possessions.

What a thrill it was to "haunt" the rooms and lanes where Charlotte and Emily and Anne actually lived and walked, and to stroll through that gloomy graveyard in the pouring rain! Even more thrilling was my visit to the Brontë library, where I was allowed to don protective gloves and read a selection of original letters and manuscripts penned by Charlotte and other members of the Brontë family.

While in Yorkshire, I was also granted a private tour of the former Roe Head School (where Charlotte was a student and later a teacher), which still actively functions as a private school. The main building, inside and out, has not changed much since Charlotte Brontë's time—and the legend of a mysterious attic dweller, the Ghost of Roe Head, still lives!

View photos from my Brontë Tour here.

You mentioned seeing the Brontë's art work during your research. Can you describe it?

Their works are incredibly detailed portraits of women and animals, landscapes, and depictions of nature. Some are pencil sketches; others are beautiful watercolors. Although they did draw from life, many of Charlotte's works of art were copies of other pictures and engravings, which she painstakingly executed dot by dot.

All three sisters were talented artists, Emily perhaps the most accomplished of them all. Branwell was trained to paint in oils and hoped to make a living as a portrait artist, but he did not have the necessary talent or drive to make a success of it. To see all of their art in one terrific volume, check out "The Art of the Brontës" by Christine Alexander and Jane Sellars.

Which books by and about the Brontës do you recommend?

You'll find a list of my favorite books on the Recommended Reading page on my website.

Tell us about the awards your Brontë novel has won.

I’m thrilled that the Women’s National Book Association named The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë a Great Group Read in 2009. They select only a few titles each year, on the basis of their appeal to book clubs and reading groups, choosing books they feel “are bound to open up lively conversations about a host of timely and provocative topics, from the intimate dynamics of family and personal relationships to major cultural and world issues.”

I’m also proud and humbled to announce that the audio book won the prestigious 2011 Audie award in the romance category—another huge honor, since it’s the equivalent of the Emmys and the Oscars, in the audio book world. Recorded Books and narrator Bianca Amato did a wonderful job dramatizing the novel, incorporating dozens of characters and a multitude of accents.

Learn more about The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë.

Read selected correspondence of Charlotte Brontë.

Read selected poetry of the Brontes.

View images of The Brontë Family.

Thank you for having me on your blog today! To learn more about me and all of my books, please visit me at at syriejames.com. I hope you’ll follow me on facebook and twitter, and feel free to email me or leave a message in my guest book. In closing, I’m excited to announce that my new book, Forbidden, which I co-wrote with my son Ryan, is due out Jan. 24. It’s not Victorian—but I hope you’ll love it anyway.

Wuthering Heights (1939)

1939 was an epic year of filmmaking with Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, and Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is based on the novel by Emily Bronte and starred Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, Merle Oberon as Catherine, and David Niven as Edgar. For a summary and review of the novel Wuthering Heights, please see this link.

This movie overall makes Heathcliff and Catherine into much more romantic leads than what was originally in Emily Bronte’s novel. They are painted solely as star-crossed lovers that are just never able to get together because of various misunderstandings. The movie leaves out the entire second half of the novel, which shows how Heathcliff carefully plotted his revenge onto the second generation. In this movie, there are no children born.

Heathcliff first of all is portrayed by the very handsome Laurence Olivier. While I love Laurence Olivier and think he is a spectacular actor, he is not the dark personage described in Wuthering Heights. He is viewed in much more a sympathetic light because of the lack of showing his revenge on the second generation. His wife Isabella is shown to be miserable solely because of his continued love for Catherine. His abuse of her and the knowledge that he only married her to be able to inherit the Linton estate, Thrushcross Grange, is not mentioned. I believe that this movie may be one reason that people think of Heathcliff as a romantic character, when he is really not a very likeable character.

Merle Oberon is a good Catherine, although her selfish motives do not take center stage. I found her to be a much more unlikeable character in the book than in this production. David Niven is a good Edgar, although if I were Catherine and had to choose between a Laurence Olivier Heathcliff and a David Niven Edgar, I would be hard pressed to pick Edgar. You have a passionate love for Heathcliff who shares your passion and he is also hot as sin. Why are you picking the boring neighbor again? I feel kind of sorry for David Niven. I know him from being the Bishop in The Bishop’s Wife. In that movie, he is afraid his wife, Loretta Young, is developing feelings for an angel played by Cary Grant. Niven always seems to be the second fiddle.

The deathbed scene seemed strange to me. There is a very passionate speech from Heathcliff, while Catherine’s husband Edgar kneels by the bed in a prayerful poise saying nothing. This is very different than the death scene in the book. Catherine and Heathcliff have a passionate speech to each other when Edgar is away at church. There is suspense when he returns and he “flies at” Heathcliff enraged to see him there, but Catherine faints. Edgar has a bit more edge to him in the novel.

I did not like the omission of Hindley’s wife, Frances. Hindley is not a good man, but you can understand him better in the novel. First he has to see his father love Heathcliff rather than himself, and then his beloved wife Frances dies. It is easier to see why he became an alcoholic when Frances is in the picture and it humanizes Hindley.

Overall, I enjoyed the romance of the 1939 film version of Wuthering Heights, but I think it did a poor job of bringing Emily Bronte’s classic to life. The romance actually took away from Bronte’s original intent, and the omission of the younger generation made it so the viewers were unable to see the masterful plotting of revenge by Heathcliff.

This if my first item for the Victorian Challenge 2012.



Winners of Dylan by C.H. Admirand

The two lucky winners of Dylan by C.H. Admirand are Sophia Rose and Na.  Both winners were chosen using random.org.  They have been notified via email and have one week to send me their mailing addresses.  If I don't receive their addresses within that time frame, new winners will be selected.

Want to learn more about Dylan?  Check out C.H. Admirand's wonderful guest blog about the allure of cowboys.

Thank-you to C.H. Admirand for being a guest on Laura's Reviews and for writing such an intriguing guest blog and book.  Thank-you to Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy of the book and for providing the books for this giveaway.

There still a couple ongoing giveaways . . . please check out my right sidebar!

Winner of Wine to Water by Doc Hendley

The one lucky winner of a copy of the inspirational book Wine to Water by Doc Hendley is Jean Vogler of Finding Your Gibbee.  Jean was chosen using random.org and has been notified via email.  She has one week to email me her mailing address, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Wine to Water was a wonderful adventure tale as well as a wonderful story of how one man could make a great difference to so many people in the world.  Even if you are sad you didn't win a copy, I highly recommend picking one up to read.

Thank-you to Doc Hendley for doing such great things and for sharing them and the needs of the world through your book. Thank-you for TLC Book Tours for allowing me to review and host this great book.  Thank-you to Penguin Group for sending me a review copy of this book and for sending the lucky winner a copy.

There are still plenty of great giveaways ongoing on Laura's Reviews.  Check out the right sidebar!

The Brontes in Brief - A Guest Post Biography by BronteBlog

January is a very Brontë month of the year. Not only does it include Anne Brontë's birthday - she was born on January 17th, 1820 - and her death sentence - on January 5th, 1849 a doctor visited the Haworth Parsonage, not long after the deaths of Branwell and Emily Brontë, and told Patrick Brontë that his youngest daughter hadn't long to live due to tuberculosis - but it's also the first full month of the winter, where there can be very few nicer things than curling up with a good book. The Brontës' verbosity - at least in comparison with today's widespread style - as well as their dexterity at telling a few good stories make for very cosy reading. If you have been made to read the Brontës for school, forget that experience and pick up their novels anew and let them set the pace as well as the atmosphere. You won't regret it.

The Brontës lived most of their lives in Yorkshire. Out of the six siblings - the two eldest girls died early on - the four known today, were all born in the village of Thornton between the years 1816 and 1820: Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne. Within a year they would move to the parsonage at Haworth, where their father had been appointed perpetual curate and where they would spend most of their lives. The Parsonage is now a museum well worth a visit and boasting the largest collection of Brontë objects in the world. All sorts of Brontë treasures - from the mundane clothes to the stories they wrote as children and young adults - can be found there, documenting lifetimes of dreams, hopes, and lots and lots of writing.

As children they lost themselves in their imaginary worlds of Angria and Gondal. Angria was mostly Charlotte and Branwell's domain, full of exotic, African-inspired landscapes peopled with their real-life heroes turned into imaginary characters such as the Duke of Wellington and his sons. Gondal was Emily and Anne's and despite being an imaginary island in the South Pacific, the place was pure Yorkshire. Recently an (unpublished) Angria booklet was auctioned for £690,850. There are many tiny booklets telling Angrian stories but from Gondal only the poetry remains.

With that creative upbringing, it was no wonder when the three sisters, disappointed in their jobs as governesses, decided to publish a volume of poetry. The volume gathered a few good reviews but sold but two copies. Undefeated, they decided to try their hand at novels and thus Emily's Wuthering Heights and Anne's Agnes Grey were first accepted for publication while Charlotte's The Professor was turned down and continued doing the rounds of publishing houses until it reached one where the reader, though unimpressed by the actual, novel, saw the writer's potential and ask to see any other writings. Charlotte, which by now had been busy at work on Jane Eyre - trying to prove to her sisters that a novel could have a plain main character, much like its author - submitted that novel and the rest is history. 1847 saw the publication of three novels that are still widely read today. Not just read but also written about, discussed, adapted, played, etc. No need to look far for that: new film adaptations of both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre were released in 2011, not to mention the amount of books published inspired one way or another by the novels.

Wuthering Heights would be Emily's only novel, though her poetry is still extant and also stunning. But Anne would go on to write The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Charlotte, who lived unil 1855 (only nine months into a very happy marriage - the only sister not to have died a 'spinster'), went on to write Shirley and Villette. The Professor would be eventually published posthumously. Her last novel, Emma (not to be confused with Jane Austen's novel of the same name!), was only just started.

All this to say that though The Brontës' month is only a stop within Laura's Victorian Challenge, the Brontës - much like the Victorians themselves - are alive and well as we constantly see on our blog. We first started in 2005, curious as to what the Brontës' afterlife in the 21st century would be. All these years later we are still surprised by their far-reaching shadows. Enjoy January! (And thanks to Laura for having us here and for keeping the Brontës alive too).

Best wishes with your challenge,

BrontëBlog Team.