The French novelist and journalist Lilia Hassaine has something of a reputation as a feminist. Moreover, she is not afraid to denounce all kinds of racism, sometimes using far-fetched arguments.
So, when I found out that Hassaine had written a novel inspired by the character of Bertha Mason — the "madwoman in the attic" from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre — I feared the worst. I must now admit that my fears about Hassaine's JE were entirely unfounded: I can't recommend this novel highly enough.
It is a fact that the Brontës loved animals and that the family always had pets in their home, especially dogs. I am a dog lover as well. So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that someone had gone to the trouble of writing a book of more than 340 pages dedicated to the Brontë family dogs.
My husband Paul and I headed again to Haworth last month for our annual visit and participation in the June weekend of events organised by the London Brontë group. Our friend Joanne Wilcock, an active volunteer at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, suggested a few Brontë-related locations “in the neighbourhood.”
Some of the places that she suggested we had already visited, but there were still some that we had not seen yet. She saw potential and was eager for us to tick some of the boxes of Brontë-related places that we had not been to.
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| Former Cowan Bridge School building |
Let Me In – The Brontës in Bricks and Mortar by Ann Dinsdale and Sharon Wright is a book that explores the buildings where the Brontës would have lived and visited, and which consequently influenced their writings.
Sharon spoke to the Brussels Brontë Group on Saturday April 25 about the book and the places that were important to the literary sisters.
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| credit: wikicommons |
