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nTherenis a very famous book called Jane Eyre, written by a Britishnman named Currer Bell.
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nRightnaway, since the book was about a woman and seemed to be from thenpoint of view of a woman, people suspected that the author wasn’tnreally a man. Perhaps, some people thought, it was written by anwoman.
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nEveryonenwas sure that Currer Bell was a pen name (or pseudonym). There didn’tnseem to be a man knocking about in London by that name!
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nJanenEyre was successful right away—people bought it and read it andndiscussed it! They discussed who this mysterious Currer Bell was evennmore when the books Wuthering Heights, by Ellis Bell, andnAgnes Grey, by Acton Bell.
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Actually,nthe three novels written by three “Bells” were really written bynthree sisters who lived in Yorkshire. Charlotte, Emily, and AnnenBronte wanted to hide the fact that they were women—but they didn’tnwant to use common male names, since they felt that that would bentoo much of a lie. Notice that their pen names—Currer, Ellis andnActon—started with the same letters as their real names, and ofncourse Bell started with the same letter as Bronte. So their pennnames shared the same initials as their real names.n
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nCharlottenBronte was born on this date in 1816. Reading a little bit about hernlife reminds me how lucky we are to live now, rather than back in then1800s. Her mother died of cancer when Charlotte was just five yearsnold (baby sister Anne was only one). Her two older sisters died ofntuberculosis when they were just 11 and 12 years old. Her youngernbrother Brandon died in 1848 (they were both in their early 30s atnthis point), and her younger sisters Emily and Anne died ofntuberculosis soon thereafter. Charlotte was devastated—all five ofnher siblings had now died!
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nCharlottenherself married and lived to a grand old age of – yikes! only 38!nShe died of complications from pregnancy. Only Charlotte’s fathernlived what we today would consider a full life of 84 years. Andnremember, this was a middle-class family living in one of the mostn“advanced” countries of the world, at the time—not a familynliving in dire poverty far away from the latest medical advances.
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nJanenEyre—one of the all-time greats!
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Somenpeople consider Charlotte Bronte’s book Jane Eyre one of thengreatest works of fiction ever written in English. The titlencharacter is one of the strongest, most intelligent, and mostnindependent female characters, for sure. n
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nManynpeople have compared Bronte’s writing, plots, and characters withnJane Austen’s (who wrote Pride and Prejudice and five othernnovels). Perhaps these comparisons are made because both authors werenwomen living in England in the 1800s—but there is little overlap inntheir lives. Austen died the year after Bronte was born, and Austennlived among the landed gentry of the south of England, whereas Brontenand her sisters lived a much more secluded life in the colder,nharsher north.
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nHerenis one comparison:
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nCharlottenBronte wrote 4 novels.
JanenAusten wrote 6 novels.
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nBronte:nonly Jane Eyre is very well known and loved today.
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nAusten:nall of her books are very well known today (and I would argue thatnmost are still well-loved today.
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This is the best version of P&P
ever! |
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nBronte’snJane Eyre: at least 17 film and TV versions made.
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nAusten’snPride and Prejudice: at least 10 film and TV versions made,nplus at least 7 looser adaptations. (Manynof Austen’s other works have been filmed multiple times, as well.)
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nBronte’snJane Eyre: millions sold worldwide.
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nAusten’snPride and Prejudice: an estimated 20 million sold worldwide. (Aboutn110,000 P & P sold in bookstores in 2002 alone!)
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Weird but true: Both Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice have been made into series of board books for toddlers. I honestly think that that is just silly!n
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nAlso on this date:
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nKindergarten Day
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JohnnMuir Dayn
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nKartininDay in Indonesia
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