Some pictures that didn't fit the post below

I made a few more screen caps from Reader, I Married Him and I've decided to put them in this post for anyone that would like to see them, nothing too interesting I'm afraid.

A few of Toby...


I like his hand in this one...
A few of Jane...

And last but not least St. John...


St.John looking disapproving...
And a final one of Jane Eyre 1983...

Reader, I Married Him...

BBC4 is currently showing a short series of documentaries about "romantic fiction", the first episode dealt mainly with the authors and rise of romantic fiction via Mills and Boon and also looked at the current state of romantic fiction, chick lit, etc.

This week the topic of the programme was "Heroes" and in this context, I think the general consensus was darker, the broodier and meaner the better. Daisy Godwin, the host concentrated on four romantic heroes: Darcy, Rochester, Heathcliff and (her favourite) Rhett Butler.

The documentary had a lot of talking heads, telling us what their specific favourite was and why. But the best fun was definitely the e-fit of four perfect Mr. Darcy's. Daisy and a few other Darcyites went to a police station (where else to find a romantic hero!) and with the help of a taciturn (and probably slightly confused) old Policeman got down to creating the picture of their perfect Mr. Darcy.

Darcy one (left) looks incredibly grumpy and appears to have bloodshot eyes. The poor lamb does look like he's been crying.


Darcy two, the one with the anaemic sideburns also looks mournful, a look compounded, I think, by his unsymmetrical eyebrows


Darcy three (below) looks, as Daisy commented, like the Grecian 2000 man. I can't help suspecting, alas, that he's wearing a wig!

Darcy four, is Daisy's perfect Darcy and as Darcy's go, looks pretty modern, but I never would have cast him as a redhead.

The ladies all came to the general conclusion, that despite their best efforts, the best Darcy was Colin Firth. Who even, I have to admit, is tenaciously and resolutely connected to Darcy now, it's hard to envision anyone else as Darcy; poor Matthew McFadyen didn't even get a mention.

Daisy then moved on to Charlotte Bronte and "Jane Eyre", not to mention Mr. Rochester.
After a quick visit to Haworth and the parsonage where she saw Charlotte's study (below)

Daisy went to the set of Jane Eyre 2006 and met Toby Stephens, who is playing Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre 2006 and asked him about his character.


Toby said that his first impression of Rochester was that he was this taciturn and moody, brooding fellow, but once he had re-read the novel, he came to the conclusion that Rochester was a garrulous fellow, in his own words: "He never shuts up!" He also concluded that he found Rochester quite theatrical.

Unfortunately the interview was very brief, and not much else was discussed which was a shame, I wonder if it was always to be such a brief interview, or if the need for Toby to return to the set was too pressing. Whatever the reason for the brevity of the interview, I for one would have loved to have heard more from Toby, for him to explain in more detail what he understood about Rochester's character and what he thought of "Jane Eyre" as a novel from a male perspective.


Having seen the first episode, I thought Toby's eyes were darker in it, however in this picture, they seem far lighter and greener. Not a criticism, just a brief aside. Perhaps Toby's been made to wear darker contacts for the role.

Now for a blog exclusive: the documentary had a brief clip from a future episode of "Jane Eyre" between Jane and St. John Rivers:
Jane is being quizzed by St. John about Rochester and he tells her he knows that Rochester proposed marriage while he first wife was still living and that his fiance then ran away.

Unfortunately the brief clip was drowned out by Daisy telling us the story so far, so the clip is mainly Jane looking upset and St. John looking slightly smug.

St. John says that Rochester must have been either a bigger man, or a bitter man, my recording was not entirely without blips, so I can't quite make it out. Jane's reply is "you didn't know him".

The rest of the programme was given over to a disection of Heathcliff's character (puppy strangler) and Daisy's favourite hero, Rhett Butler. Daisy goes to Atlanta, dresses up as Scarlett O' Hara and goes on the pull, I mean she tries to find a Rhett Butler of her own. After a false start with guy who looks entirely comfortable with computers, she finds this guy; a man who looks like he would be entirely comfortable in the company of hogs.

I am not being generous here, he seemed like a very nice fellow, with a deep and sonorous voice, and even if he is not the most, ahem, photogenic man in the world, he at least got Daisy somewhat flustered and hit her Rhett Butler shaped target.

Next week, Daisy is going to be looking at romantic heroines.

Jane Eyre 2006 Trail 2

This is the BBC trailer for episode 2 of Jane Eyre.




Enjoy!

Sandy Welch Jane Eyre Interview

I like this interview with Sandy Welch, she talks about why she made the changes that she did, not in any great detail, but it's a welcome article.

I also like her description of the diva of the film set, and it's not who you might think!

Jane Eyre Episode 1

A gorgeous start to the series! Ruth Wilson as Jane portrays the character's sensibility, self confidence and courage incredibly well, admirably succeeding in expressing emotion with just her incredible face, which by the way is far too pretty to be called plain.


Her performance was superb and she was well matched by Toby Stephens as Rochester. To sum up his performance: wow! A fantastic performance: this 21st century Rochester is abrupt, brusque, sardonic and sarcastic, a brooding slightly unkempt man, who nevertheless causes Jane's heart to flutter (along no doubt with many others). His stony exterior belies his vulnerability and innate tenderness and such is the talent of the actor, these traits are already apparent.




Georgie Henley as young Jane was also fantastic, but had far too little to do, I would have loved to have seen far more of Jane's time at Lowood, also little used was Tara Fitzgerald as Mrs. Reed, but I'm sure there will be more of her in a subsequent episode.

On the downside the theme music is terrible, I'd prefer Jane's jaunty piano playing, which caused Mr. Rochester to roll his eyes most alarmingly, which I confess was one of my favourite parts.



I also loved Mrs. Fairfax (Lorraine Ashbourne, or as I always think of her, wife of Gollum), she struck the right tone throughout, welcoming and warm to Jane and gossipy enough when the story required it.

One final note: I fear for Toby Stephens' fertility, his britches are so tight they appear to have to be sewn on each morning! A looser pair may improve Rochester's temper.

Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson Articles from ES Magazine

Toby and Ruth in ES Magazine looking Wonderful!

Toby Stephens: Cover Boy!



Page 1:


Pages 2 and 3:


Page 4:




Ruth not looking very Governessy (but gorgeous nontheless)!

Pages 1, 2 and 3:

Toby Stephens Interview in Grazia Magazine

Oh my, how pretty!

I hope you like these scan of Toby's Interview in Grazia Magazine:

Page 1:


Page 2: 

Jane Eyre TV Times Article

More Jane Eyre Loveliness:

Page 1:


Page 2:


Page 3, Pick of the Day Episode one blurb:

Jane Eyre TV Quick Article

Because other listings magazines are available...

Ruth Wilson talks about the role:


(Toby, Toby, Toby: rude jokes and hanging jelly snakes out of your nose! How old are you!)

Toby Stephens talks about Rochester:



(Ew, a lesson to us all, never get hair extensions)

Jane Eyre Radio Times Articles

I hope you all like the scans that I've done.

Click once to get them a bit bigger and then once again to get them even bigger.



The cover of the Radio Times (Doesn't he look smug!)

 

The editors take on Jane Eyre:



Page 1 of the article; wow, what a lovely picture.


Page 2 of the article:
 

Page 3 of the article:


Page 4 of the article, now with added Toby in sunglasses
 

Alison Grahams' take on Jane Eyre:


The pick of the day blurb for the first episode:

Jane Eyre Trail 2006

My first YouTube video!!



I'm loving Toby Stephens' sideburns (and the rest of him, to be honest with you) and for some reason Rochester and Jane running in the rain!

From this short bit, I think Ruth Wilson is going to be fantastic!

Book Meme

As Bronteana kindly tagged me for a book meme and I really had to have a bit of a think, here it is (finally), in all it's squalid unliterary glory.

Caveat: I'm a information junkie, I will read practically anything, except girly chick lit, romantic novellas (Mills and Boon junk) and books that leave a bad taste in your mouth, which unfortunately you don't know until you've finished it. However then you can avoid that particular writer like the plague.

Any way, here goes:

1. One book that changed your life:

This would have to be George's Marvellous Medicine, by Roald Dahl. The first book I ever bought ( I saved up for ages!), and I've loved books and reading ever since.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:

Mm, there are many books that I reread, however, the book that I reread the most is probably Guards Guards, by Terry Pratchett. This is followed closely by Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte.

I'm a big Terry Pratchett fan, his early books are laugh out loud funny. The Discworld is an addictive place, full of mad characters, silly puns and an enormous sense of fun. I love them, because you can retreat into the universe the writer has created and your imagination paints in all the bits inbetween. And Wuthering Heights, really doesn't need to be justified. It's a great book, enough said.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:

Erm, can I not just take an entire library, I don't think I can pick just one! Ok, ok, how about an omnibus edition of all Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Hardy and Conan Doyle books? It might actually turn out to be large enough to float me home. I can't choose just one. Unless you're talking about an ibook upon which I am capable of downloading as many books as I want.

Edited to add: My favourite book of all time would have to come with me - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I've reread this book almost as much as Wuthering Heights. It is a must read novel, the only one Harper Lee ever wrote. The gothic tone that I enjoy in novels such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Northhanger Abbey is just as well portrayed in this book, albeit Southern Gothic. What else do you call an old house with a recluse living in it, being made to read to an old woman who is dying? I love this book, it's coming with me to that desert island.

4. One book that made you laugh:

Again, so many books make me laugh, how can I pick just one!? But I think I'll have to put The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged Thirteen and Three Quarters. And all its sequels. This book makes me weep with laughter, so funny even after the hundreth read. Truly a modern classic, but peculiarly British, like me (peculiar and British that is, I'm no classic, I'm not even classy).

I have to mention Charlie Brooker's Screenburn, because it made me laugh out loud in the bookshop. And people stared at me. It's a collection of his TV reviews and he's very critical, scathing, vicious, frequently profane, but oh my word, he's funny!

5. One book that made you cry:

I'm a flinty, stony hearted old baggage. Practically nothing makes me cry. But the book that came closest is Little Women. I'd have gotten away with it, if it hadn't have been for that pesky Beth March. *Shakes fist*

6. One book that you wish had been written:

Hard one: I suppose I'll have to chime in with Bronteana and say Emma by Charlotte Bronte. To be honest I've never heard of an unfinished Bronte novel, but I'd like to read what was started, if never completed, just for the sake of completion, I believe I've read all Charlotte's other novels, not much of the Gondal stuff though. I'll be good and stay away from Clare Boland's rewrite.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:

Argh, Wide Sargasso Sea gets a vote from me too! But my all time unfavourite novel, that I hated so much, I didn't even finish, which ruined my 100% success rate at reading novels, is: A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. I know he was a tragic writer who only ever wrote one book and then killed himself, but take an unsympathetic character, loose plotting and melange of unlikeable characters and you have a book I had to take back to the book shop. Thank heavens they gave me my money back, or it could have gotten really nasty.

8. One book you’re currently reading:

I read about 5 - 6 books simultaneously, but the one I'm liking the best has got to be Half Moon Investigations, by Eoin Colfer. It is a kids book, but I like it. With lines like: "they stared at each other until their eyeballs dried out and they had to stop." What's not to like.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:

There is a pile awaiting me on my shelf, but the one I'm going out to buy with my hard earned cash tomorrow is called Never The Bride, by Paul Magrs. The premise is that the Bride of Frankenstein lives and is called Brenda. Looking forward to it already.

10. Now tag five people:

Eek, I've only been blogging for a short while, I don't know that many people, so I tag Aidan Brack, Bronteana and er, I don't know anyone else. A right billy no mates I am!

Is it bad manners to tag people whose blogs you read, but have never commented? I'll leave it there and add more later if I think of them.

I think I'm going to do a similar thing a bit later when I've caught my breath and expand on a few questions, there are many books that make me laugh for example.