#Emily Bramwell

[fourorfivemovements]

Films Watched in 2023:

52.  Les Sœurs Brontë/The Brontë Sisters (1979) - Dir. André Téchiné

[re-readingcomics]

Comics Read 07/01-15/2023

A little over a year ago I did a post about reading two comic book biographies of Artemisia Gentileschi back-to-back. I wrote some lines about how the inclusion of them in my collection helps makes the act of collecting semi-autobiographical. Consider this a sequel to that post.

Over the two weeks I am writing about I read Glass Town written and drawn by Isabel Greenberg and The Brontës Infernal Angria written by Craig Hurd-McKenney and art by Rick Geary. Different takes on the same subject, how the Brontë children had a shared alternate universe which they all wrote stories about. I have owned a copy ofThe Juvenilia of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë from when I was a child, but I never read it. I probably should. The names of Angria and Gondal were familiar from reading about the Brontës. But because of not actually reading the Juvenilia, I first encountered Glass Town by name in Die, where it was treated as a proto-multi-player role playing game. Which, seems fair enough. Die wasn’t much interested in the subject of their writings, so this is all new to me.

Greenberg’s art in Glass Town is crude in the same way ND Stevenson’s and Gus Allen art work is. If anything it’s more childlike and inconsistent. I don’t love it, but I like how the lines work the limited pallet with a lot of dark, cool reds. It hints at the early industrial feel of their time period as well as the harsh climate of their surroundings. 

The narrative starts in the aftermath of the the eldest Brontë sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, deaths. The creation of Glass Town is an escape from the trauma of their final illnesses at a poorly kept boarding school.

Charlotte narrates her tale of Glass Town, to a minor character from her stories who appears as her imaginary friend. They talk through the plot she worked on, which as presented here seems more related to Wuthering Heights than Charlotte’s actual novels. The story includes how while the children started sharing Glass Town, they split with Charlotte and Bramwell writing about Angria while Emily and Anne created Gondor. (Less of Emily and Anne’s writing on Gondal survives to the modern day than Charlotte’s work on Angria, hence why less of it is included in either of these accounts.) Probably because of this shared fantasy world with her brother, Charlotte is shocked by his decent into alcoholism while Emily catches early warning signs. It’s a rumination on the building of escapist fantasy in the face of tragedy and the creation of art. I don’t think it entirely works, but it makes me want to get back to reading the Brontë’s and writing about them. 

Infernal Angria takes the shared fantasy world and creates an actual portal fantasy. The Brontës literally go between worlds and get used in political machinations in an alternate world’s monarchy. I hated it. The text is something of an apologia for Bramwell for being such a failure. He didn’t really fail, he was manipulated by much more mature people from a world he loved. Also it takes the “artists don’t die, they live through their art” to the extreme of the Brontës didn’t all die at shockingly young ages, they relocated to the other side of a portal. It’s silly and also unclear. It shouldn’t be both. The end had the author talking about his long love of the Brontës as well as a suggested reading list. Everyone in a while you find someone who has some shared enthusiasms but seem to take it in a direction that rubs you wrong.

At first glance, I would think that Geary’s art style is more my type than Greenberg's. But eventually I hated it because the shading was made with a crosshatching that got too easily confused with paterns used for fabrics or wood grains. It’s the shorter of these two books and the one that felt more like a chore to read. 

The contrasting treatments of the the worlds of Angria/Glass Town is pretty interesting. The character in both have essentially the same back story, but as presented in Infernal Angria I didn’t feel like the narrative came off as a rough draft of Wuthering Heights. Glass Town treats the alternate world as a reflection on contemporary colonialism, while Infernal Angria approaches it as a pastiche of Medieval fantasy. It makes me wish I had read the source material even more. 

Despite finding these books lacking, there will be more comic book takes on the Brontës in my reading future. 

[magples]

Pure Bobbims

To be just and true, I must trust The power within me, fair and just To hold fast to what is right, And let my strength shine like a light. - Bob

[claudia1829things]

"EMILY" (2022) Review

"EMILY" (2022) Review

I have been aware of only four productions that served as biopics for the Brontë family. I have seen only three of these productions, one of them being a recent movie released in theaters last year. This latest movie, the first to be written and directed by actress Frances O'Connor, is a biopic about Emily Brontë titled "EMILY".

This 2022 movie began with a question. While Emily Brontë laid dying from tuberculosis, her older sister Charlotte asks what had inspired her to write the 1847 novel, "Wuthering Heights". The story flashed back to 1839, when Charlotte returned home to the Haworth parish in West Yorkshire to visit before her graduation from school. Emily attempts to re-connect with the older sister about her fictional works, but Charlotte merely dismisses her creations as juvenile activities. Around the same time, their father Patrick, the parish's perpetual curate receives a new curate name William Weightman. While Charlotte, younger sister Anne and several young women seem enamored of the handsome newcomer, only Emily is dismissive of him. Emily accompanies Charlotte to the latter's school to learn to become a teacher and their brother Bramwell goes to study at the Royal Academy of Arts. Both Emily and Branwell return shortly to Haworth after as failures. When Branwell manages to find a job as a tutor, the Reverend Brontë charges William to provide French lessons to Emily. What began as lessons in French and religious philosophy lessons, eventually evolves into a romantic entanglement between the pair.

"EMILY" managed to garner a good deal of critical acclaim upon its release in theaters, including four nominations from the British Independent Film Awards. It also won three awards at the Dinard British Film Festival: Golden Hitchcock, Best Performance Award for leading actress Emma Mackey and the Audience Award. I have no idea how much "EMILY" had earned at the U.K. box office. But in North America (the U.S. and Canada), it earned nearly four million dollars. Regardless of this . . . did I believe "EMILY" was a good movie? Did it deserved the accolades it had received not only from film critics, but also many moviegoers?

I cannot deny that the production values for "EMILY" struck me as first-rate. I believe Steve Summersgill did a first-rate job as the film's production designer. I thought he had ably re-created Britain's West Yorkshire region during the early 1840s with contributions from Jono Moles' art direction, Cathy Featerstone's set decorations and the film's art direction. Nanu Segal's photography of the Yorkshire locations created a great deal of atmosphere with moody colors that managed to remain sharp. I found myself very impressed with Michael O'Connor's costume designs. I thought he did an excellent job in not only re-creating fashions from the end of the 1830s to the late 1840s, he also ensured that the costumes worn by the cast perfectly adhered to their professions and their class, as shown below:

However, according to a relative of mine, Emily Brontë's fashion sense had remained stuck in the mid-to-late 1830s, something that the 2016 movie, "TO WALK INVISIBLE" had reflected. On the other hand, "EMILY" had the famous author wearing up-to-date fashion for someone of her class:

And I must admit that I found those moments featuring actress Emma Mackay wearing her hair down . . . in an era in which Western women did no such thing . . . very annoying. Otherwise, I certainly had no problems with the movie's production values. The movie also included a fascinating scene in which Emily had donned a mask and pretended to be the ghost of the Brontës' late mother during a social gathering. The scene reeked with atmosphere, emotion and good acting from the cast. I also found the scene well shot by O'Connor, who was only a first-time director.

"EMILY" also featured a first-rate cast. The movie featured solid performances from the likes of Amelia Gething as Anne Brontë, Adrian Dunbar as Patrick Brontë, Gemma Jones as the siblings' Aunt Branwell, Sacha Parkinson, Philip Desmeules, Veronica Roberts and other supporting cast member. I cannot recall a bad performance from any of them. The movie also featured some truly excellent performances. One came from Fionn Whitehead, who gave an emotional performance as the Brontë family's black sheep, who seemed overwhelmed by family pressure to succeed in a profession or the arts. Alexandra Dowling gave a subtle, yet charged performance as Charlotte Brontë, the family's oldest sibling (at the moment). Dowling did an excellent job of conveying Charlotte's perceived sense of superiority and emotional suppression. I wonder if the role of William Weightman, Reverend Brontë's curate, had been a difficult one for actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen. I could not help but notice that the role struck me as very complicated - moral, charming, intelligent, passionate and at times, hypocritical. Not only that, I believe Jackson-Cohen did an excellent job of conveying the different facets of Weightman's character. The actor also managed to create a dynamic screen chemistry with the movie's leading lady, Emma Mackey. I discovered that the actress had received a Best Actress nomination from the British Independent Film Awards and won the BAFTA Rising Star Award. If I must be honest, I believe she earned those accolades. She gave a brilliant performance as the enigmatic and emotional Emily, who struggled to maintain her sense of individuality and express her artistry, despite the lack of support from most of her family.

"EMILY" had a great deal to admire - an excellent cast led by the talented Emma Mackey, first-rate production designs, and costumes that beautifully reflected the film's setting. So . . . do I believe it still deserved the acclaim that it had received? Hmmm . . . NO. No, not really. There were two aspects of "EMILY" that led me to regard it in a lesser light. I thought it it was a piss poor biopic of Emily Brontë. I also found the nature of the whole romance between the author and William Weightman not only unoriginal, but also unnecessary. Let me explain.

As far as anyone knows, there had been no romance - sexual or otherwise - between Emily Brontë and William Weightman. There has never been any evidence that the two were ever attracted to each other, or one attracted to the other. Many have discovered that the youngest Brontë sister, Anne, had been attracted to Weightman. In fact, she had based her leading male character from her 1947 novel, "Agnes Grey", on the curate. There have been reports that Charlotte had found him attractive. But there has been no sign of any kind of connection between him and Emily. Why did Frances O'Connor conjure up this obviously fictional romance between the movie's main character and Weightman. What was the point? Did the actress-turned-writer/director found it difficult to believe that a virginal woman in her late 20s had created "Wuthering Heighs"? Did O'Connor find it difficult to accept that Emily's creation of the 1847 novel had nothing to do with a doomed romance the author may have experienced?

Despite Mackey's excellent performance, I found the portrayal of Emily Brontë exaggerated at times and almost bizarre. In this case, I have to blame O'Connor, who had not only directed this film, but wrote the screenplay. For some reason, O'Connor believed the only way to depict Brontë's free spirited nature was to have the character engage in behavior such as alcohol and opium consumption, frolicking on the moors, have the words "Freedom in thought" tattooed on one of her arms - like brother Branwell, and scaring a local family by staring into their window at night - again, with brother Branwell. This is freedom? These were signs of being a "free spirit"? Frankly, I found such activities either immature or destructive. Worse, they seemed to smack of old tropes used in old romance novels or costume melodramas. In fact, watching Emily partake both alcohol and opium reminded me of a scene in which Kate Winslet's character had lit up a cigarette in 1997's "TITANIC", in order to convey some kind of feminist sensibility. Good grief.

What made O'Connor's movie even worse was her portrayal of the rest of the Brontë family. As far as anyone knows, Reverend Brontë had never a cold parent to his children, including Emily. Emily had not only been close to Branwell, but also to Anne. And Branwell was also close to Charlotte. All three sisters had openly and closely supported each other's artistic work. Why did O'Connor villainize Charlotte, by transforming her into this cold, prissy woman barely capable of any kind of artistic expression? Why have Charlotte be inspired to write her most successful novel, "Jane Eyre", following the "success" of "Wuthering Heights", when her novel had been published two months before Emily's? Why did she reduce Anne into the family's nobody? Was it really necessary for O'Connor to drag Charlotte's character through the mud and ignore Anne, because Emily was her main protagonist? What was the damn point of this movie? Granted, there have been plenty of biopics and historical dramas that occasionally play fast and loose with the facts. But O'Connor had more or less re-wrote Emily Brontë's life into a "re-imagining" in order to . . . what? Suggest a more romantic inspiration for the creation of "Wuthering Heights"?

I have another issue with "EMILY". Namely, the so-called "romance" between Brontë and Weightman. Or the illicit nature of their romance. Why did O'Connor portray this "romance" as forbidden? A secret? I mean . . . why bother? What was it about the pair that made an open romance impossible for them? Both Brontë and Weightman came from the same class - more or less. Weightman had been in the same profession as her father. And both had been college educated. Neither Emily or Weightman had been romantically involved in or engaged to someone else. In other words, both had been free to pursue an open relationship. Both were equally intelligent. If the Weightman character had truly been in love with Emily, why not have him request permission from Reverend Brontë to court her or propose marriage to Emily? Surely as part of the cleric, he would have considered such a thing, instead of fall into a secretive and sexual relationship with her. It just seemed so unnecessary for the pair to engage in a "forbidden" or secret romance. Come to think of it, whether the film had been an Emily Brontë biopic or simply a Victorian melodrama with fictional characters, the forbidden aspect of the two leads' romance struck me as simply unnecessary.

What else can I say about "EMILY"? A rich atmosphere filled the movie. The latter featured atmospheric and beautiful images of West Yorkshire, thanks to cinematographer Nanu Segal. It possessed a first-class production design, excellent costumes that reflected the movie's 1840s setting and superb performances from a cast led by the talented Emma Mackey. I could have fully admired this film if it were not for two aspects. One, I thought it was a shoddy take on a biopic for author Emily Brontë that featured one falsehood too many. And two, I found the secretive and "forbidden" nature of Brontë's false romance with the William Weightman character very unnecessary. Pity.

[jakeobsims]

The models cut at semi-finals...

*I know it’s Kanto before anyone drags me lol

*Nyala’s brother

Any of these models you think should have made the final cast?

[pers-books]

What is in your opinion the best outfit Jemma has ever worn for a role and what is the worst thing she has been dressed in? Feel free to throw more than one of the good ones at us ;)

Well, Anon, I cannot claim to have yet seen everything Jemma’s ever done. But of the things I’ve seen her in, the best has gotta be her outfits for Silent Witness - she just looks like SUCH a snacc.

Then there’s Major Berenice Griselda Wolfe.

In scrubs and giving off so much Gay Energy she could power half the country at once if someone hooked her up to the National Grid:

Or outta scrubs and looking SO FINE in her skinny black jeans and that black top:

And of course there’s Kate Stewart in her ‘I’m a lesbian and I was off duty, why am I here?’ look: 

(Peak Gayness, Anon!)

And here she is looking so damn commanding that I melt into a puddle...

Special mentions must also go to Emily Tuthill (The Grid) in THAT white shirt:

Eleanor Bramwell (Bramwell):

And Eve Granger (Cold Blood):

And Trudi Griffon (Lewis):

As for the outfit(s) I like least, well that’s gotta be the hideous outfits from the Inspector George Gently episode she did:

I am OUTRAGED that they dared to make a sex goddess like Jemma Redgrave look so FRUMPY!!! 

Ack!

Anyway, thank you for the delightful Ask which allowed me to indulge in my love of Jemma’s clothes!

[reelreactions]

Credit to the wonderful soul that made this. 

This is me, now. Most of the time, actually. I’ve not got either of my essays in on time due to several anxiety attacks and crying fits. I’m not good at this life business and attempt two at this masters degree is failing fast. 

[mysharona1987]

Ain’t no person in English literature more tragic than Pa Brontë, though.

So, your wife dies young. Sad, but hey, this is the 1800s. It happens.

Then her annoying sister moves in and takes over..

Then two of your daughters die young  But,again,it is the 1800s. You cope. You still have four other kids.

Then your only son goes mental. He dies. Then another daughter dies. And another one after that. 

But, you still have Charlotte, right? No, she dies early too. You’ve buried six kids.

Oh, and then you go blind.

Seriously: What the fuck did he do to deserve that?

[midlifelez]

Inspired by a conversation about swiping right on Jemma Redgrave characters. 

[bcpl]

On this day 170 years ago, Charlotte Bronte published Jane Eyre. Learn more about Charlotte and her siblings in this throwback, Sybil Robinson Presents The Brontes, from the PBS archives.  Robinson describes the childhood of the Bronte children, the growth of their literary aspirations, the prejudice against women authors, early publishing failures, eventual successes, and the many tragedies endured by the family. 

[semper-legens]

46. Glass Town, by Isabel Greenberg

Owned: No, library Page count: Unknown, not numbered My summary: Four children - Charlotte, Bramwell, Emily, and Anne - escape their reality into an imagined world they get to create. But is the fiction encroaching too much on their lives? Glass Town beckons, but the children are growing up...and you can’t spend all your time inventing, right? My rating: 3.5/5

This is an interesting little comic I picked up on a whim. It’s all about the Brontë family, specifically the four Brontë siblings as children and the fantasy world they created together, called Glass Town. The frame device is that one of those characters has come into the real world and is talking to Charlotte Brontë at a time when she is the last survivor of her siblings, reminiscing about Glass Town with her.

I don’t really know much about the Brontës - not as people, nor their works. I’ve never read any to my memory. But their real-life story seems interesting, and laced with tragedy. They lost their elder siblings at a young age, which is where this story starts, with the girls at home from their boarding school and starting to escape into the fictional world of Glass Town. The kids are never treated as anything but kids, their childish world imaginative but not too outside of what kids might create when playing (helped by the fact that it is based on the Brontës’ real writings about this world), and the kids themselves flawed even before they grow up into adulthood and start to grow apart.

Really, this is a story about the power of stories, and if you know even a little about my own predilections you’ll know that I just eat that stuff up. The story of Glass Town stays with Charlotte, the characters influencing the way that she interacts with the real world and also who she ends up writing. We see her try to resist the character who comes out to the real world, while still admitting that he’s a part of her and a part of her life, and she can’t get away from that no matter how much she wants to distance herself from her previous life. It’s a charming little tale, laced both with whimsy and sadness, and I appreciated it greatly.

Next up, a tale of a young woman, and the tricks your mind can play.

[intrxvertandproud]

BAU Death Toll

I had a couple hours to kill (pun intended) one day, so just for funsies, I tallied up the body count of each BAU team member.

I went through each episode on the Criminal Minds Wiki and looked to see which unsubs were dead and who shot them. With the ones where multiple team members fired, I did have to watch the scenes to see who most likely had the kill shot. The only ones I had to watch closely were the shootouts and firefights. Overall, the whole thing took me about two hours.

Not all of these are completely confirmed, but here goes...

Aaron Hotchner with 23

Derek Morgan with 22

David Rossi with 14

Jennifer Jareau with 11

Spencer Reid with 8

Emily Prentiss with 6

Matt Simmons with 5

Tara Lewis with 3

Elle Greenaway, Alex Blake, and Luke Alvez, all with 2

Kate Callahan, Stephen Walker, with 1 each

And for those of you that like all the information, spoilers for Seasons 1-15 under the cut

You'll notice some names are repeater. Those are the one where multiple team members fired, and the unsub's death was most likely caused by all of those shots.

Aaron Hotchner

Cult Member (1x17)

Marvin Doyle (1x18)

Charles Holcombe (2x22)

Armando Salinas (4x05)

George Foyet (5x09)

Drew Jacobs (6x10)

Robert Bremmer (6x22)

Robert Adams (7x04)

James Heathridge (7x19)

Matthew Downs (7x24)

Willie Kestler (8x11)

Bryan Hughes (8x13)

Colin Bramwell (9x03)

Tivon Askari (9x14)

Corrupt Cop #2 (9x24)

Owen McGregor (9x24)

Steven Parkett (10x01)

Hayman Vasher (10x03)

Serial Killer Inmate #2 (11x23)

Anarchist #2 (11x23)

Anarchist #6 (11x23)

Anarchist #7 (11x23)

Anarchist #8 (11x23)

Derek Morgan

Mark Gregory (1x20)

Paul Mulford (2x21)

Charles Holcombe (2x22)

Benjamin Cyrus (4x03)

Miranda Jakar (5x08)

Dale Schrader (5x11)

Ronald Boyd (5x19)

Billy Flynn (6x01)

Trafficking Ring Leader (6x24)

Trevor Mills (7x15)

David Roy Turner (8x06)

Joshua Moore (8x08)

Willie Kestler (8x11)

Terrorist #1 (9x14)

Justin Mills (9x24)

Corrupt Cop #3 (9x24)

Jacob DuFour (11x09)

Edgar Solomon (11x16)

Solomon’s Man #1 (11x16)

Solomon’s Man #2 (11x16)

Solomon’s Man #3 (11x16)

Solomon’s Man #4 (11x16)

David Rossi

Max Poole (3x06)

Greg Phinney (6x21)

Linda Collins (7x16)

John Curtis (8x24)

Terrorist #2 (9x14)

Donnie Mallick (10x13)

Patrick Sorenson (11x17)

Anarchist #3 (11x23)

Thomas Yates (12x09)

Sara McLean (12x20)

Cult Member #1 (14x01)

Stephanie Carter (14x14)

Rolling Devil #4 (15x05)

Beaumont Unsub (15x08)

Jennifer Jareau

Jason Clarke Battle (3x09)

Willie Kestler (8x11)

Jonathon Ray Covey (8x21)

Michael Hastings (9x14)

Corrupt Cop #1 (9x24)

Corrupt Cop #4 (9x24)

Colin Dupley (10x23)

William Taylor (11x08)

Zac Rubenis (11x11)

Shelby Mattson (15x03)

Everett Lynch (15x10)

Spencer Reid

Phillip Dowd (1x06)

Tobias Hankel (2x15)

Chloe Donaghy (7x01)

Daniel Milworth (9x10)

Terrorist #2 (9x14)

Andrew Meeks (11x15)

John Bradley (11x16)

Casey Allen Pinkner (14x15)

Emily Prentiss

Charles Holcombe (2x22)

Dale Schrader (5x11)

James Thomas (6x04)

Ray Donovan (6x13)

Michael Lee Peterson (11x19)

Benjamin Merva (14x01)

Matt Simmons

Desi Gutierrez (13x07)

Nathan Butler (13x19)

Cult Member #2 (14x01)

Dustin Eisworth (14x11)

Louis Chaycon (15x05)

Tara Lewis

Matt Franks (11x06)

William Taylor (11x08)

Anarchist #2 (11x23)

Elle Greenaway

Timothy Vogel (1x01)

William Lee (2x05)

Alex Blake

Leland Duncan (9x06)

Terrorist #2 (9x14)

Luke Alvez

Justin Franco (13x15)

Cult Member #3 (14x01)

Kate Callahan

Peter Folkmore (10x15)

Stephen Walker

John Malone (12x18)

[actualidadliteratura]

Emily Brontë. Tres poemas de amor para recordar su aniversario

Retrato de Emily Brontë por su hermano Patrick Bramwell Brontë. Manuscrito de los poemas de Gondal. Hoy, 30 de julio, celebramos un nuevo cumpleaños de Emily Bront��, la novelista y poetisa inglesa, perteneciente a una de las estirpes literarias más famosas y brillantes de las letras sajonas. Será...

Sigue leyendo en https://www.actualidadliteratura.com/emily-bronte-tres-poemas-amor-aniversario/

[thedsp-blog1]

Dr. Death’s victim list

Acton, Lily Adams, Lizzie Adkinson, Sarah Adshead, Norman Adshead, Rose Ann Aitken, Irene Andrew, Dorothy Mary Andrew, Joseph Andrew, Mary Emma Arrandale, Albert Arrowsmith, Winifred Ashcroft, Netta Ashton, Dora Elizabeth Ashton, Ellen Ashworth, Ada Ashworth, Brenda Ashworth, Elizabeth Ashworth, James Ashworth, Sarah Aveyard, Clara Ethel Baddeley, Elizabeth Mary Baddeley, John Bagshaw, Bertha Barber, Squire Bardsley, Joseph Bardsley, Lily Bardsley, Nellie Barker, Elsie Barlow, Charles Henry Barnes, James Edward Battersby, Elizabeth Baxter, William Beech, Joseph Bell, Norman John Bennett, Ethel Bennett, Frances Bennett, Nellie Bennison, Charlotte Bent, Arthur Berry, Irene Bill, Edith Annie Birchall, Mary Ivy Bird, Violet May Black, Alice Boardman, Kathleen May Boardman, Mary Louisa Bogle, Geoffrey Bolland, Alice Bowers, Mary Elizabeth Bradshaw, Miriam Brady, Edith Bramwell, Harold Bramwell, Vera Brassington, Charles Geoffrey Brassington, Nancy Anne Bridge, Doris Bridge, Jane Brierley, Albert Brierley, Edith Broadbent, Lily Brock, Edith Brocklehurst, Charles Edward Brocklehurst, Vera Brooder, Irene Brookes, Lily Brookes, May Brown, Alice Brown, Mary Alice Brown, William Henry Buckland, Edward Buckley, Ethel Burke, Elizabeth Mary Butcher, Lydia Edith Cains, Ida Callaghan, Sean Stuart Calverley, Edith Campbell, Annie Carradice, Marion Carrington, Alice Carroll, Josephine May Cartwright, Hannah Chadwick, Wilfred Challinor, Ivy Elizabeth Challoner, Genevieve Chapman, Irene Chappell, Alice Chappell, Wilfred Charlton, John Charnock, George Cheetham, Albert Cheetham, Alfred Cheetham, Elsie Cheetham, Hena Cheetham, Norah Cheetham, Thomas Chidlow, Amy Clarke, Fanny Clayton, Elsie Clayton, Frances Clee, Beatrice Helen Clough, James Condon, Thomas Connaughton, Alice Hilda Connors, Michael Conway, Margaret Ann Coomber, Frederick Cooper, Ann Copeland, Erla Copeland, Sydney Hoskins Couldwell, Constance Anne Coulthard, Ann Coutts, Mary Couzens, Hilda Mary Cox, Eileen Theresa Crompton, Eileen Daphne Crompton, Frank Crompton, John Crossley, Lily Cullen, Lilian Cuthbert, Valerie Davies, Cissie Davies, Eric Davies, Fred Davies, Miriam Dawson, Fanny Dean, Elsie Lorna Dean, Joan Edwina Delaney, Bessie Denham, Christopher Dentith, Frederick Devenport, Ronnie Dixon, Alice Dobb, Edgar Dolan, Ethel Drinkwater, Alice Drummond, Joseph Dudley, Mary Rose Dutton, Elaine Earls, Doris Earnshaw, William Eddleston, Harold Eddleston, Monica Edge, Agnes Evans, Bethel Anne Everall, Hannah Everall, Joseph Vincent Farrell, Phyllis Fernley, Marie Antoinette Firman, Mary Elizabeth Fish, Hilda Fitton, Hilda Fletcher, Dorothy Fletcher, Elizabeth Floyd, Arthur Fogg, Leah Foulkes, Edwin Fowden, Thomas Fox, Moira Ashton France, John Freeman, Harold Freeman, Winifred Frith, Hannah Galpin, Minnie Doris Irene Garlick, Rose Garlick, Violet Garratt, Mary Alice Garside, Millicent Gaskell, Marion Gaunt, Mary Gee, Nellie Gess, Clifford Givens, William Goddard, Edith Godfrey, Elsie Golds, Annie Elizabeth Gorton, Alice Maude Graham, Edith Gray, Rebecca Greenhalgh, John Sheard Grimshaw, Annie Grimshaw, Muriel Grundy, Donald Anthony Grundy, Kathleen Grundy, Nora Hackney, Clara Hackney, Clara Hadfield, Violet Hague, William Hall, Josephine Halliday, Frank Hallsworth, Janet Hamblett, Leonora Hamer, Mary Emma Hammond, Caroline Veronica Hampson, Jesse Hancock, Christine Hannible, Elsie Harding, Joan Milray Harris, Charles Harris, Harriet Harrison, Christina Harrison, David Alan Harrison, Marion Harrison, Muriel Eveline Harrison, Samuel Harrop, Elsie Haslam, Mary Elizabeth Hawkins, Sarah Healey, Winifred Heapey, Clifford Barnes Heapey, Gladys Heathcote, Irene Heginbotham, Olive Hennefer, Ellen Hett, Mary Jane Heywood, Ada Heywood, Florence Hibbert, Hilda Mary Hickson, Robert Higginbottom, George Eric Higginbottom, Peter Higgins, Barry Higgins, Lily Higham, Marion Elizabeth Highley, Ruth Higson, Ellen Hill, Sarah Ann Hillier, Pamela Marguerite Hilton, Ada Matley Hilton, John Hirst, Emma Holgate, Ethel Doris Holland, Alline Devolle Holt, Alice Hopkins, Dorothy Doretta Howcroft, John Hulme, Hilda Hurd, May Iwanina, Jozef Jackman, Harold Edward Jackson, Maureen Lamonnier Jackson, Nancy Jameson, Ronald Jeffries, Beatrice Johnson, Norah Johnson, Richard Johnston, Leah Jones, Alice Mary Jones, David Jones, Hannah Jones, Ivy Jones, Jane Jones, Robert Edward Jordan, Mary Ellen Keating, Mary Kellett, Ethel May Kellett, Fred Kelly, Ellen Kelly, Moira Kennedy, Alice Killan, Charles Henry King, Elsie King, James Joseph Kingsley, Mary Kitchen, Alice Christine Lacey, Renee Leach, Florence Leech, Edith Leech, William Henry Lees, Olive Leigh, Carrie Leigh, Joseph Leigh, Wilfred Lewis, Elsie Lewis, Florence Lewis, Peter Lilley, Jean Lingard, Robert Henry Linn, Laura Frances Livesey, John Louden Llewellyn, Edna May Lomas, Harry Lomas, Ivy Long, Dorothy Longmate, Thomas Alfred Lord, Jane Ellen Lowe, Beatrice Lowe, Esther Lowe, May Lyons, Eva MacConnell, Charles Mackenzie, Selina Mackie, Christina McCulloch Mansfield, Mary Ann Mansfield, Walter Marley, Martha Marsland, Sarah Hannah Matley, Maud McDonald, Kathleen McLaren, William James McLoughlin, Gertrude Melia, Joan May Mellor, Elizabeth Ellen Mellor, Samuel Mellor, Winifred Meredith, Oscar Metcalfe, Margaret Middleton, Deborah Middleton, Mary Mills, Samuel Mitchell, Cyril Mitchell, Wilbert Molesdale, John Bennett Morgan, Emily Moss, Bertha Moss, Hannah Mottram, George Henry Mottram, Hannah Helena Mottram, Pamela Grace Moult, Thomas Mullen, Nellie Mycock, Miriam Rose Emily Needham, Nora Nicholls, Violet Nichols, Fanny Nichols, Lily Nuttall, Hervey Nuttall, Norah O'Sullivan, Thomas Ogden, Mary Oldham, Agnes Oldham, Samuel Oswald, Frances Elaine Otter, Enid Ousey, Margaret Ovcar-Robinson, Konrad Peter Overton, Renate Eldtraude Oxley, Phyllis Parker, Marjorie Parkes, Annie Parkin, Laura Victoria Parr, Bertha Pearce, Elizabeth Pedley, Rosetta Penney, Vara Pickering, Leah Pickup, Kenneth Pickup, Mavis Mary Pitman, Edith Platt, Elsie Platt, Marion Pomfret, Bianka Potts, Frances Potts, Reginald Powers, Annie Alexandra Preston, Ada Marjorie Prestwich, Alice Proud, Ethel May Quinn, Marie Ralphs, Anne Lilian Ralphs, Ernest Colin Rawling, Alice Reade, Audrey Redfern, Tom Renwick, Dorothea Hill Richards, Jose Kathleen Diana Richardson, Alice Riley, Stanley Roberts, Edith Roberts, Esther Hannah Roberts, Gladys Robinson, Eileen Robinson, Eveline Robinson, Lavinia Robinson, Mildred Rogers, Elizabeth Ann Rostron, Jane Frances Rowarth, Dorothy Rowbottom, Annie Rowland, Jane Isabella Royles, Elsie Royston, Betty Rudol, Ernest Russell, Tom Balfour Sankey, Margaret Saunders, Albert Edward Saunders, Gladys Scott, Edith Scott, Elsie Sellors, Kate Maud Sharples, Cicely Shaw, Joseph Shaw, Leonard Shaw, Lilian Shaw, Neville Shaw, Susan Eveline Shawcross, Edna Shawcross, Ernest Shawcross, Mabel Shelmerdine, Jack Leslie Shelmerdine, Jane Elizabeth Shore, Lily Sidebotham, Florence Sigley, Elizabeth Teresa Simpson, Kenneth Harry Slater, Albert Slater, Florence Slater, Lena Norah Slater, May Smith, Alice Smith, Dora Elizabeth Smith, Emma Smith, Kenneth Ernest Smith, Margaret Smith, Mary Alice Smith, Sidney Arthur Smith, Winifred Isabel Sparkes, Monica Rene Squirrell, Alice Stafford, Harry Stafford, Kate Elizabeth Stansfield, Joe Ainscow Stocks, Louisa Stone, John Stopford, Arthur Henderson Stopford, Harriet Strickland, Ruth Sumner, Grace Swann, Bessie Swann, Robert Swindells, Emmeline Taylor, Caroline Mary Taylor, Edna Mary Taylor, Florence Taylor, Lily Newby Taylor, Mary Tempest, Mary Ann Thomas, Alice Thomas, Sarah Ann Thornton, Maria Tideswell, Sarah Tierney, Angela Philomena Tingle, Walter Toft, Beatrice Tomlin, Mary Townsend, Margaret Tucker, Dorothy Tuff, Mary Tuffin, Winifred Amy Turner, Frances Elizabeth Turner, Irene Uttley, Stanley Vickers, Frederick Vickers, Margaret Mary Virgin, Lucy Vizor, George Edgar Vizor, May Wagstaff, George Lawton Wagstaff, Jessie Irene Wagstaff, Laura Kathleen Waldron, Margaret Anne Walker, Edward Walker, Ellen Walker, Henrietta Walker, Winifred Mary Waller, Harry Waller, Marjorie Hope Walls, Mary Walton, Sydney Warburton, Ada Ward, Maureen Alice Ward, Minnie Ward, Muriel Margaret Ward, Percy Wardle, Eric Wareing, William Hill Warren, May Wass, Kathleen May Watkins, Annie West, Maria Wharam, Ellen Frances Wharmby, Lavinia White, Mona Ashton Whitehead, Amy Whitham, Colin Whittaker, Maureen Whittaker, Violet Mary Whittingslow, Vera Whittle, Edith Wibberley, Edith Wilcockson, Joseph Frank Wilkinson, Annie Wilkinson, Maud Williams, Albert Redvers Williams, Emily Williamson, Sarah Jane Wills, Jack Wilmore, Margaret Wilson, Muriel Elsie Wimpeney, Mark Winston, George Winston, Olive Winterbottom, Mary Wood, Annie Wood, Charles Henry Wood, Fanny Wood, James Woodhead, Joyce Woodhead, Kenneth Wharmby

[claudia1829things]

"TO WALK INVISIBLE" (2016) Review

"TO WALK INVISIBLE" (2016) Review Years ago, I had viewed a 1946 movie called "DEVOTION". It was a fictionalized movie about the lives of the Brontë sisters. Needless to say, I had finished the movie feeling less than impressed. I also recently viewed the 1973 BBC miniseries, "THE BRONTES OF HAWORTH". I considered it an improvement over the 1946 film but found myself turned off by the bombastic dialogue. In the end, I discovered "TO WALK INVISIBLE", another biopic about the Brontë sisters. Despite my disappointment in the previous two productions about the sisters, I decided to give it a chance.

Unlike previous cinematic biographies of the Brontë family, the setting for "TO WALK INVISIBLE" during the three-year period between 1845 and 1848. The series began with the family's reunion at their home in Yorkshire, after Branwell Brontë was dismissed from his position as tutor, and Anne Brontë, who had been working as a governess for the same family, resignation. Anne reluctantly informed her two sisters - Emily and Charlotte - that Branwell had been dismissed for his sexual affair with the mistress of the house. The three sisters came to the conclusion that despite years working as governesses or housekeeping for their father, the Reverend Patrick Brontë, they had continued their one passion - writing. However, the sisters eventually realized the possibility of a bleak future for themselves, and they could no longer regard their writing as a mere hobby. Reverend Brontë's was becoming increasingly blind. The sisters also realized they could not depend upon Bramwell to support them, due to his alcoholism, lies and erratic behavior. Due to this realization, the three sisters decided to embark upon professional careers as authors in order to support the family's financial situation . . . and maintain their love for writing. "TO WALK INVISIBLE" has to be the only Brontë family biopic that has failed to bore me. I think it is a well-paced drama that did an excellent job of exploring the family's emotional dynamics. Thanks to Sally Wainwright, it featured some tight writing. What I mean is . . . Wainwright did not drag the story's pacing, making it unnecessarily long. Yet, at the same time, she prevented the narrative at dashing forward at breakneck speed. Wainwright's excellent direction also helped the production. Another aspect of "TO WALK INVISIBLE" that I found interesting was its raw portrayal of the Brontës' lives in Yorkshire. Most period dramas have a tendency to project of veneer of gentility in its production designs. The most "genteel" or "sophisticated" aspect of production designs for "TO WALK INVISIBLE" seemed to be Grant Montgomery's designs for Charlotte and Anne Brontë's journey to London in the movie's second half and Tom Pye's costume designs for the Charlotte Brontë character. However, Montgomery's production designs were not the only aspect of this movie that projected its raw portrayal of the Brontës' lives. I could also say the same about Wainwright's portrayal of financial desperation that faced the family by 1845 and Bramwell Brontë's behavior and the consequences. "THE WALK INVISIBLE" was not the first period drama from the U.K. that convey the more rugged aspect of life before the 20th century. But Wainwright's writing, dialogue (especially for Bramwell) and direction injected a certain rawness and energy that seemed more suited for crime dramas or war movies. And I loved it. I cannot deny that I truly enjoyed the performances for "TO WALK INVISIBLE" - especially from those who portrayed the four Brontë siblings. Finn Adkins projected a great deal of emotional energy as the uber ambitious Charlotte Brontë. Chloe Pirrie struck me as equally energetic as the moody and sharp-tongued Emily Brontë, who also projected a fierce sense of protection toward her family - especially her father. Adam Nagaitis nearly stole the movie as the only brother, Branwell Brontë. I have to admit I found it fascinating to watch Nagaitis convey how Bramwell's self-destructive tendencies - alcohol and drug addiction, insecurity, and a licentious love affair with an employer's wife - led him to destroy the artistic potential within him. I realize that many would disagree with me, but I believe Charlie Murphy had the most difficult role in this production - that of the family's youngest sibling, Anne Brontë. I thought Murphy did an excellent job of portraying both Anne's reserved nature that barely hid a driving ambition. It is the type of role that people tend to ignore . . . just as many literary critics had ignored Anne Brontë for over a century. And finally, there was Jonathan Pryce, who portrayed the siblings' surviving parent, Patrick Brontë. I would not regard the Reverend Brontë as one of Pryce's most interesting roles. But I cannot deny that he gave a very solid performance as the family's patriarch, whose control and protection seemed to be in a decline due to age and oncoming blindness. If there is another biographical production about the Brontë family that I might regard as compelling, please let me know. I realize that "TO WALK INVISIBLE" is not historically accurate - at least not completely. But thanks to the raw and energetic wiring and direction of Sally Wainwright, along with a superb cast, the two-part production did more to ignite my interest in the Brontë family than any other biopic or miniseries I have ever seen.

[northcountryschool]

October 11, 2019

At North Country School, the concepts of community and sustainability are woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. We honor these values in many ways, but they are particularly evident at our annual chicken harvest.

Chicken harvest is a day filled with reverence and respect when we come together to harvest the birds that our students and Camp Treetops campers raised from chicks and cared for while they provided us with thousands of eggs. The meat from those birds will be served in our dining room. Chicken harvest is a “challenge by choice” opportunity, in which students are involved to whatever extent they feel able. The students who choose not to participate in the harvest are invited to an alternate vegetable harvest. Students who do choose to participate in the chicken harvest learn the steps that bring humanely-raised meat to our plates. It is a powerful and difficult day, one that teaches students and teachers important lessons about support, respect, and our connection to the food that sustains us.

To view more photos from this year’s chicken harvest, see this week’s Farm and Garden section at the bottom of this post.

ACADEMICS

In our 6th grade social studies class, students have spent the first few weeks of fall term discussing identity and community. This week’s lessons have centered around how others view their identity. After hearing some poetry by American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, the class designed masks that reflect aspects of their identity that they want others to see. The lesson, created by educational organization Facing History, helps students use a creative visual medium to reflect their feelings on their own projected image, and to determine how they might want that image to stay the same or change as they continue to learn and grow. 

In 9th grade English class students have spent the past week creating papers, comics, or scripted dialogues demonstrating how common fallacies (logical errors in argumentation) and cognitive biases (poor decision-making caused by the brain taking shortcuts) come up in everyday life. This week the class gave presentations to our younger students, explaining why these fallacies and cognitive biases cause problems when arguing a point or making a smart decision. Student Emily gave a presentation on the overconfidence bias using Cookie Monster as an example, while student Julia created original artwork that explained the concept of loaded questions.

ARTS

At North Country School, students are given the opportunity to participate in the visual and performing arts in many ways. Each week in our music program, teacher Joey Izzo leads our youngest students through a singalong, during which they work on vocal exercises and sing a variety of classic and contemporary songs. Our older students are also invited to sing and play instruments, either in private lessons or in collaboration with one another. In band class, students including Jenny, Steven, Josie, Duke, and Olivia have been practicing playing together and hope to perform for their peers later in the term. 

In the 2D art studio the students in Community Art class are continuing their work on their Mother Earth Project parachute. The group, including students Sonya, Summer, and JT, took advantage of the beautiful fall weather to work outside while they added a rainbow of color to their vibrant design. 

OUTDOORS

This past weekend saw two of our residential houses, Bramwell and Algonquin, participating in overnight camping trips. The students and houseparents in Algonquin House spent their overnight trip paddling in the nearby St. Regis Canoe Area, where they camped and had a cookout by the campfire. The students and houseparents in Bramwell House traveled to nearby Crown Point, New York, where they camped at the state park and explored the fort. The group also visited the historic site’s museum, where they learned about the history of the Lake Champlain region and saw a dugout canoe that was carved in the 1600s. 

This past Saturday teacher Noni and farm intern Brianna took a group of students to another nearby historic fort, Fort Ticonderoga, for their annual Heritage, Harvest, and Horse Festival. The group, which included students Tiri, Azalech, and Paula, viewed horse demonstrations and reenactments and explored the fort’s beautiful historic gardens.

FARM AND GARDEN

Fall at North Country School brings with it the need to harvest many of the foods grown on our farm. Chicken harvest is a day of mixed emotions for every member of our community—a day when we come together with kindness, caring, and patience, as we process the many chickens and turkeys that will help feed us through the coming year.

The morning began with barn manager Erica gathering students and teachers together to discuss how the day would look. She outlined what everyone could expect to see and experience in the hours ahead, and made sure that students knew that they would be able to choose their level of participation. She also explained that each station would have several adults there to support and work alongside the students.

Many of our older students, including Jessica, Bladen, Sky, Julia, and Tsinat chose to take birds through the entire process, and adults Selden and Shannon waited at Dexter Pasture to carefully hand over chickens to be carried up the hill. Further along in the process, adults including Sierra and Jess talked students through the scalding process and explained how to remove feathers. At the next station, teachers Colin, Gavi, and Ted led 9th graders through a biology lesson in which the class learned about internal anatomy as they helped clean and prepare the birds. The final station at chicken harvest involves weighing and bagging birds, and our younger children often help at this point in the process, putting numbers on log sheets and sending the meat to our freezers for use throughout the year.

The group of students who chose not to participate in the chicken harvest also worked hard throughout the morning, harvesting leeks and moving the firewood that will be used to heat our residential spaces throughout the winter. 

For some NCS teachers and students, this was their first time at an event like chicken harvest, and the day brought out many thoughts and feelings that were shared in conversations that followed. For others, like teachers Noni and Larry, the event has been a part of their lives for many years. For all members of our community, it is a difficult and moving day that emphasizes how we come together to lend a hand, support one another, and feel connected to one another and to the animals that sustain us.

Check back next week to see what we’re up to on our mountain campus.

For more information about the #This Week At NCS blog, contact Becca Miller at bmiller@northcountryschool.org.

For general school information, call 518-523-9329 or visit our website: www.northcountryschool.org