Friday, April 15

Posted by Laurel Garver on Friday, April 15, 2011 8 comments
Finally, a manufacturer really gets it! REAL heroes for our daughters to emulate!

For today's Friday Fun, I give you the Bronte sisters as you've never seen them before, performing daring deeds that broke through the chauvinist hegemony in the publishing world.



Having trouble viewing this? Click HERE.

Thanks to my awesome teen beta-reader, Connor Grace, for telling me about this video.

It's hard to imagine the world without Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The Bronte sisters took the risky move of publishing under male pseudonyms: Ellis (Emily), Currer (Charlotte) and Acton (Anne) Bell. They eventually had to reveal their female identities because of a copyright dispute (US publishers thought the "Bell brothers" were one person). By then, their books were big hits and publishers began to rethink their anti-authoress stance. If you're a girl and you write, you have the Brontes to thank that you have a chance of actually getting your work published.

What's your favorite book by a Bronte? What other literary history heroes need to be remembered with an awesome action figure?

8 comments:

  1. I've seen this before. And it's no less funny than the last time I saw it. :)

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  2. Oh, I can't see the video. Oh well. I love Jane Eyre. Lurve Mr. Rothschild naturally. But Jane was a spunky little wench that's for sure.

    I'm glad these women (the Bronte's) had the chutzpah to do what they did in those times, to forge the way for us. (And Jane Austin.)

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  3. That is hysterical! Brontesaurus, LOVE IT! My favorite book is Jane Eyre.

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  4. It is so amazing the courages people that have gone before us to make our lives better. Now it is our turn to stand up and make life better for those who follow us.

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  5. Hi Laurel -

    I've seen this video several times, and always enjoyed it.

    Off topic: I linked to one of your posts today. :)

    Blessings,
    Susan

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  6. That was terrific! I've read only Wuthering Heights back in HS, and liked it, but I'd like to reread it now, and then the other ones. Best get myself to the library. I'd also include Louisa May Alcott in the superheroines of literature.

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  7. Stina: I've watched it a few times in a row and it always makes me giggle. Such a great mash-up.

    Anne: I've added a link to the page on YouTube. Hope you get a chance to see--it's a hoot.

    Bish: Isn't it? *snarf* My fave is Anne's Tennant of Wildfell Hall. I know few who've read it, though.

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  8. Josh: Indeed their courage is inspiring. It's a little hard for me to picture what our generation's stand up moment will look like though.

    Susan: Thanks for the linky love. Glad this made you smile.

    Mary: I highly recommend Anne Bronte's Tennant of Wildfell Hall. It's one of my favorite reads from this era.

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