I’ve always loved the Brontës’ work (and enjoyed some of the spin-offs too, especially Kate Bush’s!), so it has been a real pleasure to work on this original drama with the BBC. The first module I designed and taught myself was exclusively on the Brontës’ writing, and I remember students’ happy discovery of texts they’d never encountered before, like Villette, Shirley, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which was a favourite with some of the cast and crew as you’ll see), alongside the genuine thrill of working on Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
What impresses me about these three women is their tenacity, and the sense that they could do nothing but honour their intense imaginative and creative skill. It took Charlotte to see they could, just possibly, make money from writing, and as readers we have to be grateful for that, but they were each touched with the bright fire of genius (though that’s a questionable word, I know), and that’s why the early image in Sally Wainwright’s drama of the four children with the tops of their heads aflame caught my attention, and held it. They would always have written, I believe, but thank goodness they eventually published – despite being women, despite not having money, despite living elsewhere than the south of the country – too!
- Take part in our Quiz: Which Brontë sister wrote it
- Explore the OU/BBC drama on the Brontë sisters, To Walk Invisible.
- Read Sara's article: Written in blood: Family, sex and violence in Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
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I feel the actors involved made the sisters come alive also Branwell and Rev Bronte. It felt very real and I commend all involved.
The Devonshire Arms sequence interested me as I gathered from Twitter that it was filmed at Shibden Hall. I had only visited a couple of months ago, what an amazing place. I wish the staff there had said something about the filming, I would have looked around at that outdoor space in more detail although it was raining at the time.
The set was amazing and the Parsonage looked so real. Very bleak and dark as it must have been before the rest of Haworth behind developed. I was also very surprised to read that the interiors were also a set based in Manchester. Again having visited many times I thought you had filmed in the Parsonage itself.
Bravo
I watched the interviews with the lead characters and was disappointed by their lack of articulacy in describing their experiences of playing these complex and fascinating people.