Wuthering Heights-Inspired Fashion? Yes, Please!

So I was very excited when I stumbled upon this excerpt on the Brontë blog:

“At Paris Fashion Week last month for so many of the Spring/Summer 2012 shows, designers, from Christian Dior to John Galliano, filled the runways with looks seemingly inspired by ‘Wuthering Heights’ and the classic Gothic novel. Though Heathcliff was nowhere to be found, there was certainly a statement made with sweeping black gowns in lace and chiffon. Paired with a loose updo, chandelier earrings, and a bold red lip surely added finishing touches to this look.” (Alexandra Morales)

Despite saying “Heathcliff was nowhere to be found,” I think this photo captures the arrogance and rugged allure of Heathcliff, if he ever consented to wear a skirt…

As I browsed through the photos from the spring preview, many of the fashions seemed to be a hybrid of romantic, flowy silhouettes with sleeker, geometric designs, sort of Wuthering Heights meets The Matrix. This got me thinking about popular culture, particularly about how new trends are often formed at the intersection of old ones.

Even though I am rarely on the cutting edge of anything, trends fascinate me. They give credence to the Jung’s theory of the “collective subconscious,” the idea that we are all subtly influenced by broad archetypes that give shape and substance to our lives. We can’t help but be swayed by the myriad influences around us, and we are constantly absorbing them, adapting them, and reconstituting them into different forms in our never-ending pursuit of the new. 

Take the recent popularity of retellings, whether they be fairy tales, myths, or literary classics. Does anyone find it odd that two different TV networks are touting brand new shows that feature darkly spun fairy tales? (Once Upon a Time on ABC and Grimm on NBC.) Or how about the dozen or so young adult books released this year in which ancient myths collide with contemporary settings? (Starcrossed, Abandon, The Goddess Test)

 

Now, it seems we can add the Gothic novel to the mix. My YA retelling of Jane Eyre releases in April 2012, about a year after April Lindner’s Jane and the Cary Fukanaga movie version made their mark, and a few months before Tina Connolly’s Ironskin (a steampunk Jane Eyre with fairies) takes the world by storm. 2012 will also see the publication of April Lindner’s Catherine, a retelling of Wuthering Heights, as well as Andrea Arnold’s interpretation of Wuthering Heights for the big screen, rumored to be even darker and grittier than the book.  Apparently, it's hip to be Brontë. I leave you with this kick-ass video to feed the Brontë-mania. Enjoy!

 

A BREATH OF EYRE COVER REVEAL CONTEST!

I am so happy to be able to share the cover for A BREATH OF EYRE!!!

Isn't it lovely? The model's eyes are so arresting; it's hard to look away. Despite the intensity of her gaze, the model is only 16 years old, exactly the age of my protagonist, Emma. I think she’s perfect! And the dress, the pose, the color? I couldn’t be happier. A huge thank you to the art department at Kensington for making my cover dreams come true!

A BREATH OF EYRE is now available for pre-order on Amazon, and you can add it to your GoodReads list, too!

And if you haven’t seen the book trailer yet, please stop by my website to check it out: http://www.evemariemont.com/books.html

To celebrate the cover (and being only seven months from publication), I’m giving one lucky commenter a JANE EYRE-themed book package including:

 

You guessed it, Charlotte Brontë’s JANE EYRE

April Lindner’s JANE

Jasper Fforde’s THE EYRE AFFAIR

and a gorgeous JANE EYRE pendant

All you have to do to enter is comment below with your thoughts on the cover, JANE EYRE, or anything JANE EYRE related, but you’ll get:

+1 entry if you retweet this post (A BREATH OF EYRE cover reveal contest: http://tinyurl.com/3l9efjc)

+1 entry if you post this link on Facebook

+2 entries if you post the cover on your own blog (please leave a link here)

Contest is open until next Thursday, August 25, at midnight EST.

The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLOTTE BRONTË!

When I first read Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre in my junior year of high school, I thought it was the most passionate book I’d ever read. And when I considered that it had been written 140 years ago when women were discouraged from expressing even their tamest emotions, let alone their most ardent passions, it made Brontë’s achievement all the more stunning. From a 21^st century perspective, there are definitely some thorny little problems such as the mad wife in the attic and perhaps even the poignant yet slightly anti-feminist ending; however, the romance between the shy yet resolute Jane and her gruff, wounded Rochester is so intimate and real that it has stood the test of time. No matter how often I read the novel, the slow burn of feelings between Jane and Rochester never fails to move me. Each time, I sit with Jane in the firelight, studying Rochester’s rugged face until I grow to love it. And each time, I listen--rapt with longing--as Jane and Rochester’s relationship grows from a tentative friendship simmering with tension to a deep and abiding love.

 

It is this restrained but fiery romance that probably accounts for Jane Eyre’s timeless appeal and its recent revival in modern literature and pop culture. In 2010, April Lindner’s Jane retold the classic love story with Jane as a modern-day nanny for her rock star Rochester. Sherri Browning Erwin’s campy Jane Slayre transformed Jane into a feisty orphan pitted against zombies, vampires, and one pissed off werewolf. This spring also saw the release of Cary Fukunaga’s moody and lush adaptation of Jane Eyre for the big screen (although the 2006 BBC version still holds my heart). And this time next year, I'll throw my hat into the ring with my first young adult novel, A Breath of Eyre.

In honor of Charlotte Brontë’s birthday and the genius that is Jane Eyre, here is one of my favorite passages from the novel:

“My master's colorless, olive face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features, firm, grim mouth,--all energy, decision, will,--were not beautiful, according to rule; but they were more than beautiful to me: they were full of an interest, an influence that quite mastered me,--that took my feelings from my own power and fettered them in his. I had not intended to love him: the reader knows I had wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, green and strong! He made me love him without looking at me."

Sigh, and swoon… 

GOTHIC OCTOBER VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB!!

Okay, so school started a few weeks ago, and consequently, I skipped right over September’s Young Adult book club selection. For those who participated in August, I hope you enjoyed On Folly Beach as much as I did. Several people emailed me to say they were reading the book, but didn’t have a chance to finish in time to participate in the online forum. As long as people are finding good books to read, I’m happy.

While we didn’t have a huge turnout for On Folly Beach, I decided I’m going to keep at the virtual book club, if only to encourage myself to keep reading for pleasure during the school year. Anyone who’d like to read along with me is welcome, and I’ll post some discussion questions at the end of the month in case people want to chime in.

For October’s Gothic novel month, I’ve chosen a few contemporary Gothic novels that have been getting good buzz. Our good friend Wikipedia defines Gothic fiction as “a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance… the effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures.” Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Instead of selecting classic Gothic novels like Jane Eyre, Dracula, or Frankenstein, I assembled a collection of modern interpretations of the Gothic formula, some based on the classics themselves.

Jane is a modern retelling of Charlotte Brönte’s Jane Eyre. As jealous as I am (my agent is currently trying to sell my second manuscript, a Young Adult book inspired by Jane Eyre), I’ve been dying to read this adaptation, which updates the star-crossed lovers Jane and Rochester as a penniless nanny and a troubled rock star. It doesn’t come out until October 11th, but it might be worth the wait.

 Jane

The second book, The Forgotten Garden, sounds like a cross between Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden, complete with an orphan, a wind-whipped Cornwall setting, lots of family secrets, and a mysterious garden shrouded by a thicket. Gothic bliss!

The Forgotten Garden

The final option, Out of the Shadows, follows a modern woman, Clara, who finds she is related to Frankenstein author, Mary Shelley. Told alternately through Clara’s narration and Mary Shelley’s letters, the book seems like it might be built around psychological tension rather than genuine suspense, but it sounds intriguing nonetheless.

Out of the Shadows

If any of these sound like winners, leave me a comment with your vote. I’ll be making my decision by the end of September. Hope you’ll join us for a spooky, Gothic October!!