Marianne Thormählen

En av de stora engelska klassikerna i ny svensk översättningDen stora litterära sensationen i London vintern 1847-1848 var tre romaner skrivna under pseudonymerna Currer, Ellis och Acton Bell. De nya succéförfattarna visade sig vara systrarna Brontë: Charlotte, Emily och Anne. Jane Eyre och Svindlande höjder räknas sedan länge till de stora litterära klassikerna, medan Anne Brontë och hennes Agnes Grey fick vänta betydligt längre på sitt fulla erkännande. Agnes Grey är historien om en fattig prästdotter som ger sig ut i världen för att bidra till familjens uppehälle och ta ett steg mot oberoende. Hon arbetar som guvernant i två familjer, där hon får uppleva yrkets avigsidor: hopplösa barn, omöjliga föräldrar, oändliga arbetstider, och kanske värst av allt: att inte vara vare sig herrskap eller tjänstefolk och därför leva isolerad mitt bland andra. Agnes finner sig dock till rätta och möter till sist kärleken. Anne Brontë arbetade som guvernant i närmare sex år och mycket i romanen är självupplevt. Agnes Grey presenteras här i ny svensk översättning av Anna-Karin Malmström Ehrling och Per Ove Ehrling, med ett nyskrivet förord av Marianne Thormählen, professor emerita vid Lunds universitet.ANNE BRONTË [1820-1849] stod länge i skuggan av sina berömda storasystrar Charlotte och Emily, men anses numera vara deras jämlike. Anne Brontës Agnes Grey kom ut 1847 och följdes året därpå av Främlingen på Wildfell Hall. Anne Brontë dog våren 1849 i tuberkulos.

All the seven Brontë novels are concerned with education in both senses, that of upbringing as well as that of learning. The Brontë sisters all worked as teachers before they became published novelists. In spite of the prevalence of education in the sisters' lives and fiction, however, this was the first full-length book on the subject when it was published in 2007. Marianne Thormählen explores how their representations of fictional teachers and schools engage with the intense debates on education in the nineteenth century, drawing on a wealth of documentary evidence about educational theory and practice in the lifetime of the Brontës. This study offers much information both about the Brontës and their books and about the most urgent issue in early nineteenth-century British social politics: the education of the people, of all classes and both sexes.

All the seven Brontë novels are concerned with education in both senses, that of upbringing as well as that of learning. The Brontë sisters all worked as teachers before they became published novelists. In spite of the prevalence of education in the sisters' lives and fiction, however, this was the first full-length book on the subject when it was published in 2007. Marianne Thormählen explores how their representations of fictional teachers and schools engage with the intense debates on education in the nineteenth century, drawing on a wealth of documentary evidence about educational theory and practice in the lifetime of the Brontës. This study offers much information both about the Brontës and their books and about the most urgent issue in early nineteenth-century British social politics: the education of the people, of all classes and both sexes.

The reputation of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, as a rake has imparted an air of dilettantism to his poetry. By contrast, Rochester: The Poems in Context emphasizes his sharp, restless intellect, a more powerful driving force in his poems than the sensual appetites stressed by previous critics. Marianne Thormählen uncovers his familiarity with, and sly allusions to, events and leading characters in Restoration politics; his awareness of trends in science, theology and philosophy; his acute representations of contemporary mores; and his commitment to high standards in literary craftsmanship. A more complex picture of Rochester emerges: that of a serious artist tackling major issues during a particularly turbulent period in English history. Alongside its literary analyses, the book offers insights into late seventeenth-century culture: religious discord, the position of women scholars and poets, military matters, statecraft and foreign affairs under Charles II, and developments in philosophy and science.

This is the first full-length study of religion in the fiction of the Brontës. Drawing on extensive knowledge of the Anglican church in the nineteenth century, Marianne Thormählen shows how the Brontës’ familiarity with the contemporary debates on doctrinal, ethical and ecclesiastical issues informs their novels. Divided into four parts, the book examines denominations, doctrines, ethics and clerics in the work of the Brontës. The analyses of the novels clarify the constant interplay of human and Divine love in the development of the novels. While demonstrating that the Brontës’ fiction usually reflects the basic tenets of Evangelical Anglicanism, the book emphasises the characteristic spiritual freedom and audacity of the Brontës. Lucid and vigorously written, it will open up new perspectives for Brontë specialists and enthusiasts alike on a fundamental aspect of the novels greatly neglected in recent decades.

This is the first full-length study of religion in the fiction of the Brontës. Drawing on extensive knowledge of the Anglican church in the nineteenth century, Marianne Thormählen shows how the Brontës' familiarity with the contemporary debates on doctrinal, ethical and ecclesiastical issues informs their novels. Divided into four parts, the book examines denominations, doctrines, ethics and clerics in the work of the Brontës. The analyses of the novels clarify the constant interplay of human and Divine love in the development of the novels. While demonstrating that the Brontës' fiction usually reflects the basic tenets of Evangelical Anglicanism, the book emphasises the characteristic spiritual freedom and audacity of the Brontës. Lucid and vigorously written, it will open up new perspectives for Brontë specialists and enthusiasts alike on a fundamental aspect of the novels greatly neglected in recent decades.

The reputation of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, as a rake has imparted an air of dilettantism to his poetry. By contrast, Rochester: The Poems in Context emphasises his sharp, restless intellect, a more powerful driving force in his poems than the sensual appetites stressed by previous critics. Marianne Thormählen uncovers his familiarity with, and sly allusions to, events and leading characters in Restoration politics; his awareness of trends in science, theology and philosophy; his acute representations of contemporary mores; and his commitment to high standards in literary craftsmanship. A more complex picture of Rochester emerges: that of a serious artist tackling major issues during a particularly turbulent period in English history. Alongside its literary analyses, the book offers insights into late seventeenth-century culture: religious discord, the position of women scholars and poets, military matters, statecraft and foreign affairs under Charles II, and developments in philosophy and science.