On Saturday, 21st November 2015 we spent a lovely Brontё-afternoon at the cosy bookstore Tra Le Righe in Rome. In those days the new Italian edition of Shirley was released by Fazi Editore, so we chose to organize the event paying particular attention to Charlotte and her second novel.
As always, Valentina made us feel like home in her bookstore, and moreover the atmosphere all around us was perfect- the weather was really bad outside, it was raining and at 5 pm it was already dark. On the contrary, inside everything was warm and cosy- there were coloured wooden chairs, lots of books, lamps, hot teapots, and the unique smell of hot chocolate in the air. But most of all, inside there were a lot of people!
We were literally sourrounded by enthusiastic and curious readers (and also, we were really glad to meet Michela Alessandroni, representative of a publishing house called flower-ed). So, this lovely frame was the cradle of our intense Brontё-meeting.
As usual, we used a projector to introduce the Brontё family and Charlotte’s life. Though we were already reading Shirley by that time, we chose not to organize the event on the novel itself: the readers who read it already knew what it is about, those who still have to read it don’t want to know, because they prefer to find it out themselves. Moreover, as always, anyone can find both plot and main themes on the net.
But which are the things we don’t know, instead? If we carefully read between the lines of this novel, what can we deduce of Charlotte’s life? What can we know, from these pages, about the years in which the novel was written? This kind of journey is always fascinating- from the pages of the novel to the life between the Parsonage walls, from the characters of Shirley to the members of the Brontё family. This way we can get closer to the writer, following new paths that always show us new landscapes, exactly like when, out on the moors, the mist lifts, and light and colors change the view in front of us.
The landscape, the places, the physical space, are always important elements in the setting of a story. That’s the reason why to help us knowing and “seeing” the places of Shirley, the Italian Representative of the Brontё Society, Professor Maddalena De Leo, once again sent us a very interesting article, along with some well detailed images, which were very appreciated by the audience.
In the second part of the meeting we read some passages directly from the pages of Shirley, and this lead to a very nice moment of debate, which was truly involving indeed! As a matter of fact, the very audience suggested to meet again in a couple of months, to discuss about the novel once everyone had read it.
So we warmly invite you all to follow us on our facabook page to check the schedule of our events, and we will wait for you and your own copy of the book, to enjoy another interesting exchange of words, thoughts and, most of all, emotions.
Serena
