"Bertha Upstairs"Via
Bookslut comes the news that Great Britain has released a
series of stamps honoring
Jane Eyre. Apparently they are reproduced from illustrations from a recent edition of the book. I honor the thought (
Jane Eyre has always been one of my favorite books), but these are some freaky pictures: forgive me, but on the second stamp from the top Jane looks as if she's straining to pass a bowel movement.
I read
Jane Eyre for the first time in eighth grade and loved it. I still have fond memories of the quizzes we were given, because the day after the test the teacher would present us with a list of our writing mistakes to critique. This was an opportunity for great hilarity as we dissected run-ons, dangling participles, and the like. No, this was not an exercise in humiliation: names were not included. My favorite one, which I still remember after nearly thirty years, was in answer to the question, "Why do people still read
Jane Eyre?":
"People love mysteries. Bertha upstairs."
posted by Dr. Alice at #
