Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will

Jennifer Minnen, scholar of Victorian literature and PhD Candidate at Princeton University, leads a reading group on Charlotte Brontë’s final novel, Villette, in the historic family rooms of the nineteenth-century Morgan house. The novel follows protagonist Lucy Snowe as she travels from her native England to the fictional French-speaking city of Villette to teach at a girls’ school.

Create your own mini-manuscript book with artist Andrew Eason, Head of Adult and Young Adult Services at Plainfield Public Library District. In the style of Charlotte Brontë and her siblings, utilize materials to create a miniature book to illustrate or write a story to share with your family. A visit to the exhibition Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will is included in the workshop.

Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator, Literary and Historical Manuscripts Behind the Scenes, Object Exploration in the Education Center

Drop in anytime throughout the evening

Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator, Literary and Historical Manuscripts

Director: Robert Stevenson
(1943, 97 minutes)

This classic American film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name stars Orson Welles as Mr. Rochester and Joan Fontaine as Jane Eyre. After a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house to care for his young ward. Original music by Bernard Hermann and cinematography by George Barnes.

The exhibition Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will will be open for program attendees before the screening.

Jennifer Minnen, scholar of Victorian literature and PhD Candidate at Princeton University, leads a reading group on Charlotte Brontë’s final novel, Villette, in the historic family rooms of the nineteenth-century Morgan house. The novel follows protagonist Lucy Snowe as she travels from her native England to the fictional French-speaking city of Villette to teach at a girls’ school.

Deborah Lutz and Christine Nelson

From portable writing desks to personal garments to tiny manuscripts written in minuscule handwriting, the Brontës left behind countless material traces of their lives and work. What stories do these objects tell, and what do they withhold? Join us for a presentation and conversation with Deborah Lutz, scholar and author of the The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects and Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at the Morgan.