Shelf Candy Saturday #69: Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontes, by Jude Morgan

Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!!

This weekly feature

showcases beautiful book covers,

and provides information,

if available, on their very talented creators!

For more information

about Shelf Candy Saturday,

just click HERE.

This is my choice for this week!

Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontes

Jude Morgan

Trade Paperback, 373 pages

St. Martin's Griffin

April 27, 2010

Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction,

Literary Fiction

Why do I love this cover?

I was immediately captivated by the English moors when I read Jane Eyre for the first time, back in high school.  Their allure was mysterious, romantic, and definitely supernatural.   Of course, all these qualities were, and are, part of their beauty, which is so wonderfully depicted on this gorgeous cover!

Those rolling, peat-covered hills are the perfect backdrop for the passionate romance of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester, as well as for the obsessive, hideous vengeance of Heathcliff, in his thwarted love for Catherine Earnshaw.

The sky is brooding and stormy, yet part of it seems to be opening up over the distant hills, as if there were some hope, after all, in the midst of all the emotional turbulence.  The play of light over the scene is incredibly well done.  It reinforces the feeling that a storm is about to break, and yet, perhaps not, as the sun and the storm clouds fight for supremacy over the sky. 

One of the sisters is running freely in the foreground, while the other stands dejectedly in the background.  At first, I thought that the one running was moving in the direction of the one standing further back.  On closer inspection, however, I realized that they actually seem to be unaware of each other, apparently lost in their own inner worlds.  I wonder which one is Charlotte, and which one is Emily... 

This image looks like a painting done in the style of the Romantic period, which is certainly perfect for this novel.   It's very realistic, and yet, dream-like at the same time.  I wonder if the ruins belong to Thornfield Hall, where Jane met her very mysterious employer, Rochester, or whether they are those of Wuthering Heights...  It really doesn't matter.  The artist, whose talent is considerable, has succeeded in setting a mood of unrest, foreboding, and intense longing, thereby thrusting the viewer into the scene.  I feel as if I, too, were there, ready to pick up my skirts to run after the running woman.  I, too, feel restless, and wildly look around this eerie landscape, not knowing who or what I'm looking for...

I'm not sure, but I believe the font used for the title is based on the actual signature of one of the sisters.  It goes perfectly with the rest of the cover!

When this book arrives on my doorstep (I have just ordered it from Amazon), I will know who created this beautiful cover.  For now, I'm unable to post any information about the brilliant artist who did so.

COVER ARTIST UPDATE

6/1/13

I received this book yesterday, so

here's the information on the cover artist.

His name is

Tom Hallman!

This is a composite illustration, with

the following source images:

foreground model (c) Gary Latham/Trevillion

foreground grass (c) Philip Askew/Trevillion

background model (c) Susan Fox/Arcangel Images

sky (c) Tony Hepburn/Arcangel Images

(I couldn't find this name on the site,

although it's listed as a source on

the book's back cover.)

What do you think of my choice?

Leave a comment and let me know!