Look beyond Austen and the Brontës

JANET Berry’s letter (Yorkshire Post, September 20) regarding escapism has inspired me to put hands to keyboard yet again.

I have not seen the most recent film version of Jane Eyre, therefore I cannot make a personal comment regarding the quality of the adaptation, but I empathise with her adoration of a story which contains no violence, sex and bad language. When I read about yet another adaptation of Jane Eyre being screened, I must admit that I could not refrain from stifling a yawn.

During my adulthood there seem to have been numerous adaptations of Jane Eyre, as well as adaptations of the most popular novels by Jane Austen – namely, Pride and Prejudice and Emma. I have read the Brontë sisters’ and Jane Austen’s novels, including the lesser known ones, and their command of language was excellent.

However, there are lesser known regional writers whose works have never been televised or made into films.

A notable example of such a Yorkshire writer is Brenda Jagger. Ms Jagger came from the Bradford area and her literary trilogy about the Barforth family and the mills of the fictional industrial town of Cullingford would have been more than worthy of being serialised. Her novels included a romantic element which appeals to many readers, but she also wrote about the effects of the Industrial Revolution and her novels may be of some interest to those who appreciate social historical comment.

I also wish to make the same comment regarding historical dramas. During the past decades, the Tudors have been focused upon to such a great extent that even those with minimal historical knowledge know that Henry VIII had six wives and that Elizabeth I ruled England during a period of comparative peace and prosperity.

The films and adaptations have very often glamorised these historical times, although I imagine that real life during the 16th century was far from easy or romantic. More emphasis needs to be placed upon other significant periods of time such as the build-up to the English Civil War, its duration and its aftermath.

History teaches people about human nature and behaviour and how greed and ambition, for example, impact upon the lives of others. There is a wealth of material at the disposal of scriptwriters which has not, as yet, been explored either in sufficient detail or at all.

Escapist fictional works are fine for those who seek to be transported from their contemporary everyday life, but lesser-known authors should be given the opportunity for their work to become better-known and to shine.

Variety is the spice of life and focus upon the same historical periods as well as the same authors and texts leads to a general feeling of boredom.

My advice to those who possess the resources to produce first-class entertainment is not to be bland and repetitive, but to be bold and adventurous!

Unhappy ending

From: John Redhead, Owst Road, Keyingham, East Yorkshire.

ONCE upon a time in America there was a failed politician who craved a place back in the limelight, so he hired a mad scientist to come up with a big idea.

The mad scientist toiled night and day and at last came his eureka moment. It was a computer program which, no matter what data were used, would always produce a graph which looked like a hockey stick.

The politician was delighted. Although he had no idea what the graph meant, he sensed a large cash return in the offing. Sadly however he was holding the picture of the graph upside-down.

As a result, as the Earth plummeted inexorably towards a new ice age, on a small island far away the government began spending billions of pounds of money it didn’t have on covering every single acre of this once green and pleasant land with gigantic concrete fans.

It is thought that these strange objects were intended to keep the population cool in the event of the dreaded global warming, as no other practical use has ever been discovered.

Meanwhile, deep in their caves, the gnomes who owned the giant fans rubbed their hands with glee as they watched their mountain of taxpayers’ money grow ever higher. Except for the gnomes, no-one lived happily ever after.

Taxing times for wealthy

From: Brian Waddington, Dukes Wharf, Terry Avenue, York.

MUCH has been heard during recent weeks regarding the effects of the 50 per cent tax rate on higher earnings and the debate will no doubt continue throughout the party conference season.

However, this charge is comparatively modest compared with 60 years ago.

When I first started training as a chartered accountant working in the personal tax section, the basic rate of tax was 35 per cent (in 1951/52).

This compares with 20 per cent at present.

In addition, there was a graduated higher rate tax known as Surtax on income over a certain level.

I cannot remember the various income brackets but I am almost sure that the maximum rate was 60 per cent.

This tax was charged over and above the basic rate so that a very wealthy person could be paying a top rate of 95 per cent!

That would certainly make some of our present sports and entertainment stars wince! Fortunately over the next few years both basic rate and Surtax levels were reduced.