Model Lily Cole hits back at Bronte Society member who quit as she was named patron

Lily Cole: The actress and model responded to criticism over her being named Bronte Society patron for 2018
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Actress and model Lily Cole has hit back after a literary expert resigned from the Bronte Society over a “rank farce” decision to appoint her its patron for 2018.

Cole was named ‘creative partner’ for the celebrations by the Bronte Parsonage Museum in West Yorkshire, prompting Bronte expert Nick Holland has quit the society.

He said the Wuthering Heights author would not have approved of a supermodel getting the role. But Cole said the writer would not have judged any work "on name alone".

Cole is making a short film for the museum about Wuthering Heights anti-hero Heathcliff, which will also address gender politics and women's rights in the year that marked 100 years since women got the vote.

The Bronte sisters Emily, Charlotte and Anne, initially published their work under pseudonyms so they would be taken seriously by the 19th Century literary establishment.

Linking this to her response to criticism on Thursday, Cole said: “Now I find myself wondering, fleetingly, if I should present the short film I am working on for the Bronte Parsonage Museum under a pseudonym myself, so that it will be judged on its own merits, rather than on my name, my gender, my image or my teenage decisions.”

Mr Holland, 47, from Barnsley, who had been a member of the society for a number of years, said: "I think it's a disgrace.

"I understand the society wants to target a younger audience but this is going about it the wrong way and risks diluting the work and legacy of Emily Bronte."

In his blog post last month, he added: "The central question should be, what would Emily Bronte think if she found that the role of chief 'artist' and organiser in her celebratory year was a supermodel?

"We all know the answer to that, and anyone who doesn't isn't fit to make the decision or have any role in the governance of the Bronte Society."

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