It’s not often that I find myself so haunted by a novel long after I’ve closed its final page, but reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë left me with a lingering intensity that is difficult to shake off. From the very first chapter, the book plunges into a moody, brooding atmosphere that seems to wrap itself around the reader like the Yorkshire moors it so vividly describes. [...]Visually and atmospherically, Wuthering Heights is exceptional. The moors are more than just a backdrop—they are a living, breathing presence in the narrative, symbolizing freedom, desolation, and the untamed forces that drive the characters’ actions. Brontë’s descriptions of the landscape mirror the internal turmoil of her characters, creating a powerful resonance between setting and story.If there is any criticism to be made, it might be that some readers find the characters too harsh or the plot too bleak. The novel does not offer the comfort of redemption in the way many Victorian novels do. Its intensity can be overwhelming, and the emotional toll it takes on the reader is real. However, this is also a testament to Brontë’s skill—she does not write to appease, but to provoke and to challenge.What I found most compelling about Wuthering Heights is its unrelenting honesty. It doesn’t shy away from portraying the ugliness of obsession, the pain of rejection, or the corrosive effects of revenge. Yet amid this darkness, there is a kind of tragic beauty. The novel captures the raw essence of passion, the ache of longing, and the quiet devastation of loss in a way that few books manage.So, Wuthering Heights is a masterpiece that defies easy classification. It is neither a conventional romance nor a straightforward Gothic tale—it is something far more complex and visceral. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to readers who are not afraid to delve into the murky depths of human emotion and who appreciate literature that confronts rather than comforts. My final verdict: a bold, unforgettable, and hauntingly lyrical novel that stands alone in its intensity and artistic power. (Caleb Foster)
Wuthering Heights is not a book you simply read and forget. It’s a novel that gets under your skin, challenging your ideas about love, loyalty, and forgiveness. Emily Brontë’s masterpiece is as wild and unpredictable as the moors themselves, and its echoes linger long after the last page is turned. If you’ve never read it, I encourage you to take the journey. But be warned: you may find yourself haunted, too. (Snigdho Saha)
It’s not a hot take to say that modern art is trash. While the greats of the past created works that embodied excellence and nurtured our noblest sentiments, the moderns make insolent ugliness that few but deranged college professors love. Yep, I am not saying anything new when I say that modern art is a departure from our Western ideals.So when are we going to come to the same conclusion about modern literature?As a high school English teacher, there are many “classics” on my school’s reading list that I don’t think should make the cut, such as “The Lottery,” Lord of the Flies, Ethan Frome, and Of Mice and Men. Some of my colleagues insist that although these works are bleak, they contain essential truths that are somehow going to make the young, impressionable minds reading them better thinkers and better people.As conservatives, we consider ourselves to be the guardians of classics, protecting them from woke mobs. But works like Of Mice and Men were dubbed “classics” as our Western values were already coming to a close. I’m wary of books selected by leftist professors from the ’60s enjoying the same immunity status as veritable classics like Hamlet and Jane Eyre. The difference is that older classics are firmly rooted in our Western values, while many modern works are expressly fatalistic. [...]It’s time to remove the authority of hippie professors from the ’60s to define what a classic is. Just because some literary experts insist a book has value doesn’t mean we have to subject our 14-year-olds to it. It’s no secret that our education system is failing to raise thoughtful, moral individuals. As we go forward, we need to create a literary canon that effectively inspires young people to become principled adults. (Meg Marie Johnson)
Vanessa Cezarin Bertacini, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) and Erica Martinelli Munhoz, Universidade de São PauloIlha Do Desterro, v. 78 n. 1 (2025)A crítica literária feminista anglófona dos anos 1970 propõe a ideia da matrilinhagem, segundo a qual o encontro de mulheres escritoras com suas mães literárias representaria uma fonte de acolhimento que as permitiria escrever. As gerações seguintes, no entanto, questionam tal idealização das relações femininas, desvelando seus aspectos ambivalentes e menos acolhedores. Se Bachelard (2000) propõe a associação entre as figuras da mãe e da casa delineando os seus valores positivos, Massey (1994) afirma que a casa pode ser também um lugar de conflito. Neste artigo, propomos uma leitura de “Tempest Air Demons”, em M train (2015), de Patti Smith, e do poema “Wuthering Heights”([1961] 2018), de Sylvia Plath, com o objetivo de verificar como as autoras trabalham de forma não idealizada com as figuras de suas mães literárias através da figuração dos lugares (Lawrence-Zuniga, 2017) do túmulo e da casa.
Aciman builds the title novella around a meet-cute, a la Nora Ephron, and a plot that unfolds like heavy silk. In a Manhattan jury pool, Paul, a retired Wall Street Journal-toting law partner, notices Catherine, a psychotherapist who — with a nod to the tragic heroine Aciman has named her after — is reading “Wuthering Heights.” (Sumaiya Aftab Ahmed)
Despite its legal protections, the Saudi-backed developers are pushing ahead with plans to build 41 wind turbines – at 200m more than 40m higher than the Blackpool Tower – and a battery energy storage system on the moors surrounding Top Withens, the ruined farmhouse said to have inspired the novel by Emily Brontë.The area continues to attract global literary tourism and is currently the focus of a community-led effort to secure Unesco World Heritage Site status.A member of the Friends of Brontë Country said: “Destroying this unique moorland would not only be an ecological disaster — it would be a cultural tragedy.“This is one of the last places in the world where you can step into the pages of a novel like Wuthering Heights and still find the landscape intact.”People are being urged to sign a petition on the parliament.uk website for a ban on wind farm development on protected peatland, which has already gained nearly 15,000 signatures.The campaign is also seeking support for amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to strengthen protections for peatland in England.As the UK seeks to meet its renewable energy targets, campaigners emphasise that climate action must not come at the cost of irreplaceable habitats and heritage.“We are not anti-renewables,” said the spokesperson. “But we must place wind farms in appropriate locations — not on vital peat bogs that store carbon and support rare wildlife.” (Alexandra Wood)
Emily RTÉ One, 9.35pmBiopic focusing on the life of Emily Brontë, with Emma Mackey playing the 19th-century writer. It focuses on her attempts to win the favour of her father (Adrian Dunbar) and an ill-fated love affair. (PA and Sheena McGinley)
Fri 27 Jun, 7:00pmBrontë Parsonage MuseumDiscover the real Branwell Brontë behind the myths and legends in this special edition of Parsonage Unwrapped.To celebrate the anniversary of Branwell’s birth on 26 June, join us in the Museum library for an intimate look at our collection, shedding light on those items which help us tell the tragic, but fascinating tale of the Brontë sisters’ only brother.Attendees are invited to join us from 6.30pm for a complimentary drink.
In the novels of André Aciman, characters are rarely burdened with anything so tawdry as an office job. If they do have one, as in the case of two well-heeled lovers in Room on the Sea, the central novella in his middling new collection of three, it hovers lightly in the background, providing ample funds to spend in cafés and on seaside hotels. Paul, a recently retired lawyer, and Catherine, a therapist, meet in New York City at jury duty, that wearisome disruptor of routine. Their first exchange recalls a pair of teenagers testing each other’s recently acquired knowledge of moderately successful indie bands. Paul, who is leafing through the Wall Street Journal, tries to glimpse the title of the novel resting on Catherine’s knee. It’s Wuthering Heights, she tells him, “thinking perhaps that he’d probably never heard of it.”As it turns out, Paul has read it—twice. He shares with Catherine his insider tricks for subtly evading jury selection, and soon they’re eating lunch together at a Chinese restaurant nearby, making thinly veiled digs at their respective spouses and exchanging banalities with disproportionate giddiness. (“Life, he said with a light chuckle. Life indeed, she repeated.”) Like so many of Aciman’s characters, they are seized by attraction but proceed to spend much of the narrative hesitating, equivocating, and musing on the ambivalent nature of desire. They pine and wallow against scenic, expensive backdrops. Removed from any significant limitations, they have no choice but to invent their own. (Crispin Long)
ZOOM: Brontë Lounge: Celebrating Branwell Brontë with Dean de la Motte
Thu 26 Jun, 7:30pmCreative in his own right, but ultimately overshadowed by his sisters – this time in the Brontë Lounge, it’s all about Branwell. Host Helen Meller will be joined by Dean de la Motte, author of Oblivion: The Lost Diaries of Branwell Brontë, to explore the life of this often-overlooked Brontë sibling.There’ll be opportunity to ask Dean your questions, as we dive into discussion around the enigmatic brother of the famous Brontë sisters, on the anniversary of his birth.This is an online talk. If you can’t attend the live event, a recording will be sent out afterwards.
Tanya LandmanThu June 26 at 20:00Sat Jun 28 at 18:45Sun Jun 29 at 19:00Castle Centre, 25 Castle St, Barnstaple EX31 1DR, UKA mysterious master, a sinister servant, strange laughter echoing along the corridors of Thornfield Hall…Now older and wiser, Jane Eyre takes a wry look back at her dramatic past.Award-winning author Tanya Landman has written more than 40 books for children and young people, but she started her career as an actress, puppeteer and storyteller.After a difficult few years and with her sixtieth birthday galloping towards her over the horizon, Tanya decided it was time to embrace a new challenge. A long-time devotee of the Fringe (as an audience member), she threw her name into the hat and this is her first year as a participant.Tanya said, “I’ve loved Jane Eyre and all things Brontë since I was about thirteen and this is an opportunity to share my enthusiasm with other fans. And for those who haven’t read it – it will whet their appetite. It’s such a good story!”
Mr. RochesterBy Sarah ShoemakerShoemaker takes on the daring task of reimagining a literary icon: Edward Rochester, the enigmatic, brooding hero of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Told entirely from Rochester’s perspective, the novel offers a richly imagined backstory that stretches from his lonely boyhood in Thornfield Hall through his education, colonial entanglements in Jamaica, and ultimately to his fateful meeting with Jane.Shoemaker brings new life to Rochester’s complex character, tracing the wounds left by an emotionally distant father and a rigid social order that sends Edward away to school and then to Jamaica to earn his inheritance. There, he enters a disastrous marriage with Antoinetta Bertha Mason, who becomes central to his moral conflict and emotional reckoning. [...]Emily's SecretBy Jill JonesAlex Hightower, an American professor and devoted Emily Brontë enthusiast, travels to England to investigate the enigmatic circumstances surrounding Emily’s untimely death.Alex is convinced that Emily did not die of natural causes but instead took her life after a secret, passionate love affair that inspired the intense emotions in her famous novel. His quest takes him to the windswept village of Haworth, where he meets Dr. Maggie Flynn in a scholarly debate about the famed author. Alongside the present-day drama unfolds a haunting tale of Emily’s imagined romance, a love so inten se that it could explain the fiery longing between Cathy and Heathcliff inWuthering Heights. (Danielle Kugler)
The Mercury Players presentby Jordi MandDirected by Sylvia SwiftMay 1 - 11, 2025Heritage Hall at Duncan United Church | 246 Ingram Street, Duncan BCCastGenevieve Charbonneau . . . . . . Charlotte BrontëJulia Lalonde . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emily BrontëZoe Nickerson . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne BrontëDan Leckey . . . . . . . . . . . . .Branwell BrontëDon’t miss out on the last chance to see this very moving portrayal of the iconic Brontë Sisters who, while struggling with poverty and caring for their ailing male relatives, challenged societal expectations for women in the 19th century. Their path to success was paved with sibling rivalry, jealousy and deep love for each other. The show features the beautiful works of Cowichan watercolour artist, Jennifer Lawson, and the music of English folk group, Unthanks, who have set Emily Brontë’s poems to music.
Top Withins: The derelict Yorkshire farmhouse which is known across the world thanks to Emily Brontë
In her classic novel Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, Emily Brontë has one of her narrators, Mr. Lockwood, describe the isolated moorland home of the Earnshaws that is famously associated with her romantic anti-hero Heathcliff.
The word wuthering, he says, is a “significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather.
Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed.
One may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house, and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving aims of the sun”.
The building commonly held to have been thus described is known as Top Withins, a desolate and now roofless Pennine farmhouse on the east-facing slope of Delf Hill almost 1,400ft above sea level and three miles southwest of the Brontë parsonage at Haworth.
Dating from the 16th century, there is a record of an early owner being one Thomas Crawshaye, who lived there with his sister Anne until it was sold in 1567.
According to a local newspaper report in the 1890s, a thunderstorm caused severe damage with parts of the roof being hurled some distance from the property. It was finally abandoned in 1926.
Whether Top Withins was the actual model for remote Wuthering Heights has never been established.
A plaque placed there by the Brontë Society in 1964 states that “the buildings, even when complete, bore no resemblance to the house [Emily] described, but the situation may have been in her mind.”
It has been suggested that the book’s association with Top Withins resulted from mere speculation by a friend of Charlotte Brontë’s 25 years after her sister Emily’s death. (Roger Ratcliffe)
Wuthering Heights 2011Much like Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" could be described as a standard of romance literature. Even so, it is not exactly a proper romance novel in the strictest sense. It's appropriate, then, that it was the source material chosen by English maverick filmmaker Andrea Arnold to make a movie that twists and subverts the conventions of the standard period romance film. Arnold's 2011 take on "Wuthering Heights" is not only the best cinematic adaptation of Brontë (sorry, Laurence Olivier), but it's also one of the essential films for anyone who's captivated by the ebb and flow of costume dramas — not least because it adds something wholly unusual and original to that genre.Dark, somber, moody, and enveloped in gauzy humidity and lurid sensation — like any "Wuthering Heights" adaptation worth its salt should be, yet so few bother — Arnold's film stars James Howson as Heathcliff, the brooding young man who's adopted from the streets of Liverpool into the Earnshaw family on the Yorkshire moorlands, and Kaya Scodelario as his foster sister and eventual lover Catherine. The script focuses on Catherine and Heathcliff's youth and makes some bold deviations from the source material, but regardless of its stricto-sensu narrative faithfulness, the movie — with its trademark Arnold blend of raw handheld shooting and utterly breathtaking visual composition — cuts right to the heart of Gothic fiction as an uneasy yet spellbinding interplay between tenderness and brutality. (...)Jane Eyre 2011The tonic of "Jane Eyre" is altogether different from what we usually get out of costume drama films. Adapted from the famously dark, probing, and intense 1847 Charlotte Brontë novel, which revolutionized the literary world with its focus on inner monologue and psychological intimacy, the 2011 adaptation is imbued with a sense of rawness and peril — a feeling that there's always something off, something aching and melancholy, about each scene and each character interaction. At the same time, it's an immensely stylish, moody, and beautiful film, certain to satisfy "Pride & Prejudice" enthusiasts as well as any fans of corset-clad romance who like their love stories a little gnarlier.A typically entrancing Mia Wasikowska stars as Jane Eyre, an introverted orphan girl who grows up in poverty and eventually finds employment as governess in Thornfield Hall, a large, remote mansion owned by the brooding Edward Fairfax Rochester (Michael Fassbender in one of his best movies). An attraction springs up between Jane and Rochester, which they negotiate cautiously and tentatively for a long time before finally embarking on a passionate romance. Of course, all of this risks being unraveled by the revelation of Rochester's darkest, deepest-held secret. Far from a sunny romance, the film takes after the novel in screening its big, tremulous feelings through a Gothic filter, maximizing the horror, the anxiety, and the sense of impending doom, but also the ardor. (Leo Noboru Lima)
Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys’ prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, we learn how the first Mrs Rochester comes to be declared insane by her husband. At one point – before the part where he takes all her wealth, renames her Bertha and locks her up in an attic – he tries the “more sad than angry” tack. “I do not hate you,” he tells her, “I am most distressed about you, I am distraught.” Somewhat annoyingly, I can’t now think of this line without thinking of fox-bothering barrister Jolyon Maugham.Maugham is also very sad — distraught, probably — about an inconvenient crazy woman who has more money than him. In this case, though, it’s JK Rowling. Rowling, Maugham recently opined, is “unwell”. This is because of her opinions on sex and gender. Before she got into all that, she was totally fine but now she’s not (and it’s not just Maugham who thinks that. Just ask fellow Rochester, Stephen Fry).
Wave of Nostalgia, West YorkshireLocated in the Brontë sisters’ hometown, Haworth, this hillside spot specialises in fiction and non-fiction written by or about inspiring women. There are also titles on nature, the environment and inclusivity, plus gifts such as suffragette greetings cards, feminist T-shirts and homemade children’s clothes.Bookseller tip: Owner Diane Park recommends lifting your eyes from the page to enjoy the panorama: “The view from the top of our hill takes in a winding cobbled street with many independent shops, bars and restaurants, opening out onto moors scenery that inspired the Brontës.” (Sarah Barrell)
The Brussels Brontë Blog posts about the group's recent Haworth trip from the organiser's point of view.
by Aneeth Karunya Saj1 PhD Research Scholar Desh Bhagat University, PunjabInternational Journal of English and Studies, Volume 7, Issue 6| June, 2025This paper explores the intricate relationships between mental illness, gender, and institutional power in Victorian literature. Focusing on seminal novels such as Jane Eyre, The Woman in White, Lady Audley’s Secret, and Villette, this study examines how Victorian writers portrayed mental illness not merely as a medical or psychological condition but as a socio-cultural construct laden with ideological meaning. Through the analytical lenses of feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and Foucauldian discourse, the paper interrogates how narratives of madness were often gendered and weaponized to reinforce patriarchal control and social conformity. Special attention is given to the literary representation of women as particularly vulnerable to diagnoses of insanity, revealing how these depictions served broader cultural functions. Drawing from primary texts, historical psychiatric discourse, and contemporary scholarly critiques, this research contributes to the ongoing academic conversation on literature, mental health, and gender politics, while illuminating the enduring legacy of Victorian ideologies in shaping modern understandings of psychological deviance.
‘Mass wuther’ protest as giant wind farm threatens Brontë moorsOut on the wily, windy moors around Top Withens in Yorkshire, hundreds of Kate Bush enthusiasts are gathering in a bid to stop 40 turbines despoiling the landscape (...)However, this year it is not just a celebration of Brontë and Bush but also a mass protest against plans by a Saudi-backed company to put 41 wind turbines on the moors surrounding Top Withens, the ruined farmhouse reputed to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights itself.-Clare Shaw, a co-organiser of the event, said: “We thought this was a brilliant opportunity to tap into the strength of feeling about these plans. Some of these turbines will be very close to Top Withens and people don’t realise what the impact will be.“It’s all a trick of language, calling it a wind farm. This is going to be a massive industrial complex built on protected peat land. Can you imagine a more novel way to send the message that this isn’t wanted than hundreds of people dancing to Wuthering Heights? (...)Michael Stewart, a Brontë expert, said it was not a case of local people being against green policies.He said: “There is nothing sustainable about this project. Its construction will be an environmental disaster. The aggregate required to build the roads needed to transport the turbines, and to construct the vast foundations for them, cannot be quarried locally. The nearest suitable aggregate is 90 miles away.“It is estimated over 20,000 trucks would be needed to transport it, creating two years of constant traffic. The construction of the wind farm will create extensive flooding in the Calder Valley that will cause millions of pounds worth of damage. (David Barnett)
In 1820 he was Poet Laureate and visited Llangedwyn Hall, one of the many homes of his friend Charles Williams Wynn.His legacy was somewhat tarnished when he wrote to 20 year-old Charlotte Brontë in 1837 and wrote the words: "Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be." (Gavin Grosvenor)
Con esta historia su autora ganó la primera convocatoria del prestigioso premio español Nadal para obras inéditas, y cautivó de inmediato a la crítica y al público lector. Desde entonces no ha dejado de imprimirse, y se ha llegado a comparar –quizá por lo subyugante, por la atmósfera opresiva y hermosa– con ese monumento de las letras clásicas que es Cumbres Borrascosas. (Yeilén Delgado Calvo) (Translation)
Prancūziškų citatų funkcija ir tematinė reikšmė Charlotte Brontë romane „Jane Eyre“ (The function and thematic significance of French quotations in Charlotte Brontë’s novel "Jane Eyre" )by Eglé Jasulaitytė, Vilniaus UniversitetasThis MA thesis examines Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre (1847), concentrating on the quotations written in the French language. Since the book was written in an English-speaking environment, a significant number of different-length quotations are found in the novel. This work aims to analyse these quotations by finding their function and thematic significance. Relying on different literary and cultural insights, I will reveal why this foreign language was chosen, how it represents the characters and complements the context, which is strongly connected with the author’s own experiences and passions, knowing that French was an important language to her. This analysis will also provide insights into how characters use the language to represent their development, culture, education, and cosmopolitan life.
Of course, neither the fantastical nor the problematic book boyfriend is new. In 1848, a literary magazine reported that “New England States were visited by a distressing mental epidemic, passing under the name of the ‘Jane Eyre fever.’” Boarding schoolgirls and governesses were the most likely to be afflicted, the writer reported, as well as young men who, inspired by the book’s male protagonist, “began to swagger and swear in the presence of the gentler sex, and to allude darkly to events in their lives which excused impudence and profanity.” This was, presumably, a result of women and girls expressing attraction to a made-up character who kept his wife in an attic and who, the text tells the reader repeatedly, isn’t even handsome. Like today’s book boyfriends, Mr. Rochester’s impact seems to be a joint production of the writer’s deftness and the readers’ wild imaginations.As in “Jane Eyre,” book boyfriends in the “dark romance” genre commit acts that would send real boyfriends to prison. “I think readers are very aware that there is a difference between a fictional man on the page written by usually a woman or femme, and an actual human man who has been shaped by society,” [Marcela Di Blasi, an assistant professor in the Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies Department at Dartmouth who is working on a book about the politics of romantasy] said of violent and controlling book boyfriends. “Having these characters is a way for a lot of readers to explore those things in a safe way.”A more unique and recent trend, Di Blasi noted, is romance novels in which “men learn from their mistakes.” In books such as those by the writer Adriana Herrera, “they are accountable,” Di Blasi said. “They don’t wait to be educated by the women in their life.” This is quite a contrast to Jane Eyre who, 178 years ago, had to go crawling door-to-door begging for porridge and then nearly married her creepy cousin before Mr. Rochester was changed enough for the two lovers to reconcile. (Jenny Singer)
The sadistic schoolmaster is an honourable subset in the body of English literature. From Jane Eyre’s Mr Brocklehurst to David Copperfield’s Mr Creakle and Nicholas Nickleby’s Wackford Squeers, the birch-happy teacher is a universally recognised cypher for the corruption of power.It’s a role not limited by gender. Miss Minchin, in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic A Little Princess, and Matilda’s Miss Trunchbull are every bit as terrifying.School bullies have always existed, of course. Dickens’s James Steerforth and Thomas Hughes’s Harry Flashman are archetypes. But violent pupils routinely attacking teachers would not have occurred to even the most inventive novelist of centuries past. Such a scenario would have required a suspension of disbelief beyond the imagination of the average reader. (Gillian Bowditch)
The album features “The Pull of the Moors", a song inspired by the Brontë sisters and originally written for a National Portrait Gallery exhibition about them. The track references both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, with the moors evoking the landscapes central to the Brontës’ novels. The rest of the album draws on a range of other literary sources, with “The Pull of the Moors” being the only song on Emerge, Return directly connected to the Brontë legacy.
TourWednesday, June 25 @ 12:00PM, Glastonbury Festival 2025, Pilton
Wednesday, July 2 @ 7:30PM, The Quay, Sudbury
Thursday, July 3 @ 7:30PM, Caper, Oxford
Friday, July 4 @ 7:00PM, Bristol Folk House, Bristol
Saturday, July 5 @ 7:30PM, The Pound Arts Centre, Corsham
Sunday, July 6 @ 7:30PM, Tolmen Centre, Constantine
Monday, July 7 @ 7:00PM, Ashley Court, Ashley
Tuesday, July 8 @ 7:00PM, Caistor Town Hall, Caistor
Thursday, July 10 @ 7:30PM, Garstang Library, GarstangFriday, July 11 @ 7:00PM, Ilkley Manor House, IlkleySaturday, July 12 @ 7:00PM, Wylam Institute Community Association, WylamSunday, July 13 @ 7:30PM, Paisley Arts Centre, PaisleyFriday, July 18 @ 7:30PM, The Cellar, CardiganSaturday, July 19 @ 7:30PM, Saltburn Community & Arts Association Ltd, Saltburn-by-the-seaWednesday, July 23 @ 7:30PM, Number 8 Arts Centre, PershoreFriday, July 25 @ 7:30PM, Theatre By The Lake, KeswickSaturday, July 26 @ 1:00PM, Read, HolmfirthSaturday, October 11 @ 7:30PM, Canopy Theatre, Beccles
When he was 10, he moved with his family to Miami and was inspired to become an actor after seeing Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights (1939). (Mike Barnes)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë:It’s a novel by English writer, a timeless classic of love, independence, and resilience. This novel is about a guy who his orphan and faces challenges. The novel’s moody moors and stormy settings enhance its emotional gravitas. It's a great read for curling up indoors with a warm cup of tea and the sound of rain.
As the novel progresses its narrative builds upon the framework of classic Gothic literature (a centuries-old crumbling mansion, a decaying family with murderous secrets, madness, a distressed damsel plagued by spectral ills); indeed, Rhea even references Jane Eyre on several occasions. But there’s also a noticeable fairy tale aspect to The Last Ballard: like Rapunzel locked away in her tower, Rhea must throw off the shackles of her former self in order to find the new, prosperous future that’s within her grasp. (Damascus Mincemeyer)
The Brussels Brontë Blog posts about their recent literary pilgrimage to Yorkshire. The members toured historic Brontë sites including the newly opened Birthplace in Thornton, Haworth Parsonage, and locations that inspired Charlotte's novels like Oakwell Hall and Roe Head School. The most recent video of The Brontë Sisters UK explores how contaminated water, poor sanitation, and disease affected the village and the Brontës, plus Patrick Brontë's reform efforts to improve conditions. Also, in the new video by The House of Brontë, Nick Holland explores the Brontë Parsonage's dining room.
The Lark Ascending and Duruflé Requiem
With the City of London Sinfonia & Brighton Festival Chorus
Sunday 22 June 2025, 4pmProgrammeVaughan Williams Fantasia on GreensleevesLibby Croad The Brontë Suite (UK premiere)Vaughan Williams The Lark AscendingDuruflé RequiemPerformersCity of London SinfoniaBrighton Festival ChorusAlexandra Wood violinJames Morgan conductorJoin the City of London Sinfonia and Brighton Festival Chorus, with conductor James Morgan, for a contemplative summer programme.Vaughan Williams’ beautiful Fantasia on Greensleeves is followed by the UK premiere of Libby Croad’s The Brontë Suite – a stunning setting for choir and strings of poetry by each of the three Brontë sisters.We welcome Alexandra Wood to play Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Written in the summer of 1914 on the eve of war, it has a poignancy, beauty, and a sense of nostalgia that captures the very essence of reflectiveness and Englishness.After the interval, Duruflé’s greatest composition, his Requiem – one of the undisputed masterpieces of the 20th-century choral repertoire, described as “a work of sumptuous craft, beautiful unity and real grandeur”.Duration: approx. 2 hours (incl. interval)
Libby wrote The Brontë Suite in January 2024, she was on sabbatical and as she loved the Brontë sisters' poems the idea of a piece based on them had been in the back of her head and the time seemed right. She effectively had free reign as there was no commission and she wrote it for choir and string quartet, figuring that was a nicely economic line-up.The piece uses three poems, Emily's Spellbound, Anne's A Reminiscence and Charlotte's Life. The three poems are not technically meant to be together but Libby feels that their themes of life, love and loss work well.
Clunes casually throws in that he is also playing Margot Robbie’s dad in Wuthering Heights. Slated for next year and directed by Emerald Fennell (Saltburn, Promising Young Woman), this Gothic psychodrama is a “massive, Warner Brothers, huge-budget movie, all built on sets at Elstree” – though he divulges nothing further. (Lara Kilner)
1. "Wuthering Heights. Jesus. Heathcliff, mate, just leave her alone. "—harione96"When my students ask me if they should read Wuthering Heights, I ask them if they liked the Twilight series. Because I hate a lot of the same things about both. Violent, unstable men are not romantic. "—Digger-of-Tunnels (Jennifer McPhee)
The village is amongst 10 locations in northern England being spotlighted by Airbnb for a stay.For those seeking a cultural break, Haworth – where the Brontë sisters lived and wrote their classic works – is listed second.It is described as "a sweeping hilltop village shaped by the Brontë legacy".Top spot in the category goes to another Bradford-district village, the World Heritage site of Saltaire. (Alistair Shand)
Buchanan Galleries is opening its doors to the world of opera, hosting Scotland’s first-ever ‘shopera’ – a -created bold and original production staged in a shopping centre. (Sarah Birstow in The Scotsman)
Bertha - An Original Shopera (opera in a shop)
by Rachel SullivanBuchanan Galleries, GlasgowFriday 20th June – 7pmSaturday 21st June – 7pmSunday 22nd June – 4:30pm.Cast:Bertha Mason – Jolanta KudraAlice Fairfax – Caroline BoernerJane Eyre – Gabrielle KornbergEdward Rochester – William WaterhouseA Shopera is an opera performed in a shop, and Buchanan Galleries are thrilled to confirm that we'll be hosting composer Rachel Sullivan's first opera Bertha here at the centre from 20th - 22nd June.Inspired by characters and themes from Charlotte Brontë's classic novel Jane Eyre, Bertha is an operatic re-imagining of the story of Bertha – the “madwoman in the attic". Set in 1808, the two-act shopera explores Bertha’s turbulent life and conveys her emotional turmoil and cognitive deterioration in a time when those with mental ill-health or disabilities, particularly women, were frequently mistreated.Through dramatic interactions and fragmented memories, Bertha's story unfolds: a story in which, amid her struggle to preserve a sense of self and despite the brutalities of her husband, she discovers her own power and the importance of female connection.
UK-based Tennant, SVP for EMEA theatrical distribution, was the appropriate choice to introduce a behind-the-scenes look at Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Robbie and Fennell both sent video messages, and footage showcased a film that will be visually distinctive from any previous version. (Charles Gant)
Other worries include the impact such a huge development would have on the cultural legacy of the “Brontë Country” which touches Pendle’s Wycoller.Coun. Cockburn-Price added: “Certainly, the landscape brought to life in the books of the Brontë sisters will never be the same again.“On this side of the Pennines, in Wycoller, we have the ruins of the house that is thought to have inspired Wildfell Hall [sic]. This proposed development would trash the sense of place that the Brontë books evoke. (Dominic Collis)
Finally, in Behind the Seams: Regency & Romantic Fashions (1795–1850), in Gadgetdom (Enginuity) on Tuesday 2 September, Acting Head of Interpretation Kyla Hislop will explore the evolution of early nineteenth-century fashion, from the classical-inspired Regency outfits seen in Pride & Prejudice to the extravagant 1830s styles of Gentleman Jack and the more austere style of dress associated with Jane Eyre and the 1840s.The talk will be followed by the opportunity to see original garments from the Trust’s collections and explore their construction, the fabrics used, and the silhouettes that defined these decades. (Sarah Watson)
