By all accounts the inaugural Banagher Brontë Festival was a huge success

Offaly Live reports that the first ever Banagher Brontë Festival was a great success.

By all accounts the inaugural Banagher Brontë Festival held last weekend to celebrate Charlotte Brontë’s birthday, was a huge success.

Proceedings opened on Friday evening with a première of 'An Evening with Charlotte Brontë' devised specifically for the Banagher Brontë Group by Michael O’Dowd and his wife Christine. Michael is the author of Charlotte Brontë An Irish Odyssey, an historical account of Charlotte’s honeymoon in Dublin, Banagher, Kilkee and Killarney with her Banagher-reared husband Arthur Bell Nicholls.

The presentation focussed on the poetry, songs and music beloved of the Brontë family particularly the melodies of Thomas Moore and poems and ballads of Robbie Burns. The narrative and music were exquisitely presented drawing much appreciation and participation from the large attendance. The event was held in Corrigan’s Back Lounge which was beautifully decorated and appointed for the gala occasion.

All events on Saturday were held in Crank House starting with Joanne Wilcock’s talk called 'Falling in Love with Arthur'. Joanne explored the different opinions and feelings people had regarding Arthur Bell Nicholls. Speaking in great detail she explained how the negative opinions relating to Arthur gradually changed particularly in the cases of his father-in-law Patrick Brontë and Martha Brown, the lifelong servant at the Brontë parsonage.

Initially, in 1852, Patrick had violently opposed Arthur’s marriage proposal to Charlotte but he gradually acquiesced and they were married in 1854. Seven years later in his will he bequeathed the vast majority of his estate to ‘My beloved and esteemed son-in-law The Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls, B.A.’

Martha’s early hostility to Arthur mellowed to respect and affection, accompanying him when he returned to Banagher in 1861 and making numerous long-term return visits before her death in 1880. Surviving correspondence between them show Arthur in an avuncular role advising Martha on her romantic and financial affairs.

Pauline Clooney then presented 'Currer Bell's Silent Years 1852-1855', an examination of Charlotte’s paths to publication and her attitude to a writing life. Making great use of her letters to prospective publishers she illustrated how the Brontë sisters overcame many patriarchal obstacles before eventually achieving the goal of publication.

With the huge success of Jane Eyre and the welcome finances that accrued her writing business affairs become better managed. As to the relative lack of output between 1852 and 1855 Pauline posited that the crippling loneliness she endured after Branwell, Emily and Anne died within nine month between autumn 1848 and summer 1849, stifled her creativity. They had not just been her close siblings but more vitally the lifelong collaborators of her writings.

Finally she disapproved of the notion found in some biographies that Arthur had curbed her writing after their marriage in 1854. Evidence shows that far from being so that he had encouraged her in her last work, Emma, which unfortunately remained unfinished before her death in March 1855.

After lunch, at 2.30 p.m Maebh O’Regan presented 'The Art of Branwell Brontë'. Branwell showed great promise as a portrait artist but he felt his true vocation was in literary composition. Maebh spoke of the artists that had trained the Brontë children and how Branwell had been singled out for special tuition which enabled him to become a portrait artist of note.

This was followed by two short films 'The Early Days of the BBG', a short film by created by Maebh and Seanie O’Regan, (Táin Bó Productions), capturing some historic (and otherwise) moments of the early days of the Banagher Brontë Group and some important footage on the group’s participation in the local Patrick’s day parade and a recent trip to Haworth and other parts of Yorkshire.

The day’s events concluded with a short amble from Crank House up the Main Street to view the various works of art and displays in local shop windows which have been created by local artists Phil Bennet and Lisa Glynn finishing with a close look at Sheila Hough’s marvellous portraits in Johnny Hough’s musical pub.

The festival concluded on Sunday morning with a short walk from Saint Paul’s Church on the Hill to Cuba to look at the remains of the Royal School of Banagher. Members then attended service where they were given a warm welcome by the Saint Paul’s Church community.

Matters drew to a close with coffees and teas in Nicola Daly’s guest house, Charlotte’s Way, where a specially prepared Brontë cake was served in honour of Charlotte’s 208th birthday. The essential ingredient of Brontë cake is crushed pistachios.

Houston Chonicle reviews Alley Theatre's Jane Eyre.

“Jane Eyre” is not the novel she used to be. She’s grown over the years with the barnacle-like accumulation of theories and readings that have expanded plain “Jane” into an obese compendium of interpretations including everything from its place in the evolving literary tradition of the novel to its radical feminism and Marxist and psychological elements — not to mention its Gothicism and the summaries of generations of students spanning from high school AP courses to college seniors. It’s exhausting to think about it — much less write the sentence!

Still, the image is relevant in light of the Alley Theatre’s current production of “Jane Eyre” adapted for the stage by Elizabeth Williamson. For though its basic plot and characters are extracted from Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel (originally subtitled, in typical 19th century indirection, as “An Autobiography”), it has to decide which of the many interpretations of Brontë will step on stage for the audience. [...]

This production loads up with an entrée of romance supported by sides of Gothic mystery and humorous takes on the novel’s gravy boat of coincidences and quaint values — all thoroughly digestible.

If such a description has an air of condescension, know, dear reader (as Jane might say), that none is intended. For to pull off such a feat requires clear, brave decisions on the part of the script and the production, beginning with opting to maintain the novel’s first-person narration: Jane speaks directly to the audience and evokes key dramatized scenes. To do this, director Eleanor Holdridge cedes the front of the stage to Melissa Molano’s Jane, relying on the symbol of Jane’s writing desk to define the space while using the majority of the stage to stand in as the large house of Jane’s employer, Edward Rochester. Aptly named Thornfield Hall, scenic designer John Coyne has created a space that has spiraling beauty and simplicity as well as sliding surfaces concealing mysteries and horrors.

More importantly, the production has found in Molano an actress capable and willing to create a performance that matches the set, and, for that matter, her exquisite costume designed by Valérie Thérèse Bart, that is flowing and complicated enough to suggest Victorian fashion but simple enough to represent Jane’s social status and to facilitate removal and putting on to show shifts in times of day. It is a performance that appears as seamless as the dress.

As Rochester, Chris Hutchison offers a clear foil to Molano’s Jane. Often seen as the brooding but manly hero, Hutchison’s Rochester is more mercurial. Beyond his wealth, he offers little in terms of traditional romantic attraction. Indeed, the audience first meets him falling onto the stage from his unseen horse and suffering from a twisted ankle more in line with troubles given to novels’ females. But as the play progresses, Hutchison lets Rochester’s flaws and quirks prepare us for his need for Jane and the play’s traditional happy ending even as they enable the Gothic mysteries centered on a largely unseen madwoman in the attic take on added thrills.

The large list of supporting characters is handled by actors playing multiple roles, with Susan Koozin’s Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper, and Lady Ingram, a visiting aristocrat hoping to trap Rochester’s money for her daughter, being especially enjoyable. Especially in her early scenes, she gives the production a depth it would otherwise struggle to find.

In short, neither Williamson’s script or the Alley’s production manage to plunge all the depths that Brontë’s novel has delivered to close readers for generations, but it is a delightful entertainment and an encouragement for audiences teased by this “Jane” to pick up the “Jane” residing in the novel’s pages. And even if no one accepts that prod, the Alley’s “Jane Eyre” insures that Brontë’s characters continue to breathe and entice even as it suggests ways the theatre and the printed page can have a healthy relationship. (Robert Donahoo)

A contributor to Worldcrunch wonders 'Why We Don't Let Stories End Anymore' meaning there are endless sequels, prequels and spin.offs of the stories we love.

The great American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury was enraptured, asking us to imagine our favorite novels by Kipling, Dickens, Wilde, Shaw or Poe brought back to life 30 years from now. What unintended changes would they undergo? Would Poe's Usher collapse only to rise again? Would The Great Gatsby do 20 laps around the pool? Would Cathy of Wuthering Heights rush to Heathcliff's cry from under the snow? (Loredana Lipperini)

Existential Windows

A new scholarly paper just published:

Opening an Existential Windown into Wuthering Heights, and the Metamorphosis

Sarah H. Lognion, McNeese State Universit

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research Butler Journal, Vol 10, 2024

This paper explores the existential theme of authenticity in two literary works, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, through the lens of Albert Camus’s philosophy as presented in The Myth of Sisyphus. The analysis focuses on the characters’ struggles to carve out meaningful existences, the symbolism of closed-in structures and the absurd, and failed attempts at rationalization. Through a literary exploration, this paper aims to acknowledge existential dilemmas presented in Brontë’s and Kafka’s works and the importance of recognizing the absurdity of life.

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Letters, spin-offs and turbulent pasts

A contributor to Financial Times writes about reading famous authors' letters.

I’m all for Madame Constantin Héger’s approach. She discovered that Charlotte Brontë was in love with her husband after finding a few of the novelist’s letters to him torn up in the bin. Ever resourceful, she stitched them back together, leaving for posterity a record of 29-year-old Brontë at her passionate, obsessive best: “Day and night I find neither rest nor peace — if I sleep I have tormenting dreams in which I see you always severe, always saturnine and angry with me . . .” (Nilanjana Roy)

The Times has selected 'eight great literary spin-offs' and one of them is

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966)

Ever wondered about the first Mrs Rochester from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre? Wonder no more. Dominican-born Jean Rhys gave a voice to the “mad” Creole heiress, Antoinette Cosway, that Mr Rochester locked up in the attic. The story is told in the voices of Antoinette (“There is no looking-glass here and I don’t know what I am like now”) and Mr Rochester (“Here is the secret. Here”). It was published when Rhys was 76 after decades of silence (her early novels are terrific too), when many people thought she was already dead. Her cynical view on her renaissance? “It has come too late.” (John Self)

Elle features author Amy Tan in its Shelf Life series and asks her about the book

...I’ve re-read the most:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, because each time I re-read this story of a lonely young girl coming of age, I revisit my turbulent past at a similar age and gain new perceptions about my evolving self. (Riza Cruz)

Today we get another reference to the 'invisible string' in Jane Eyre. From PopSugar:

According to [registered psychotherapist Eloise] Skinner, the enduring popularity of the concept of invisible strings is not a recent phenomenon, even if it's recently popped off on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. It draws from a range of influences, spanning philosophy, physics, and East Asian folklore. This idea of the "invisible string" nods to the ancient belief in the red thread of fate, which connects two souls destined to be together.

Charlotte Brontë beautifully captures this notion in the novel "Jane Eyre," describing it as a string tightly knotted under the left ribs, bound to another similar string. (Morgan Sullivan)

Click2Houston has a video showing what goes one behind the scenes of Alley Theatre's Jane Eyre production. News 18 lists the '8 most romantic reads of all time' including Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. News 18 also lists '7 timeles novels that one must read' including both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre as well. Times Now News lists '12 houses of famous authors open for visitors' including the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

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Charlotte's Reserve

The Brontë drinks have a new limited edition bottling:

Charlotte's Reserve

A limited edition bottling from The
Brontë Liqueur Company, released to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre. It combines sweet berries with sweet caramel and honey notes, along with a floral touch. These 20cl bottles come in a handsome presentation box shaped like a 19th century book!

 Crafted from the original Bronte liqueur recipe with the addition of wildflower, honey and jasmine.

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Dark romance

Houston Press reviews Alley Theatre's Jane Eyre.

Williamson’s play is unfailingly faithful to its source material while being downright breezy in comparison to the 466-page brick that is Brontë’s novel (that’s 466 pages in my 1993 Barnes & Noble hardcover though, of course, copies may vary). The tightness of the script, a delightfully successful distillation of Jane Eyre to its mostly romantic and occasionally spooky core, is a slap of wrongness to the face of anyone who thinks a work of 19th-century Victorian-era literature wouldn’t make for non-stop action or appease a 21st-century attention span. Director Eleanor Holdridge helms the pleasingly dynamic production with ease. Special credit, too, to Williamson, as well as Holdridge and a superbly talented cast, for mining possibly every moment of humor from the story for our viewing pleasure.

Melissa Molano plays our heroine with delicate care and a firm hand, handling every Janian line with an endearing honesty and earnest sincerity. Though Jane begins the story with no family or friends, the audience serves as something of a surrogate companion, as Jane monologues to the audience. Not only does it stay true to the intimacy of the novel’s first-person narration, it allows Molano’s Jane to become a dear friend almost immediately. It is, however, during the explosion of emotion in the second act, Jane’s moonlight mutiny, that Molano most has the audience in the palm of her hand.

Jane Eyre is a romance, and Molano’s chemistry with Chris Hutchison’s gruff Mr. Rochester is captivating. Hutchison manages to deliver each of Mr. Rochester’s blunt and smart-ass comments with a charm that allows you to appreciate their developing relationship without pause.

Aside from Molano and Hutchison, every actor plays two or more roles, slipping in and out of them with chameleon-like ease: There’s Susan Koozin, who goes from kindly housekeeper to attic-bound madwoman with a zombie-like countenance, and the childlike turn Ana Miramontes takes playing two couldn’t-be-more-different young ladies, the excitable Adèle and the beleaguered young Jane. Melissa Pritchett’s dour Grace Poole, which contrasts with the seemingly well-meaning but stifled Bessie.

Then there’s Joy Yvonne Jones, who earns laughs as the shade-throwing Blanche Ingram just as easily as she does with a single “uh uh” uttered as servant Leah. Todd Waite stealing focus, albeit briefly, as John, Colonel Dent and Mr. Wood, and Gabriel Regojo’s rigid St. John Rivers, though he stands out even more as Jane’s bratty cousin John Reed.

Finally, nothing says both Gothic and an English countryside setting like a stormy night – complete with the sound of pelting rain, blinding white flashes of lightning and loud cracks of thunder – which is exactly what audiences walk into when they take their seats in the Hubbard Theatre. The stage is mostly bare, shrouded in shadows with a single, flickering oil lamp set on a desk, but scenic designer John Coyne quickly proves its dexterity. Valérie Thérèse Bart’s serviceable costumes, Alberto Segarra’s moody lighting and Melanie Chen Cole’s rich sound designs, which range from string heavy instrumentals that set the (metaphorical) stage to one particular cacophonous moment that elicits very real chills.

The point, dear reader, is that Williamson and the Alley have mounted a Jane Eyre production that is very nearly perfect, so much so that you won’t need the threat of failing English class to stay awake through it. Instead, the show comes and goes in a most pleasing blink of an eye, something anyone can appreciate, but especially anyone who’s sat down by desire or coercion to read the 466-page book. (Natalie de la Garza)

Still on stage, GG2 reviews Underdog: The Other Other Brontë.

A critic from The New York Times discusses '‘James,’ ‘Demon Copperhead’ and the Triumph of Literary Fan Fiction'.

The rewriting of old books is hardly a new practice, though it’s one that critics often like to complain about. Doesn’t anyone have an original idea? Can’t we just leave the classics alone?

Of course not. Without imitation, our literature would be threadbare. The modern canon is unimaginable without such acts of appropriation as James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which deposited the “Odyssey” in 1904 Dublin, and Jean Rhys’s “Wide Sargasso Sea,” an audacious postcolonial prequel to “Jane Eyre.” (A.O. Scott)

According to CBR, both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights deserve to be on the list of 'the 10 Best Dark Romance Movies'.

7 Jane Eyre Is a Haunting Story of Resilience

A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.

Jane Eyre is a 2011 adaptation of the 1847 novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. Starring Mia Wasikowska and Micheal Fassbender, the story follows the journey of a resilient young woman who's an orphan and finds work as a governess. Her employer is Edward Rochester, a moody and mysterious wealthy man who cultivates a deep curiosity about Jane's defiance and independence.

The central romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester is marked by its complexity and intensity. Their love is born out of mutual respect and connection, but it also faces betrayal and sacrifice. The film is steeped in a gothic atmosphere that mirrors the troubled emotions of the main characters, like the eerie halls of Thornfield Hall. It's a timeless tale of inequality and forbidden love that pays great homage to the legendary English novel. [...]

3 Wuthering Heights Is a Timeless Romantic Tragedy

A poor boy of unknown origins is rescued from poverty and taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister, Cathy.

The 2011 film adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights stars Kaya Scodelario and James Howson as a rebellious couple separated by society's norms. Catherine Earnshaw falls in love with Heathcliff, a boy her father found in the streets of Liverpool and brought to Wuthering Heights. One of the notable aspects of this adaptation is its focus on the passionate and destructive nature of their relationship.

The film's cinematography is strikingly beautiful and heavily contributes to its dark atmosphere. Andrea Arnold's direction emphasizes wide shots and natural lighting to immerse viewers in the character's environment. Their tumultuous relationship is set in the misty landscape of the Yorkshire moors, where there is harsh white fog and sturdy old manor houses. (Arantxa Pellme)

A contributor to Vox writes about 'The unexpected joy of the Squirrel Census'.

Imagining these creatures’ interiority made us better people, too. Not in the sense that it was a badge of hipster honor to have perceived something through a Wes Andersonian lens, but in the sense that creating stories about these animals bonded us to them. The way Rochester felt like there was a string tied under his left ribs that connected him to Jane Eyre, a thin thread now connected us with these beasties we used to simply ignore. (Keren Landman, MD)

Reader's Digest has included Emily Brontë's The Old Stoic on a list of '30 Inspirational Poems That Will Boost Your Mood'. AnneBrontë.org celebrated Charlotte Brontë's birthday at the Brontë Birthplace.

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Retelling Jane and Catherine

Two recent young adult retellings of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights:

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

by Tanya Landman (Retold by), Emily Brontë (Author)

Union Square & Co

ISBN: 9781454954835

Pub Date: 4/2/2024

The only person who had ever seen me was Heathcliff.  

And without him as my mirror, I could not even see myself. 

 

When Cathy’s father brings Heathcliff,
an orphaned boy, home to Wuthering Heights, she loses her heart to him. Cathy and Heathcliff are not destined for an easy life or a happy ending. Yet theirs is a love that defies everything: pain, punishment, disaster, even death . . .  

Powerfully retold from Cathy’s point of view in this stunning new edition from Carnegie Medal – winning author Tanya Landman, Wuthering Heights is the tragic story of a passionate, obsessive love.  

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre

by Tanya Landman (Retold by), Emily Brontë (Author)

Union Square & Co

ISBN: 9781454954835

Pub Date: 4/2/2024

I was not loved. 

I was not wanted. 

I did not belong. 

 

After a miserable childhood, a job offer at Thornfield Hall seems to promise Jane Eyre a brighter future. But haunting, joyless laughter echoes along Thornfield Hall’s corridors. Strange things happen in the dead of night. Secrets lurk in the attic.  

When Jane meets the owner of Thornfield Hall—the enigmatic, brooding Mr. Rochester—her life is changed forever. Only—is it for better? Or for worse? 

Powerfully retold in this stunning new edition by Carnegie Medal—winning author Tanya Landman, Jane Eyre is the timeless story of an iconic heroine's search for love, freedom, and belonging. 

Uion Square & Co.’s

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A perfect summary of Jane Eyre

Express looks at Gentleman Jack's filming locations.

While it's believed that talks with the BBC could lead to a revival of the much-loved show in the future, with Sally vowing that she hadn't closed the door on it, fans of the show can keep the memory alive with a visit to its filming location. Shibden Hall, set in the picturesque Shibden Valley just a mile from the West Yorkshire city of Halifax, was the real-life home of Anne Lister back in the 1800s.

It's no surprise, then, that it was chosen for the first season of Gentleman Jack. It isn't the first time the stunning medieval manor house - officially a Grade II listed building - has been used to bring TV dramas to life.

Sally Wainwright's previous historical drama about the Brontë sisters, To Walk Invisible, was filmed there in 2016, while it was even the location for the 1992 film version of Wuthering Heights. Prior to that, it was the scene of a groundbreaking Bollywood horror movie titled 1921. (Chloe Govan)

Lifestyle Asia recommends film adaptations of popular books including

Movie: Jane Eyre (2011)

TV series: Jane Eyre (2006)

For over 170 years since its publication in 1847, Charlotte Brontë’s epic story of the eponymous Jane Eyre has captivated fans of romance like no other work from its time. Brontë redefined the art of storytelling by writing the book in first person and often broke the fourth wall so that readers felt a deeper connection to Jane.

Brontë’s Jane overcomes the curveballs that life has thrown at her since childhood and grows into a confident young woman. Appointed as a governess at Thornfield Hall, she meets and falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester. Though both are deeply in love with each other, they cannot marry because Rochester is already married. Torn between her desires and her moral dilemma, Jane is forced to leave Edward. But then a tragedy strikes which changes everything in the lives of the two.

Adapted numerous times since the silent film era, an early hit movie based on the book was the 1943 talkie starring Joan Fontaine as Jane and Orson Welles as Rochester. In recent years, Cary Fukunaga’s 2011 film of the same name succeeded in making critics take note. Starring Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Rochester, the film earned an Oscar nod for costume design.

Among the TV shows, the four-part BBC TV drama of 2006 starring Ruth Wilson as Jane and Toby Stephens as Rochester has been extremely well received. The drama was nominated for multiple BAFTA TV and Primetime Emmy awards, winning one in the former and three in the latter. Wilson, too, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. (Manas Sen Gupta)

Collegiate Times discusses whether generative AI is incompatible with the goals of education.

ChatGPT, at least in a superficial sense, can perform many of the higher-level thinking skills that were once the domain of human beings alone. With minimal student direction, it can create, from its endless wealth of human inputs, a perfect summary of “Jane Eyre” and craft an essay on the novel’s major themes in a pleasant, disembodied voice. Naturally, these capabilities carry the potential for misuse. (Chris Donaldson)

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Clear All Cache,... Cathy!

This game has apparently a lot of Wuthering Heights. And, as a we didn't know really very much about what was going on, we have asked our friend Co-pilot. What he says sounds plausible:

Limbus Company, dOneveloped by Project Moon, is a turn-based RPG gacha game that has garnered attention for its integration of elements from the classic novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The game is set in a universe shared with Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina, expanding on the lore of The City and its districts.
Players take on the role of the Executive Manager, leading Sinners through the buried facilities of Lobotomy Corporation to claim the Golden Boughs. The gameplay combines turn-based RPG mechanics with real-time action, where units act simultaneously during combat. 
The fourth season, known as “Clear All Cathy,” includes the significant chapter
Canto VI: The Heartbreaking. This update introduces new story chapters, the Mirror Dungeon “Mirror of the Wuthering,” the Refraction Railway “Masquerade,” new identities, and exclusive E.G.O equipment. The season’s pass provides additional rewards and items, enhancing the game’s universe and lore.
Canto VI: The Heartbreaking is a chapter that follows the events of “Intervallo III: Yield My Flesh to Claim Their Bones,” focusing on the tragic events within T Corp. in District 20. It features factions like Limbus Company and Dead Rabbits, with characters such as Nelly, Catherine Linton, and Heathcliff playing central roles. The chapter explores themes of betrayal and revenge, reflecting the influence of Wuthering Heights
Catherine Earnshaw, or Cathy, is a pivotal character in this narrative. As the only daughter of the Earnshaw family and owner of Wuthering Heights, her story intertwines with Heathcliff’s, fueling his quest for vengeance and self-improvement. Her death and the subsequent inheritance of the Golden Bough by Heathcliff set off a chain of events that drive the story forward.
The game’s narrative (...) offers a unique experience that pays homage to Brontë’s work while providing a fresh perspective within the RPG genre.

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Besides the Original Fireplace, 208 years ago

Several websites report the open day at the Brontë Birthplace today, April 21, before the refurbishment, the best way to celebrate Charlotte Brontë's 208th anniversary:

The birthplace of the Brontë sisters will open to the public later to allow people to have a look inside before it closes for refurbishment.

The terraced house in Market Street, Thornton, is under public ownership after a community group managed to buy it earlier this month.

Authors Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, along with brother Branwell, were born there between 1816 and 1820.

The house will open from 11:00 BST on Sunday, the anniversary of Charlotte Brontë's birth.

Steve Stanworth, vice chair of the community group Brontë Birthplace Ltd, said there would be a brass band, an actress playing the role of children's maid, Nancy Garrs, and craft activities for children.

There will also be people on hand to talk about the birthplace near Bradford and its history.

Mr Stanworth said St James's Church would also be open from midday to allow access to the Bronté exhibition, with refreshments available in the community centre.

The community group was able to buy the house after more than 700 people invested in the project.

It was also given significant grants from Bradford City of Culture 2025 and the Community Ownership Fund, under the government's levelling up agenda.

It will now be refurbished and opened to the public in time for Bradford 2025. (Julia Bryson in BBC News)

But before renovations start an open day is to be held at the Market Street property tomorrow (Sunday) from 11am until 4pm, and supporters are welcome to visit. After that, the house will close for major structural works before re-opening next year as a cafe and with rooms to stay or space for events. (...)

Locked and empty for years since closing as a cafe, the house is now numbered 72 to 74 Market Street. Soon visitors will be invited to walk in the sisters' footsteps, to sit in a community cafe beside their original fireplace or to stay in the bedrooms where the young girls slept. There are ambitions to launch in time for Bradford's City of Culture 2025. (Ruby Kitchen in The Yorkshire Post)

Also in Head Topics,  

Bodas.net (Spain) lists two books to give to your partner:

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

Uno de los libros clásicos románticos que sigue de plena actualidad. Se trata de una historia de amor preciosa, protagonizada por Jane Eyre, una niña huérfana quien, tras pasar ocho años en un orfanato, entra a trabajar como institutriz en la casa del señor Rochester, de quien acaba enamorándose. La historia está servida.

Y, por si no has leído Jane Eyre antes, no te haremos spoiler explicándote el final. Aunque sí te adelantamos que su relación sufre muchas idas y venidas, y que no faltan los personajes secundarios que tratan de separar a la pareja protagonista. Para conocer el final tendrás que adquirir antes el libro, pero la compra merecerá realmente la pena, pues Jane Eyre está considerado uno de los mejores libros de amor de todos los tiempos. Y echa cuentas, porque se publicó en 1847... (...)

Cumbres borrascosas, Emily Brontë

Bromas aparte, entre hermanas anda el juego. Y es que Emily Brontë era la hermana de Charlotte Brontë y, como en el caso de Jane Eyre, también publicó su novela en el año 1847. Cumbres borrascosas lo tiene todo para ser un libro de amor de culto: amor, pasión, odio, venganza... No en vano está en la lista de los mejores libros de amor de todos los tiempos.

Ambientada en los sombríos páramos de Yorkshire, sus protagonistas son Heathcliff y Catherine. El primero es un niño abandonado al que el señor Earnshaw lleva a su casa para criarlo y la segunda, su propia hija. Una familia y sus vecinos, los Linton, que también tienen un papel protagonista en la historia. ¿De dónde toma su nombre este libro recomendado de amor? De la finca en que vivía la familia Earnshaw. Un libro de romance que sigue de rabiosa actualidad. (Anna Llopis) (Translation)

The Cuban podcast Literature con Arte devotes its most recent episode to Wuthering Heights:

No se imaginan las ganas que teníamos de hacer este episodio y como nos divertimos haciéndolo. Como no va a ser así si es uno de los libros más clásico no solo de la novela romántica (que está lejos de serlo) sino de toda la literatura universal.

Con su opera prima, la maestra Emily Bronté (sic) nos narra una historia de amor, traiciones, venganzas y maldiciones transgeneracionales que nos harán sujetarnos de la silla y decir, ¡ Wow que librazo ! (Yamaili Almenarez González in Cuba Ahora) (Translation)

Il Foglio (Italy) reviews the National Theatre play Underdog. The Other Other Brontë, In a nutshell, they hate it.

Meglio evitare di essere riscoperte, se riscoperte sta per sberleffate. O forse no, per far leggere alle nuove generazioni il romanzo La signora di Wildfell Hall di Anne Brontë vale la pena di trascinare sotto i riflettori la meno nota delle tre sorelle, facendone la placida vittima dell’ambizione di Charlotte e lasciando sbiadire in secondo piano Emily e il suo Cime tempestose. E’ quello che sta avvenendo in una pièce teatrale sgargiante e di desolante schematismo in scena al National Theatre di Londra, oggetto di recensioni perplesse e degli strali veri e propri dello Spectator, che ha parlato di un “noioso atto di diffamazione” nei confronti delle scrittrici dello Yorkshire. (Cristina Marconi) (Translation)

Il Libraio (Italy) and literature made by women: 

Un caso particolare poi è quello che riguarda le sorelle Brontë, Charlotte, Emily e Anne: tutte e tre pubblicarono romanzi sotto pseudonimo, alcuni dei quali vengono considerati tra i migliori romanzi della letteratura inglese. Tra questi troviamo in particolare Jane Eyre e Cime tempestose: nel primo una giovane ragazza affronta le avversità a cui la vita la sottopone con le proprie forze, scegliendo la via dell’indipendenza in un percorso che la porta ad attraversare drammi, misteri e una tormentata storia d’amore. Nel secondo, invece troviamo personaggi separati da invidia, aspettative sociali e pregiudizi, che per questo scelgono di farsi guidare dalla potenza dei loro sentimenti, anche quando si tratta di vendetta, rabbia o risentimento. (Translation)

El Español (Spain) reviews La Vida en Miniatura by Mariana Sánchez:

El argumento se centra en la aventura más determinante y decisiva en la vida de Dorothea Doods, un personaje cosido con hebras de la mejor literatura de mujeres (María Negroni, George Eliot, Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf,…). A sus casi 60 años, vive en Buenos Aires, sometida a la voluntad de unos padres dominantes y a la sombra de un hermano gemelo siempre ausente. (Pilar Castro) (Translation)

The Telegraph & Argus visits Abbotsford, Walter Scott's country house:

The rooms at Abbotsford were left as Scott kept them - open to the public since early 1833, five months after Scott’s death. Visitor books contain the signatures of many notable writers, including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë and Oscar Wilde. The dramatic entrance hall heaves with coats-of-arms and shields, suits of armour, carved stones and wooden panelling. (Catherine Turnbull)

If you're curious about Charlotte's signature check this old post of the Brontë Parsonage Blog. 

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Jane Eyre. The Musical in Fort Lee

An amateur production of Jane Eyre. The Musical is going on these days in Fort Lee, New Jersey:

Park Players Productions Inc.

Jane Eyre. The Musical

by Paul Gordon & John Caird

The Church of the Good Shepherd

April 19, 20, 26, 27 @ 8pm

April 21 & 28 @ 5pm

1576 Palisade Ave

Fort Lee, NJ 07024

The Park Players are so delighted to be "Painting Her Portrait", come join us for our upcoming Spring Production "Jane Eyre" the Musical.

Via New Jersey Stage.

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Brontë's Botanicals

An alert from the Brontë Parsonage Museum for today, April 21:

Celebrating... Charlotte Brontë: Brontë's Botanicals
A watercolour workshop with Julia Ogden.
April 21st 2024 11:30am - 01:00pm

The Old School Room, Church Lane, Haworth.

Charlotte Brontë was a gifted artist as well as a writer, finding particular pleasure in watercolours. 

Join us on what would have been Charlotte Brontë’s 208th birthday, and try your hand at painting with watercolours. Artist Julia Ogden will introduce you to basic techniques, and guide you in creating a beautiful botanical painting - just like Charlotte's!

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On Jane Eyre not being 'a pretty joyless novel'

Houston Chronicle reviews Alley Theatre's take on Jane Eyre.

The Alley has totally upped its game with Elizabeth Williamson’s smart and poignant adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic 19th-century novel "Jane Eyre." With a deft combination of flashbacks, monologues and stirring scenes that include intense suffering, spooky surprises and romance, Eleanor Holdridge directs a stellar cast who handle multiple roles in a seamless fashion. And yes, even the costumes are wonderful — clever pieces that fit each dramatic moment with aplomb.

John Coyne's scenic design, Alberto Segarra's lighting design and Melanie Chen Cole's sound design work well together and all are transporting, whether Jane is sitting at a desk writing a letter, or cringing in a small bed as the audience sees, hears and wonders about the odd sounds and screams that defy explanation.

Brandon Weinbrenner’s casting is perfect. Houston favorites Susan Koozin and Todd Waite don’t have the leading roles, but they have multiple important ones, and their transformations are marvelous. Watching Koozin move from sweet Mrs. Fairfax to the mad woman in the attic is something to see. Ana Miramontes is convincing playing children (no mean feat!), and Melissa Pritchett, Joy Yvonne Jones and Gabriel Regojo ably round out the cast. The chemistry of all of actors seems effortless and allows viewers to concentrate on this long-ago world that still carries emotional resonance today.

And then there is the amazing accomplishment that this play achieves: the turning of a long, detailed and sometimes dry read, which may be cumbersome and dated to some contemporary readers, into a model of dramatic efficiency. [...]

But what we also learn is that this is a character so low on the social ladder that her very desire for change is a revolutionary thought. Such governesses were not to even entertain such radical notions that “women feel the same as men do,” or that she is a person with thoughts and feelings who should be respected and considered. Brontë’s work broke the glass ceiling on the emotional temperature such women were allowed to have — and this play captures this subversive thread, even while Jane’s modesty and restraint is believably kept intact.

The play also infuses — in what is often considered to be a pretty joyless novel — a little levity and comic relief that makes the enigmatic Mr. Rochester an empathetic figure who is actually relatable (and even funny). Chris Hutchison is able to channel his talents into a role that fits him well, and let’s face it: If there is not a successful embodiment of Rochester on the stage, then everything else falls apart. Lucky for the audience, the show glimmers, no matter how intensely depressing the fog, moors and disappointments hanging around insist on being.

But here is the main thing: Melissa Molano, a fine actress who has excelled on many stages all over Houston, is superlative in the role of Jane Eyre. Molano finally has a role that allows her formidable talent to shine. She is not too mousy, never over the top. Her despair and passion is completely believable, her timing always right. Her expressions convey so much and every movement counts.

When she is speaking with passionate force, you listen. She is an actress who can make the unbelievable thought of a humble governess reaching some kind of happiness and equilibrium in a world that constantly pulls the rug out from underneath her completely believable and meaningful. And that is how you make a 19th-century novel that could buckle under the weight of despair something fresh, dramatic, relevant and inspiring on a 21st-century stage. (Doni Wilson)

We don't know which version of the novel was read by the reviewer, but ours certainly wasn't 'a pretty joyless novel'. What a silly description of Jane Eyre!

One of the Daily Mail's suggestions for this weekend is going to see Underdog: The Other Other Brontë, which gets 4 stars out of 5.

There are plenty of meta moments in Underdog: The Other Other Brontë. It is 1837 and at the parsonage in the Yorkshire village of Haworth, aspiring writer Charlotte Brontë (Gemma Whelan), older sister of Emily (Adele James) and Anne (Rhiannon Clements), is reading her reply from the poet laureate Robert Southey, to whom she has sent her poems, asking his opinion of them.

Southey is not encouraging. ‘Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life, and it ought not to be,’ he writes. ‘He’s a bellend!’ declares Emily.

Sarah Gordon’s hilarious but ultimately moving comedy about the Brontës is a racy retelling of the sisters’ struggle to become recognised authors. Charlotte is determined to be as famous and lauded as the likes of Southey, but her ambition results in her overshadowing Anne, the full extent of whose talent was not acknowledged until long after her premature death.

The banter between the rival siblings is very sharp, there are some brilliant bits of business and much fun is poked at the prissy male critics horrified that such radical, fierce novels as Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Emily’s Wuthering Heights and Anne’s The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall were written by women.

But Gordon also invites us to think seriously about how our view of these literary giants has been shaped, and about their battle to succeed in a profession dominated by men.

Incidentally, Charlotte really did write to Southey – an audacious move for the 20-year-old daughter of a country clergyman.

At the start of Underdog, Whelan wanders through the audience asking people their favourite Brontë novel. Everyone has an answer. How many people could even name a Southey poem? (Neil Armstrong)

People joins in the frenzy about Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, by pairing songs to books.

'Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?' and 'The Wife Upstairs' by Frida McFadden

With shades of Jane Eyre, this is a mystery about a woman who’s confined to the top floor of her beautiful home after a terrible accident. When a hired caretaker arrives, we learn more about what happened to her — and the story she’s desperate to tell. (Lizz Schumer)

Oprah Magazine recommends the '30 Greatest Romance Novels to Read in Your Lifetime' and one of them is

5 Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

By exploring themes such as religion, sexuality, and classism, Jane Eyre was a groundbreaking novel during its 19th-century release. Still revered as one of the genre's first novels, Brontë's story of the titular character, Jane, and her maturing emotions and love for her broody boss, Mr. Rochester, is one that readers still have a hard time putting down. (McKenzie Jean-Philippe)

Jane Eyre also makes it onto the list of novels to get started with classic literature compiled by The Lafayette.

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

“Jane Eyre” is the story of a young woman’s life as she grows up, finds love and gets placed in some absolutely wild and wonderfully gothic situations. 

This novel is not only gripping from beginning to end but also feels undyingly modern despite its 19th-century publication date. The romance plot is beyond interesting and each and every side character has such life to them, but the titular character of Jane is why this book has been loved for so long and why I think most modern readers would love this book, too.

Jane is so unapologetically herself and strong in her stance that she deserves more. Her first-person narration of her own life is what makes you love her from page one. 

I may be biased as this is a contender for my favorite book of all time, but “Jane Eyre” really is the epitome of why classics become classics in the first place: not just because a book is smart, but because a book makes you feel something. Because of that, I think it’s a must-read for anybody dipping their toe into classic literature for the first time. (Natalia Ferruggia)

Both these list-makers would also seem to disagree with Jane Eyre being 'a pretty joyless novel'.

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One-day-only at the Brontë Birthplace.

Tomorrow, April 21, if you are near Thornton do not miss the opportunity to visit the recently saved for the public Brontë Birthplace. Christa Aykroyd publishes in her Facebook wall:

For one day only before refurbishment begins,  this Sunday, April 21st , we open our door at the house where Charlotte Brontë was born to celebrate her birthday and the fact that her birthplace is now in public ownership. And you helped us buy it.  11am til 4 pm at 72 , Market Street , Thornton , Bradford. Park on the main Thornton Road and come and see the fireplace besides which Charlotte and her famous siblings were born and join us for a warm welcome , crafting for children , talks and guides and hear about our big plans for this little house. There will be birthday cake, a brass band and lots of exciting news about how you can join us.

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Bicentenary of Lord Byron's death: read him fearlessly

An edition of Charlotte's juvenilia with her copy of
William Finden's The Maid of Saragoza 
from Finden’s Landscape and Portrait Illustrations of
Lord Byron’s Life and Works.

Today, April 19th marks the bicentenary of the death of Lord Byron in Greece. He was one of the heroes of the Brontës' childhood and beyond: Heathcliff, Mr Rochester and Branwell's poetry and swagger are all clearly influenced by Lord Byron. But also the Brontës' own menagerie and--as Ellen Nussey would put it-- their love of 'dumb creatures' as well as many storylines in their juvenilia and games which were all inspired by what they knew of Lord Byron's life and works. Many of their drawings were copies of engravings from his works. It also says much about Patrick's education and upbringing of his children that he allowed them total freedom to read his works and first biography by Thomas Moore at a time when Lord Byron was deemed 'mad, bad, and dangerous to know' as Lady Caroline Lamb had summed him up years before. Lady Byron coined the term Byromania and the Brontës certainly caught it from a very early age, never fully shedding it. Here's a prim 18-year-old Charlotte advising Ellen Nussey on what to read on 4 July 1834:

If you like poetry let it be first rate, Milton, Shakespeare, Thomson, Goldsmith Pope (if you will though I don't admire him) Scott, Byron, Camp[b]ell, Wordsworth and Southey Now Ellen don't be startled at the names of Shakespeare, and Byron. Both these were great Men and their works are like themselves, You will know how to chuse the good and avoid the evil, the finest passages are always the purest, the bad are invariably revolting    you will never wish to read them over twice, Omit the Comedies of Shakespeare and the Don Juan, perhaps the Cain of Byron though the latter is a magnificent Poem and read the rest fearlessly

The Washington Post has an article on the bicentenary highlighting Andrew Stauffer’s recent biography Byron: A Life in Ten Letters, which is excellent, but also the big impact Byron and his creations had in the literary world.

All too soon he would be dead, leaving behind brokenhearted friends and lovers but also a new literary archetype: the proud, moodily introspective and sexually magnetic Byronic hero, half Apollo, half Satan. Examples range from Alexandre Dumas’s dark avenger, the Count of Monte Cristo, and Emily Bronté’s tempestuous Heathcliff to the myriad bad boys and brooding heroes of modern romance novels. (Michael Dirda)

In other news, Mirage reports that the University of Exeter is planning an event to honour Jean Rhys.

After five years in Bude, Cornwall, Rhys moved to Cheriton Fitzpaine in 1960, and it was there that she returned to the public eye as a writer, most notably with Wild [sic] Sargasso Sea. Written as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, Wild [sic] Sargasso Sea imagines the background to Mr Rochester's marriage from the point of view of his wife, later the 'madwoman in the attic'.

The book won the WH Smith Literary Award in 1967, and has grown in reputation ever since, including being named by Time as one of the '100 best English-language novels since 1923. It was included on the 'Big Jubilee Read' list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected in 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

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Brussels Brontë Group April Weekend 2024

This weekend in Brussels, the Brussels Brontë Group April Weekend is held:

Talks

Saturday 20 April 2024 (morning)

Université Saint-Louis, Rue du Marais 119, Brussels.

10.00 Talk by Valerie Sanders: ‘The Brontës go to Woolworth’s: clothes and shopping in the Bronte novels’

The title of this talk is taken from Rachel Ferguson’s 1931 novel of the same name, in which the characters do indeed imagine what Charlotte and Emily might buy in the famous cut-price store. Professor Sanders will explore the themes of clothes and shopping, both in Charlotte Brontë’s letters and in her novels: not just the famous pink dress in Villette and Mr Rochester’s lavish shopping for Jane Eyre’s trousseau, but also Caroline Helstone’s attempts to refine Hortense Moore’s dress, and Charlotte’s own resistance to wedding dress advice.

Professor Valerie Sanders is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Hull in Yorkshire, the city where she was born and educated. She is a return speaker, having given us a talk in 2011. Specializing in nineteenth-century life writing, including studies of fatherhood and sibling relationships, her research interests include Charlotte Brontë’s friend Harriet Martineau and the novelist Margaret Oliphant, of whom she has written a biography. Recently she contributed to the volume of essays ‘Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World’. She is currently a Trustee of the Brontë Society.

11.30 Talk by Octavia Cox: ‘Anne Brontë and the Sea’

‘The sea was my delight … It was delightful to me at all times and seasons, but especially in the wild commotion of a rough sea-breeze, and in the brilliant freshness of a summer morning … Refreshed, delighted, invigorated, I walked along, forgetting all my cares, feeling as if I had wings to my feet…’ (Agnes Grey)

Anne Brontë loved Scarborough, which was then a luxurious seaside spa resort; it was there to which she travelled in her final days, and there where she is buried. It has been said that that what the moors were to Emily the sea was to Anne: a soul-enlivening physical space, and an inspiring imaginative one. The sea and seaside feature importantly in Anne’s two novels, Agnes Grey (as we can see from the beautiful quotation above) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, as well as in her poetry. In this talk, Dr Octavia Cox will explore the symbolism of Anne’s sea imagery as a key element in her works.

Octavia Cox is a lecturer at Keble College, University of Oxford. She teaches courses for the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education on the Brontës, Jane Austen and other nineteenth-century writers including George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, Trollope, Dickens and Hardy. Her first monograph, Alexander Pope in the Romantic Age, is due to be published soon and she is also researching a book on how Jane Austen plays with, challenges, and subverts genre conventions within her fiction.

Guided walk

Sunday 21 April 2024
10.00-12.00. Guided walk around Brontë places in Brussels in the Place Royale area. Registration essential.

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'As close to heaven as I was ever going to get'

Reviewing the novel What Kingdom by Fine Grabol, The Washington Post claims that,

The mad have long haunted the borderlands of our fiction. Consider the attic-bound wife in “Jane Eyre,” the deluded ranters of Dostoevsky and Gogol, or all of Kleist’s lunatics, driven crazy by their dogged adherence to absurd principles. These figures can be comic or tragic, jesters or men who have fooled themselves into believing they’re the kings. All destabilize the reality of a narrative, injecting a dangerous dose of irrationality into circumstances otherwise defined by decorum and rigorous self-interest. (Robert Rubsam)

A columnist from The Korea Times writes about reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.

After mentioning the brief yet tragic life of Shakespeare's fictional sister, Woolf proceeds to delve into the experiences of women writers throughout English history, extending beyond Shakespeare's era. I was delighted and filled with anticipation upon encountering familiar names such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, and George Eliot — writers whose works I had read during my teenage years and later delved into during my university studies. (Lee Nan-hee)

Great British Life interviews writer Milly Johnson about all things Yorkshire.

A place in Yorkshire that makes you smile?

Haworth. I have always loved that quirky little village, especially after Christmas when it was quiet and foggy. I used to skive off work and drive there and wish I lived there. So in my mid-twenties, I upped sticks and moved there, hoping to be bitten by a Brontë muse. Living a village life informed my writing so much and I met so many wonderful people and had very happy times. I was married there and had my children. Whenever I go back, I visualise myself riding a horse on Sunday morning hacks through the heather on the moors and at the time it felt as close to heaven as I was ever going to get. [...]

A Yorkshire view that inspires?

I’m back in Haworth for this one. The ruins of Top Withens sent shivers down my spine when I first saw it and for anyone who is a fan of the Brontës, it is impossible not to believe you are staring at the ruins of Wuthering Heights which inspired such a powerful piece of writing. I think that Brontë muse bit me after all. (Kathryn Armstrong)

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Celebrating Charlotte Brontë at the Parsonage

Several events at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, celebrating the 208th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë:

Date: Friday 19 April, 7pm - 8:30pm (GMT)

Parsonage Unwrapped: Charlotte Brontë

With Graham Watson and Ann Dinsdale

This special edition of Parsonage Unwrapped will showcase objects that spotlight key moments in Charlotte Brontë’s life, as we celebrate her birthday later this month.

From her earliest manuscripts and drawings penned in childhood, right through to her last letter, this session will track her life through the lens of our iconic collection items.

Together with Principal Curator Ann Dinsdale, we welcome author and historian Graham Watson to the Parsonage to discuss some of our unique collection objects, in anticipation of his upcoming book, 'The Invention of Charlotte Brontë'.

Date: Saturday 20 April, 10am to 1pm

Venue: The Brontë Events Space in The Old Schoolroom, Haworth

Celebrating... Charlotte Brontë: The Big Brontë Book Swap

Did you know, an estimated 2 million copies of Charlotte Brontë’s 'Jane Eyre' have been sold worldwide? That's a lot of books!

So, to celebrate the anniversary of Charlotte's birth and the impact her writing has had on generations of readers, we invite you to our annual Big Brontë Book Swap.

Join us for a friendly and informal gathering for book lovers, where you can offload some pre-loved classics, pick up an exciting new read, and share your book recommendations in a warm and welcoming space. The more books the better – this isn't just a space for the Brontës (we do read other authors, promise…)!

Date: Saturday 20 April, 2pm - 3:30pm (GMT)

Celebrating... Charlotte Brontë: "Queer, Quizzical Looking Being": Eploring Charlotte Brontë's Negative Body Image

A writing workshop with Eve Ellis.

Following last year’s inspiring Thursday Talk, which examined Charlotte Brontë's perception of her physical appearance, Eve Ellis returns with an in-depth writing workshop exploring themes of image and beauty.

In this session, we'll examine Charlotte Brontë's understanding of her body within the context of Victorian beauty standards for women, exploring modern-day parallels through a dynamic blend of fiction and non-fiction writing.

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Banagher Brontë Festival

 This weekend in Banagher, Ireland

Banagher Brontë Festival

organized by the Banagher Brontë Group

April 19-21

April 19, 7.00pm

Back Lounge of Corrigan’s Corner Pub

An Evening with Charlotte Brontë devised specifically for the Banagher Brontë Group by Michael and Christine O’Dowd

April 20

Crank House 

11.00 am  Falling in Love with Arthur by Joanne Wilcocks

12.00pm Currer Bell's Silent Years 1852-1855 by Pauline Clooney

2.30 pm  The Art of Branwell Brontë by Maebh O’Regan

The Early Days of the B.B.G. short film by created by Maebh and Seanie O’Regan

April 21

11.00am Walk from Saint Paul’s Church on the Hill to Cuba to look at the remains of the Royal School of Banagher

Nicola Daly’s guest house, Charlotte’s Way
12.30pm Coffee and Tea. 

The Banagher Brontë Group so far by James Scully.

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Rediscovering Wuthering Heights at different stages of life experience

Broadway World shares a video of Alley Theatre's Jane Eyre.

Get a first look at Alley Theatre's production Jane Eyre in all-new video. Directed by Eleanor Holdridge (Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Soprano), this timeless tale of love, resilience, and self-discovery comes to life in Elizabeth Williamson's stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel.

The cast of Jane Eyre includes Alley's Resident Acting Company members Chris Hutchison as Edward Fairfax Rochester, Melissa Molano as Jane Eyre, Melissa Pritchett as Grace Poole/ Mary Ingram/ Bessie, and Todd Waite as John/ Colonel Dent/ Mr Carter/ Mr Wood. (Joshua Wright)

Reader's Digest interviews writer Joanne Harris about all things North of England.

RD: How has your own writing been inspired by the rich literary heritage of the north? Do you have a particular favourite northern author?

JH: I live close to Haworth, and I’ve always been an admirer of the Brontë sisters, especially Emily: her intense connection with the landscape, her fearless subversion of tradition, her uncanny perception.

I first read Wuthering Heights when I was 15, and have re-read it every five years or so since, rediscovering it anew at different stages of life experience.

The blunder of the day comes from a contributor to Her Campus listing '5 books you need to read this summer'.

Wuthering Heights

By Charlotte Brontë [sic]

If you like a slow burn, this is for you. Set in the moors of England, this chilly, wondrous atmosphere is warmly lit by the affection of two children- one that spans into the rest of their lives. Set in the early 1800s, the protagonists Catherine and Heathcliff face social, religious and racial persecution that drives them apart. Wuthering Heights is regarded as one of the pillars of literature, although it is Brontë’s only published novel. With iconic quotes like, “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn into a mighty stranger.” Your heart will be turning with every page of the book. (Eliana Burns)

According to Shemazing, Jane Eyre of '7 plot twists that will have you throwing the book across the room'.

‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë

A classic for a reason, I have to imagine Jane Eyre’s twist shocked audiences in the eighteenth century just as much as it shocks modern readers. A twist that inspired an entire spin off novel (read ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ by Jean Rhys afterwards), it will keep you guessing up to the end.

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again? And what are the dark presences lurking around Thornfield Hall? (Lulu McKenna)

WBUR includes Wuthering Heights on a list of 'Debuts that were one-hit wonders, or their first book was the lasting success'. Seriously, the specific list thing is getting out of hand now.

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The Brontës And The 19th-century Art World

An alert from the Bronté Parsonage Musuem for tomorrow, April 18:

The Brontës And The 19th-century Art World

A Thursday Talk at the Brontë Parsonage Museum

Thursday 18 April, 2pm

Brontë Event Space at the Old School Room

This talk looks at what art was being made during the 19th century, specifically by female artists. We’ll discuss how important art was to the Brontës' lives, and how the Brontës utilised art in the novels Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

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