Bipolar isn't all that attractive, but tea cosies are always nice

Brontëana items are in the news today. Check the Keighley News:

Lord and Lady Wallace of Saltaire have renewed their acquaintance with two dresses believed to have been owned by the Brontë family.
The couple were given a special viewing of the dresses - and a tea cosy - which had been donated to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, in Haworth, in 1951, by a relative of Lady Wallace.
Brontë Parsonage librarian Ann Dinsdale said: "We always try to accommodate families who have donated items to the museum. These were donated by a distant relative of Lady Wallace."
The dresses were at one time owned by Martha Whiteoak, of Ingrow, who knew the Brontës when she was very young.
They were now so fragile they were kept in permanent storage but the cosy was always on display in the museum, Mrs Dinsdale added.

Reuters Life! suggests a way of spending 48 hours in literary London:

Got 48 hours to explore the literary haunts of London? The British capital is a treasure trove of pubs, museums and hotels steeped in booklore. (...)
Start your day with more than 13 million books! Head to the London haven of book lovers, the British Library at St. Pancras. You can view the 1215 Magna Carta and many manuscripts, including Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. (Paul Casciato)

We cannot agree more. As a matter of fact, a pilgrimage to the British Library is unavoidable each time BrontëBlog visits London.

PBS's Masterpiece Theatre is analyzed in an interesting article in Los Angeles Times:

It had been obvious that "Masterpiece Theatre" needed to rethink its image in light of revolutionary changes in television and media, said Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of "Masterpiece Theatre" for the last 22 years. Studies had shown that viewers identified the series with PBS, admired its high quality and consistently drew a respectable 1.8 to 2 average household Nielsen rating. The series was beloved by an ardent fan base -- as evidenced by numerous parodies, including "Mouseterpiece Theater," "Rastapiece Theater" and "Master P's Theater." It was the most cited reason why people became members of their local public television stations and, most significant, the reason they stayed. But lately some viewers have become confused by shifting time slots and mixed expectations.
"What we wanted to know was why aren't more people watching it and what would it take to attract a younger audience?" said Bob Knapp, president of Neubrand, a marketing and brand consultant. Viewers had told researchers they perceived the series as a "dusty jewel that was hard to find in the PBS crown," Eaton said. They wanted to know whether to expect "Jane Eyre" or Jane Tennison, "Bleak House" or "White Teeth"?
The result was a compromise between changing everything or changing nothing, Knapp said, the literary equivalent of "brand new look, same great taste." (Lynn Smith)

The Columbus Dispatch confronts fantasy and reality... studs and duds:

As I get older, I'm starting to look at the dating game a little differently. The most noticeable difference I'm realizing is that the fantasy guy I used to want is not the guy I could deal with in real life. Here are some examples.

Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights

Fantasy: dark, complex and in need of a savior
Reality: Bipolar isn't all that attractive. (Bridgette Williams)

Now for some blogs to check out. Litteranet posts (in French) her/his personal Rochester ranking: Timothy Dalton, Toby Stephens, Michael Jayston, William Hurt, Orson Welles and Ciarán Hinds. Eli in Wonderland has some Jane Eyre 1996 icons.

Categories: Brontëana, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights