Mrs Reed, the philanthropist

The Economist reviews White Heat. The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple. The reviewer begins the article with a reference to the other literary Emily:

Rather like Emily Brontë, with whom she identified, Dickinson shrank from contact with the world, scuttling off in her signature white dress as soon as a visitor appeared at the door.

The New Statesman (firm candidate to the most Brontë-referencing magazine) reviews The Dark Knight:

The hero of The Dark Knight is a dour, psychologically flawed champion of the disenfranchised, given to sudden rages, whose war on crime is looking a touch ineffectual. He was once heralded as a force for good but the public now regards him with hostility. And he spends much of his time brooding over news reports of his own demise as his white-haired assistant looks worriedly on. Ring any bells? Yes, Gordon Brown might fancy himself as Heathcliff, but on the strength of The Dark Knight, he's a dead ringer for this embittered Batman. (Ryan Gilbey)

The Wichita Falls Times Record News says the following in an article about the guidelines for Bible classes approved by the Texas school board:

The classic novel “Jane Eyre” contains 176 biblical references. (Ann Work)

It's good (and polite) to quote your sources. The reference comes from the following article: Tkacz, Catherine Brown “The Bible in Jane Eyre.” Christianity and Literature 44.1 (1994): 3-27. The actual quote can be read in this other article:

Jane Eyre contains 176 scriptural allusions: at least eighty-one quotations and paraphrases from twenty-three books of the Old Testament, and ninety-five from the fifteen books of the New [Testament.]

Do you like Wuthering Heights landscape references? We have one today. From the New Zealand Herald describing Luxury Martinborough:

I quickly discover how easy it is to do nothing, but hubby insists we go exploring so we hit the beach along the south Wairarapa coast. It's wild, windswept and very Wuthering Heights. It's also starting to rain, which means we don't make it as far as one of New Zealand's largest breeding colonies of protected fur seals. (Sharon Stephenson)

The Mexican newspaper La Jornada publishes a translation of Muriel Spark's "The Brontës as Teachers," The New Yorker, January 22, 1966, p. 30. Apparently the translation comes from an Italian translation (!).

Let's now list some blog reviews: Star's Reading Blog and Book Addiction review Wuthering Heights. iamnotmyblog talks about Claire Boylan's Emma Brown (in German). Not exactly a review but a show of love for Wuthering Heights can be read on Arte.Rotina (in Portuguese). Francisco Arias Solís posts about Charlotte Brontë (in Spanish) and this Turkish blog does the same thing with Emily Brontë (in Turkish). Freaky Trigger reviews Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights.

Finally, we have to make a reference to an angry reader of The Christian Science Monitor who thinks the following about Jane Eyre:

I always thought that Jane Eyre needed a good swift kick in the bustle, myself. So sanctimonious. Such a misplaced sense of unacknowledged entitlement. In short, the girl was a moanjob, and I always wanted to tell her, “Shut up and get in line, sweet cheeks. Do you have any idea where most orphan girls your age end up without an aunt to take them in and send them off to boarding school? (Pat Padden)

Oh, dear - Mrs Reed as a philanthropist. We need a new Jean Rhys to rehabilitate that poor and mistreated lady.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Music, References, Sequels, Wuthering Heights