The coolest female character ever

Let's celebrate Jane Eyre's 161 anniversary with our daily newsround:

The Examiner recommends books for treating the Harry Potter withdrawal. Lloyd Alexander's The Prydain Chronicles is described like this:

These books held pride of place in my top five favorite books of all time list for years (in fact, the red-headed, forceful Princess Eilonwy was, in my opinion, the coolest female character ever until I read Jane Eyre). (Michelle Kerns)

The Southampton Daily Echo introduces a new author and Brontëite, Ron Clooney:

Ron, who teaches English at Chamberlayne Park School in Southampton, said his own early literary influences came from Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, DH Lawrence and the Bronte sisters with his favourite book of all time Wuthering Heights.

And the Memphis Commercial Appeal talks with another one, Charlaine Harris:

Earliest inspiration: "Jane Eyre," which she read as a preteen. "She (Jane) had such a bleak life and she wasn't pretty and I liked that," said Harris. (Cathryn Stout)

Heather McRobie advocates in The Guardian's Book Blog for leaving Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath alone:

As Sylvia Plath became the pin-up girl of every high-achieving, highly-strung teenager in Britain and America, her fans' need to hold someone accountable for the death of their idol turned Hughes into a caricature Heathcliff.

The Denver Post lists the upcoming performances of The Mystery of Irma Vep at the Backstage Theatre in Breckenridge, Colorado:

This quirky quick-change comedy by Charles Ludlam spoofs films like "Wuthering Heights," "The Mummy's Curse" and "Rebecca," with two actors playing all eight characters. Through Nov. 1. Backstage Theatre, 121 S. Ridge St., Breckenridge, 970453-0199 or backstagetheatre.org. (John Moore)

The Daily Princetonian presents the exhibition Gothic: Dark Glamour at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. As usual the word gothic inspires Brontë mentions to journalists:

Discovering Gothic style, from Bronte to McQueen (...)
For those of us who considered themselves miles apart from anything Gothic, seeing our own reflections fit so well into the exhibit becomes the most provocative part of the collection. It forces us to admit, to ourselves and to the world, that "Nelly, I am Heathcliff." (Isabel Schwab)

It has been a while since a Brontë horse was mentioned in the news. Today, in the Australian Daily Telegraph

His third dam, Market Heights, is by noted sire of stayers Grosvenor and she is a product of the wonderful Wuthering Heights broodmare line, regarded as one of the greatest stamina influences in Australasian breeding. (Ray Thomas)

Grovel briefly posts about Classical Comics's Jane Eyre graphic novel:

Perhaps most interesting however is John M. Burns’ artwork, which is beautifully hand painted, giving it a glorious retro feel when compared to modern computer-based colouring techniques. A true blast from the past that gives this book even more of a classic feel. (Andy)

Mishkin posts a couple of drawings of her personal view of Rochester (in French) and Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover has started a Jane hunting on amazon.

Categories: Brontëites, Comics, Jane Eyre, References, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights