Paul Auster and the Power of the North Wind

Let's start today's newsround with Paul Auster's reading recommendation to a child. Today in The Financial Times:

What novel would you give a child to introduce them to literature?
I gave my daughter Wuthering Heights when she was 11 or 12. (Anna Metcalfe)

This Saturday's Walking Holidays section of The Guardian is devoted to the Brontë moors:

Walk in a nutshell
This walk takes you out of Haworth, the village where the Brontë sisters lived and wrote, along pathways they walked and through the moorland that inspired them. Beginning near the church that holds the family vault, you walk up to the Brontë waterfalls, described by Charlotte Brontë as "fine indeed; a perfect torrent racing over the rocks, white and beautiful," then up again to Top Withens, the supposed setting of Wuthering Heights. The Pennine Way is followed for part of the return and the walk ends at the parsonage where the Brontës lived and wrote, now an excellent museum.
Why it's special
The Brontë sisters lived most of their short but fruitful lives in Haworth. In 1847, Charlotte published Jane Eyre, Anne published Agnes Grey and Emily published Wuthering Heights, but within eight years all three had died, outlived by their father. This walk, especially combined with a visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, really brings their milieu to life. Although there is no evidence that the now ruined farmhouse on Top Withens was the inspiration for Heathcliff's dwelling, locals and the Brontë Society say Emily was most likely thinking of its moorland setting when she wrote about Wuthering Heights. Describing it, she wrote: "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 alms of the sun."
Keep your eyes peeled for
A stone at the waterfalls known locally as the Brontë chair. Also, part of the open moorland on the way to the falls is renowned for the birds that breed here, including curlews, golden plover peregrines and merlins. Between mid-March and mid-July the birds court, make nests in the heather and grass, lay eggs and raise chicks.

More information a map and step-by-step instructions here.

The Chicago Tribune picks Denise Giardina's upcoming Emily's Ghost as one of the 33 hot reads for the summer:

The talented writerly sisters make their way through 19th Century England. (Kristin Kloberdanz)

The Huntington Newsday talks with the fantasy and S/F author Christie Golden, also known as Jadrien Bell:

You’ve also written under the pen name Jadrien Bell. Does it have a special meaning?
“Bell” is a nod to the Bronte sisters, who each chose that for their pen name. “Jadrien” because, well, I once saw a British production of “The Secret Garden” and one of the actors was named Jadrien and I thought it was cool. (Mary Beth Foley)

Another Brontëite is the writer Adriana Trigiani as we previously posted. The Scotsman confirms it once more:

"One day a teacher hands me, Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh. I probably read it 150 times. I'm obsessive like that. I re-read Jane Eyre every year." (Lee Randall)

Also in The Scotsman there is a review (by Claire Harman, author of Jane's Fame) of Lilian Pizzichini's biography of Jean Rhys: The Blue Hour:

Was Wide Sargasso Sea, published in 1966, a "modernist masterpiece", as Ms Pizzichini keeps saying? Not at all, though Rhys's much better books, Good Morning, Midnight, After Leaving Mr Mackenzie and the passive-aggressive Smile, Please are tremendous. Rhys was ill-read, preferring to pass out over a thriller rather than Proust or Trollope. She wasn't interested in other people's books, just as she wasn't interested in other people (part of the reason she was so impressed by Jane Eyre – to the extent of writing its prequel – was that she had read so little like it). This leaves her a singularly uncommunicative, even chilly writer.

The Quincy Patriot-Ledger recommends The Mystery of Irma Vep's performances in Cape Cod:

Those headed to the Cape can catch the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater production of “The Mystery of Irma Veep.” This fast-paced show throws together elements of Hitchcock's "Rebecca," the novels of the Bronte sisters and a slew of monster movies to create one very clever comedy

And The Reading Chronicle talks about the recent launch of the British Literary Manuscripts Online c1660-1900:

There are also documents from Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Robbie Burns and early drafts of some of Charles Dickens’ work.
The collection is called the British Literary Manuscripts Online c1660-1900, launched on Tuesday by Gale Cengage Learning, an e-research and educational publishing firm.
It is available from subscribing schools, colleges and libraries, and eventually through a pay-per-view service. (Annabel Williams)

Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Angel's Game is now published in Australia. The Courier Mail talks about its Brontë references:

Zafon litters The Angel's Game with references from literary classics such as Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. He covers a range of eras and subjects such as mythology, nature, film noir and even comic books. (Fiona Purdon)

The Fort-Wayne News Sentinel interviews Roxanne Gregg, director of the Upward Bound programme at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne:

“If I had to pick a favorite, I think it would be one of Jane Austen's books - probably ‘Pride and Prejudice.' I've seen every version on ‘Masterpiece Theatre' and think it is fabulous! I first read Jane Austen in school but annually watch the productions on PBS. ‘Jane Eyre' is also a favorite, and I've watched it on television, too. Timothy Dalton was my favorite Rochester. (Betty E. Stein)

La Gaceta and other Argentinian outlets report the death of the actress Fanny Dupré who performed Wuthering Heights in an Argentinian radio adaptation. AgoraVox compares the Brontës and the Anguissola family, BD sélection reviews Yann & Édith's Les Hauts de Hurlevent comic:

Le crayon acéré d’Edith y fait merveille : croquant des personnages aux trognes savoureuses qui évoluent sur les landes balayées par les vents du nord, tout en proposant des ambiances colorées dans des tons bleu-nuit. Quant à la narration, très fluide, elle est significative du style romantique du prolifique Yann, incorrigible scénariste qui n’a pas pu s’empêcher de rajouter un petit fond caustique et cruel : et c’est ce qui fait l’originalité de ce bel ouvrage nous racontant le destin tragique de cette famille prise dans les tourments violents de la passion et de la vengeance ! (Gilles) (Google translation)

The Little Professor reviews Sarah Waters's The Little Stranger, arteyliteratura reviews Jane Eyre 1944 (in Spanish), Red Curtain publishes (a lot of) Wuthering Heights 2009 screencaps and Insert exciting blog title here talks about Wuthering Heights (the novel). Jane Learmonth posts a video reading of Charlotte Brontë's Evening Solace.

Richard Wilcocks posts on the Brontë Parsonage Blog about the new exhibition about Branwell Brontë and the ongoing AGM events (check previous post):

On Thursday evening the new exhibition Sex, Drugs and Literature: The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë was viewed by an appreciative crowd. Branwell's life is presented in a balanced way, with recent research appropriately incorporated. (Read more)

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Brontëites, Comics, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Poetry, References, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights