Attracted by Haworth

The Telegraph & Argus talks about the increase in visitors to the Bradford area, including the Brontë Parsonage:

In 2008, the district welcomed 5,000 overnight visitors from North America, many of whom were wooed by attractions such as the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, the World Heritage Site of Saltaire and Bradford’s National Media Museum. Meanwhile, 75,000 visitors from Europe had overnight stays in Bradford.
Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council’s executive member for environment and culture, said: “They are extremely interesting statistics, especially the 19-day average for visits.
“Visitors from wider areas are often coming to stay with relatives, whereas many of the North American and EU visitors are attracted by Haworth, the Media Museum and Saltaire.”(Will Kilner)

Essential Writers has an article about second novels and Charlotte Brontë's "second" novel (excluding The Professor) Shirley is mentioned again:

This is such a common issue that The Times Online ran a feature about it in March 2009, listing ten second novels that couldn’t match up to their predecessors. These included Alice Sebold’s The Almost Moon, which followed the bestselling The Lovely Bones, and Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley, which followed Jane Eyre. It’s not that anything is wrong with these novels, simply that they didn’t fare well when compared to the first novels by those authors. (Judy Darley)

More orphans and more Jane Eyre in The Telegraph:

Maria Bousada can't have given much thought to what it is like to be an orphan. She certainly hadn't read the orphan classics. You know, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, the books that chart the loneliness, the isolation, the absence of belonging that can be the orphan's lot; the books that make children sigh with relief when they fold down the page and switch off the light, knowing that their mother and father will be there for them when they wake in the morning. (Genevieve Fox)

Carrie Specht attended the recent Wuthering Heights 1939 screening organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She tells her experience on FilmJerk:

I went to the Academy’s screening of “Wuthering Heights” last month and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience from beginning to end. I purchased my ticket (very inexpensive at $5!) online and found it waiting for me at the will call booth. After showing my ID ,I was presented with an envelope containing an elegant looking entry stub worthy of scrap booking. Upon entering the lobby, I was handed a beautifully crafted full-size program obviously designed with the keepsake sentimentalist in mind. In fact, the older gentleman I ended up sitting next to was prepared with a plastic cover in which to immediately slide his recently acquired souvenir. The theater itself is one of the finest in Los Angeles with wide red carpet aisles and well maintained, red cushioned seats. I was fortunate to get a seat in my preferred seating area. However, I doubt there’s a bad seat in the house, with its old fashioned, intelligent design of tiered seating that gently scoops down toward the screen, raising again slightly just before reaching the proscenium.
The film itself was preceded by a quick announcement of facts about its production, giving today’s viewer a context for a movie from yesteryear. And Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. himself spoke briefly about how his father (the producer of the movie) felt about the picture as it was being made and his overall pride generated by the public’s appreciation of the hard work that went into creating such a fine film. In addition, there was a “Flash Gordon” serial short played before the feature presentation, just as it would have been similarly presented in 1939.
Overall, it was a terrific movie going experience.

Check also the review of the film that posts today Le Films d'Olivier (in French).

The most recent adaptation of Wuthering Heights is the subject of a this piece of news from ITV1's This Morning which can be seen on youtube.

TV Scoop talks about BBC2's Desperate Romantics and mentions Wuthering Heights 2009:

Desperate Romantics is written by TV's current writing star, Peter Bowker. He wrote the excellent Occupation, and is the man behind ITV1's decent Wuthering Heights incarnation.

Broadway World recommends SoNoGo's The Art of Memory performances in New York, The Lansing State Journal links together again romanticism and Wuthering Heights:

I am a hopeless romantic. Give me a glass of wine, a fireplace and a little Lord Byron, and I'm a happy woman.
I have been known to reread certain works, silently cheering for Catherine and Heathcliff, Gatsby and Daisy, even Henry Miller and Anais Nin to surprise me and make it in the end. (Susan J. Demas)

Beyond Assumptions reviews Jane Eyre, The Dancing Nomad makes some interesting comparisons between the Twilight use of Wuthering Heights quotes and the actual ones, a topic that is also tangentially covered in this post on How To Furnish a Room, The Garreteer shares some thoughts about Emily Brontë's novel, Gobétrotter recommends a visit to the Brontë places in Brussels (in Hungarian). Finally, Starstyle interviews Syrie James, author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë. You can listen to the interview here (around 40 minutes into the show).

Categories: Audio-Radio, Books, Dance, Fiction, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights