What would you do if you were denied your soulmate?

Victoria Glendinning, author of lives of Edith Sitwell, Anthony Trollope, Vita Sackville-West, Leonard Woolf or Jonathan Swift among others, complains in The Guardian about how publishers are reluctant to publish biographies of not well-known subjects. It seems that only the Brontës are known enough:

Works about major names no longer attract huge advances and publishers are only interested in familiar figures like the Brontës. (...)
Glendinning came up against the same prejudice: "This new book will be a biography of a fascinating man [Sir Stamford Raffles, best known now as the founder of Singapore]… in my opinion, this is the book of my life. I thought publishers would all be thrilled. But no. They want Victoria to do something exactly the same as before."
She was asked, instead, if she would write about the Brontë sisters: "I nearly fell off my chair. It is playing safe to a ridiculous level. The Brontës have been so well written about. They don't need another book and I cannot go on that tragic trip with them again."
Many would argue that the literary biography began with Elizabeth Gaskell's study of the life of her friend Charlotte Brontë, which appeared in 1857. (Vanessa Thorpe)

As a matter of fact, Victoria Glendinning wrote an introduction for the 1986 Brian Wilks book The Illustrated Brontës of Haworth.
 
The Times reviews the Dublin performances of Jane Eyre (3 of 5 stars), adapted by Alan Stanford:

(...) Alan Stanford’s adaptation at the Gate is faithful yet independent, allowing for consideration of both the elements that have been manipulated, and those left as found in Charlotte Brontë’s classic story. The difficult transition from a substantial first-person novel to a fast-paced play with 36 characters is aided by the employment of the older Eyre, a magnetic Deirdre Donnelly, as narrator. Changes have also been made to take account of the shifts in public perception in the 163 years since the novel was written. Eyre’s stay with the pious Rivers siblings is played for laughs, heightening their goodness to a point that, for a modern audience, can only be taken as comedy. A controversial element that remains intact is the portrayal of Bertha, Rochester’s secret wife, locked away in his stately English home because she was insane. The problem with Stanford’s presentation of Bertha as a Creole animal ruining poor Rochester’s life is the same one that today’s race-aware readers find in the book. Played with  graceful exoticism by Donna Anita Nikolaisen, Bertha is as savage on this 21st-century stage as she is on the 19th-century pages. She brings gothic mysticism to an otherwise realistic work, portraying horror and beauty simultaneously, pointing to the era’s racism. This “faithful” portrayal of Bertha makes it difficult to sympathise with Rochester, an enjoyable performance from Stephen Brennan. He considers himself burdened with a “lunatic” wife who, worst of all, is unchaste. The story is set in a time when mental health was not understood, yet evidence of a contemporary social conscience can be found elsewhere in this version. Stanford’s production gives sufficient time to Eyre’s stint at Lowood School where the beatings of children and arrogance of those in charge will resonate with an Irish audience still dealing with the horrors of state institutions. That Andrea Corr is too beautiful to be “plain Jane” is a given, but the juxtaposing physiques of Brennan and Corr give a visual dimension to their obstacles, and her good looks hurt neither the credibility of the story nor the protagonist. Corr plays bridled passion well. In the minutes leading up to Rochester’s proposal she creates the turmoil of Eyre caught between what she wants to express and that which society will allow her. The initial performance as a wide-eyed 18-year-old does jar at times, but her depiction strengthens as the character progresses. The chemistry between Corr and Brennan is delightfully awkward yet persuasive, and they are helped by talented support. Barbara Brennan is a fine Mrs Fairfax, Peter Gaynor gives everything needed of St John Rivers and Barry McGovern in a top hat, this time as Lord Ingram, is guaranteed laughs. The Gate’s Jane Eyre ticks all the boxes for seasonal enjoyment. A gripping portrayal of a classic, it is first and foremost a love story and, though the characters endure hardship, you leave heartened. (Eithne Shortall)

Collider is excited quoting the synopsis and a promo poster of Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights. The promo poster is the same that HanWay films used when the film was going to be directed by Peter Webber, though:

What would you do if you were denied your soulmate?
The passionate tale of Heathclith and Cathy (Kaya Scodelario), two teenagers whose elemental love for each other creates a storm of vengeance.
From director Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road), comes a new take on the classic, a startling vision of desire and obsession.

Robert McCrum renegates about unnecessarily long books in The Guardian and lists a personal selection of good, 'slim' novels where Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea is number two.

Jane Eyre is the favourite book of student Rachel Sayers, as read in The Marion Star, because

[I]t shows the strength women can attain through hard work and intelligence.

Two weather/landscape-oriented Wuthering Heights references are to be found today in the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise and the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune. Screenology devotes an article to William Wyler, director of Wuthering Heights 1939. The Telegraph insists on saying that TB killed the Brontë sisters (not Charlotte, but that's another story). This is what Get the Big Picture says about Tom Hardy, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights 2009:

With Hardy, I'm actually curious how he would pull it off.  Seriously, check out Bronson and Wuthering Heights, you can see how dynamic he is as an actor. 

Matt Berry was terrified when he saw for the first time as a child Kate Bush's performance of Wuthering Height (Wales on Sunday); Iris on Books talks about Jane Eyre and post-colonialism issues; WORD for Teens reviews Charlotte Brontë's novel; Well, you wanted to know what I thought… reviews Jane Eyre 1983.

Finally, an alert for today, November 14, in Lawrenceville, NJ:

5th Annual Book Lovers' Luncheon
featuring Sheila Kolher
November 14, 2010, 12pm-3pm
Greenacres Country Club in Lawrenceville, NJ

Join the HVEF for our 5th Book Lover's Luncheon! This annual event, anticipated by readers throughout the area, is once again featuring an outstanding author who will speak to attendees about her life and writing. Ms. Kohler will talk about her newest novel, Becoming Jane Eyre, and the process of writing fiction based on real life - how authors transform history into story. She is the author of ten books, including Cracks, which has recently been turned into a movie, and is currently a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. Ms. Kohler was interviewed recently by the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.

Categories: Alert, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights