Tunisian Brontës

A letter to the editor published in The New York Times tells of the situation in Tunisia:

Our university should be a less confusing place than it was less than two weeks ago. We taught Orwell’s “1984” with a flesh-and-blood Big Brother outside the doors. Budding novelists coded their feelings in imitation Brontë novels. (Edward Sklepowich)

Also The New York Times features Dong Mingzhu, 'one of the toughest businesswomen in China', but the journalist makes a statement that clearly clashes with Ms Mingzhu's personality.

She is a fan of romantic novels like “Jane Eyre” and “Gone with the Wind.” (Didi Kirsten Tatlow)

The journalist should have known better than to reduce Jane Eyre (or Gone with the Wind for that matter) to a mere romantic novel in view of the rest of the article.

Writing for The North County Times about the current performances of Paul Gordon's musical Emma at The Old Globe in San Diego, the reviewer can't help but praise Paul Gordon's previous collaboration with John Caird for Jane Eyre. The Musical:

In 1999, I was in the minority who admired Gordon's far darker "Jane Eyre," directed by John Caird and Scott Schwartz (on a more elaborate set of turntables) and beautifully sung with Marla Schaffel in the title role at La Jolla Playhouse. (Anne Marie Welsh)

And still about music, albeit quite a different type, SoundBlab says the following about Anna Calvi's debut album:

Her evident love of Kate Bush's ornate work of leftfield pop genius, 'Wuthering Heights' also proves a recurring touchstone. (Rich Morris)

A couple of news outlets - The Mirror, On the Box - comment on tonight's Skins episode and remark on the Charlotte Brontë tattoo.

The Fan Carpet also seems to think that Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre will be released in the UK on September 9th (for more possible release dates in other countries check out this post). Also, Jane Eyre 2011 Facebook links to a few new stills from the film on the Yahoo! Movies Photo Galleries. For instance this one of Blanche Ingram played by Imogen Poots.

The Star Observer mentions the Robyn Loau's Wuthering Heights cover:

The record features songwriting collaborations with a couple of other outspoken female singers, Nikka Costa and Skin from Skunk Anansie, and a clutch of cover versions, including a faithfully high-pitched take on Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.

A column writer for the Manila Standard Today recalls her mother's collection of classics, which included works by the Brontë sisters. Our Books Are Better Than We Are discusses Jane Eyre. Tinta Nocturna (available both in English and Spanish) has interviewed writer Elle Jasper:

8. What has been the writer and history that have influenced your current style? Why?I like the old writers--Bram Stoker, Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley. They have definitely influenced my current style. (Alan D.D.)

And writer Syrie James writes on her blog about star-crossed lovers and how the subject has shaped her latest novel, Nocturne.

Star-crossed love—the idea of two people falling hopelessly, desperately in love against seemingly insurmountable odds—is one of the most popular, thrilling, and heartrending themes in literature and film. Think Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, Romeo and Juliet, Cathy and Heathcliff, Buffy and Angel. Maybe that’s why I felt so compelled to write about Michael and Nicole, the star-crossed lovers in my new novel, Nocturne, who spend four magical days together and are both utterly transformed by the experience.

Categories: Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Wuthering Heights