Patrick Brontë at home

The Telegraph and Argus has an article on this year's temporary exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

An exhibition to improve the image of the father of the world-famous Bronte sisters is being launched in their former home.
It aims to reveal that the Reverend Patrick Bronte was not a stern and unsophisticated man but a loving and devoted father.
The exhibition is to open at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth on Thursday, March 17, the day of his birth in 1777, St Patrick’s Day.
This year is the 150th anniversary of his death in Haworth in June 1861, having been Perpetual Curate for 41 years and outliving all his children.
Museum collection manager Ann Dinsdale, who has helped put the exhibition together, says the well-known photograph of Mr Brontë, taken towards the end of his life and showing a rather stern unsmiling face, was not a true reflection of his character.
“Remember, by then he had out-lived all his family having lost his wife and six children and most of his friends and contemporaries.
“The picture shows a remarkable determined expression, but it hides the other side of his character which was loving and very supportive.
“He had a huge influence on his children as they grew up and encouraged them to study art, literature and politics.”
The exhibition runs until March 31, 2012. (Clive White)

Dave Barnett, a columnist from The Telegraph and Argus, writes about the beginning of World Book Day Week for him and his family:

We have also visited the Brontë Parsonage as part of our day in Haworth, the first time with the children. And they really seemed to enjoy it.

If needed, here's further evidence of the Brontës' legacy being alive and well in the 21st century. According to STV,

Hermione Granger is the literary character that most teenagers would like to date in a survey to celebrate World Book Day. The Harry Potter wizard is more popular than Jacob Black and Edward Cullen from the Twilight series.
The survey asked teenagers which book character they’d most like to date. [...]
Both Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights made the list too.

Writer Charlaine Harris confirms her Brontëiteness in an interview by the Journal Standard.

I loved “Jane Eyre,” still do. (DA Kentner)

The South Korean film Hanyo (The Housemaid) is once again found somewhat reminiscent of Jane Eyre, albeit in its classic Hollywood adaptation, by The St Louis Beacon:

“The Housemaid,” a sexy, suspenseful psychological thriller from South Korea, is very loosely based on a 1960 Korean classic of the same name. But the new movie might also be seen as a contemporary take on American Gothic film noir, movies like Otto Preminger’s “Laura,” Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” or the 1944 version of “Jane Eyre” that starred Orson Welles. (Harper Barnes)

Another movie, Drive Angry 3D, is reviewed by The Friday Flyer. Somehow we don't think this is in praise of Wuthering Heights:

It makes the “Dukes of Hazard” seem like “Wuthering Heights.” (Ron and Leigh Martel)

A reader of WAtoday wonders why sports and literature should be self-excluding.

Bob, I ask you, why can't I love Emily Brontë and rugby league? (Nicole O'Brien)

That reader might be glad to hear that in our experience sports commentators are quite fond of bringing up Wuthering Heights in their articles.

The New York Times announces:

WordTheatre has expanded beyond the stage with readings in schools and downloads through HarperCollins. And in early July it will sponsor a writers’ retreat in Edale, England, in the Peak District, which inspired Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë. (Kathryn Shattuck)

Associated Content has an article on 'The Best and Worst of Jane Eyre' adaptations. We'll Always Have Books posts about Jane Eyre and Readings and Things: A Blog About Books posts about Villette as part of their respective read-alongs. She Reads Novels has written about Villette as well.

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Patrick Brontë, References, Villette, Wuthering Heights