Anne Brontë daffodil and other news

Let's start with a few reviews of Jane Eyre 2011.

The Bay Area Reporter reviewer claims to have finally found his Jane Eyre:

. . . the transcendently romantic, tragic, gothic ghost story directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with the captivating quartet of Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Dame Judi Dench – will forever be my Jane Eyre. (David Lamble)

And despite admitting to not considering perfect, The Ram also considers it a favourite version now:

All in all, this is a wonderful adaptation of Jane Eyre, and my personal favorite of all versions I have seen. Whether or not you've read the novel (and everyone should at some point in their lives), this film is worth a trip to the movie theater. (Lauren Hathaway)

The Delaware County News Network, however, is a bit confused when it comes to this film/story:

There have been many adaptations of Charlotte’s Brontë’s famed novel, Jane Eyre and we somehow missed them all until we caught this one starring Jane Wasikowska [sic] as Jane, an orphan who is bullied by her cousin and mistreated by her cruel aunt.
As an adult, she finds work as a governess for a gentleman (Mr. Rochester) played by Michael Fassbender whose initial bullying is met with Jane’s forceful rebuttal.
Rochester is twice her ages but Jane is attracted to his vibrant energetic master as she takes care of his young ward. It’s a nice story but I’m amazed it’s been done so many times. (Harvey Pollack)

Yeah, we'd be amazed too if told like that.

The Spectator doubts whether the film can be considered a remake or not:

Some remakes have faired better. “Jane Eyre,” starring Mia Wasikowska, opened earlier this year to strong reviews, though countless versions of the same story have been released in the last 70 years.
However, since the film version of “Jane Eyre” is technically an adaptation and not an outright remake, it still does not serve as a strong example of how remakes can succeed creatively. (Mikayla Beyer)

Jane Eyre is also reviewed by Filmdrift (among others), Such Moving Pictures, Boredom and words of nothingness, Sue Katz: Consenting Adult (in just a dozen words - a negative review, though) and Movie Lover's Perspective.

Onto something else. The National Post has an article on the TV miniseries The Kennedys and says,

Jackie as a wide-eyed naïf who haunts the White House like the batty first wife from Jane Eyre. (John Moore)

Another Brontë 'lookalike' is found by The Telegraph when reviewing the book The Hunger Trace by Edward Hogan.

The more rackety plot contrivances are redeemed by superb passages of nature writing. Louisa’s sense of oneness with her falcons recalls Barry Hines’s classic A Kestrel for a Knave or TH White’s The Goshawk, and, in Louisa herself, the supremely solitary figure of Emily Brontë with her pet hawk. (Catherine Taylor)

In the Middlebury Campus, Najla Said

recalls solidifying her friendship with her father [Edward Said] over discussions of Jane Eyre and shopping sprees in middle school. (Amanda Pertierra)

And this is something we think Anne Brontë would have loved (though she would have been very shy about it too). The Plain Dealer reports that

[Daniel Bellinger has] named 19 of his own breeds [of daffodils], including 'Tilden,' noted for its orange petals and red corona, and 'Anne Brontë,' which charms with tiny red cups. (Julie Washington)

They can be seen at the Cleveland Botanical Garden's Daffodil Show (April 23-24). (Picture source)

The Brussels Brontë Blog has a post on the annual weekend which took place on 1-3 April.

Andrea Tsurumi has posted a couple of brilliant Jane Eyre cartoons (particularly the first). Farol de reminescências writes in Portuguese about Jane Eyre 1944. The Squeee gives a 5 out of 5 to April Lindner's Jane. ScribbleManiac posts - among other things - about seeing the Brontë portraits at the National Portrait Gallery and the Jane Eyre manuscript at the British Library.

Categories: Anne Brontë, Books, Brussels, Illustrations, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References