"Convenient, that, considering your affair with that Eyre woman"

IndieWire has good news for Focus Features (not that they won't know already, but still):

In its eighth frame, Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë‘s “Jane Eyre” also slowly began to recede. It dropped 25 theaters to 294 and took in $539,000, averaging $1,833. Distributor Focus Features should still be quite pleased with the film’s $8,761,000 total, which makes it the highest-grossing limited release of 2011 so far. The film, which stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench, could still squeak past the $10 million mark, as could “Win Win.” Together, the two films are certainly the MVPs of the 2011 specialty market thus far. (Peter Knegt)

The New Republic has what seems to be a positive review ('The Best, Most Alive Version of 'Jane Eyre' I've Ever Seen') of the film as well, but unfortunately it's for subscribers only. Filmeeting, NYC You Are Here, Little Girl in a Big City, Listless, Movies and More: Positively Personal Reviews, Wardrobe of a Cinephile, A Wings Tale and Love YA Lit review the film as well.

In The Times, AA Gill seems to think that

what most English literary adaptations need is a hard-nosed policeman. “So, Mr Rochester, you're telling me the fire was an accident, and your wife just fell from the roof? Convenient, that, considering your affair with that Eyre woman. And was the house insured?”

The Wig features writer Sylvia Tyson, who

reports she spent some five years working on Joyner’s Dream, a sweeping novel in the style of literary giants Dickens, Hardy and the Brontës. (Allan Wigney)

A.V. Club - like many others - also finds Brontë echoes in South Riding:

This kind of interwoven narrative offers a good deal of dramatic potential, especially given the subject matter: politics and power in a small community. Unfortunately, the disparate storylines fail to come together in a cohesive, compelling way. South Riding tries, but never quite manages, to be a lot of things at once: the story of an inspirational teacher, a feminist parable, a brooding Brontëan romance, a call for social reform. On the one hand, it’s nice to watch a series that doesn’t go exactly where one might expect—you think it’s going to be an English version of Mona Lisa Smile, but it winds up closer to Jane Eyre—but the narrative is diffuse, unfocused. With a running time of just under three hours, South Riding somehow feels too short, especially the final episode, which is back-loaded with numerous last-minute plot twists. This is not to say there aren’t plenty of great moments along the way. (Meredith Blake)

The Keighley News has a short article (including a picture) on the Easter activities at the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

Families had the chance to try out bonnets, dresses, top hats and tailcoats from the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s dressing-up box.
Drop-in activities have been taking place at the Haworth museum throughout Easter, including artist Rachel Lee leading bonnet-making activities with a Brontë twist.
Visitors could see new displays around the Parsonage, including Bronte ‘treasures’.
A quiz with a Brontë theme took visitors on a treasure hunt-style Easter Trail around the Parsonage, with eggs supplied to the winners.

The Keighley News also features the art exhibition Now and Then and Again by Judy Sale at 49 to 51 Main Street, Haworth.

She [Judy Sale] said: “I hope that this exhibition will show how Haworth is the perfect environment for all creative people who appreciate the magic of this area.
“Because of its famous historical past connection to the Brontë family, Haworth is often associated solely with the past while the present and future are overlooked. The purpose of this exhibition is to explore Haworth both Now and Then, to show that Haworth’s creative past must continue to be a reference for people today.”

Still locally, the Yorkshire Post has an article on bluebells:

It seems the bluebell has a special place in Yorkshire hearts and heritage – both Anne and Emily Brontë wrote impassioned poems in honour of the flower. Writes Anne: “There is a silent eloquence/In every wild bluebell/That fills my softened heart with bliss/That words could never tell.”

The same newspaper asks actor Neil Dudgeon,

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
It’s a combination of things, I feel. It’s that Wuthering Heights thing, of rugged identity, and the apparent dourness of the people on the outside which actually masks a genuine human kindness and warmth within.

The Herald Scotland reviews a recent concert by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain at Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, where they apparently

recast Cathy from Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights into a South Yorkshire-brogued Mack the Knife (Rob Adams)

On the blogosphere, The Literary Omnivore and Tia's Book Musings post about Jane Eyre while Apresiasi Film Klasik (in Indonesian) and SilverScreenPhile post about the 1944 adaptation. Her Book Self takes a look at several covers of the novel. The Graphic Novel Hovel discusses the Classics Illustrated edition of Jane Eyre and Flickr user CreturFetur has uploaded a portrait of Mr Rochester. Bookin' with Sunny has read Sheila Kohler's Becoming Jane Eyre and Nobull Young Adult Lit Reviews has read April Lindner's Jane. Kelly's Favorite Books posts about Wuthering Heights and Secret Scribbled 'can't get enough of those crazy girls from Haworth parsonage' and quotes from Emily's 1845 diary paper. Louise's Theatre Reviews writes about Shared Experience's revival of Polly Teale's Brontë. And finally, Raquel Fernández has written a poem about the Brontë Sisters in Spanish.

Categories: Books, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, References, Wuthering Heights